Triple Crown winner and successful young international sire Justify will stand for an advertised fee of $200,000 next year to lead the roster at Coolmore's Ashford Stud, the farm announced this week.
Justify is the sire of English classic winners Ruling Court and Scandinavia this year, to go along with his European classic winner and champion City of Troy last year. Overall, he is the sire of nine Grade/Group 1 winners worldwide to date, including Eclipse Award champion Just F Y I.
The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards marked its 10th year anniversary in North America on October 21 in Lexington, Kentucky, by once again honoring and awarding the individuals that make the Thoroughbred industry the unique and special industry it is. Winners were announced in a total of seven categories with a total of $122,000 awarded. Scott Hazelton, FanDuel TV analyst, served as the master of ceremonies.
Stalwart sire Medaglia d’Oro has been pensioned, Darley revealed in announcing its stallion roster for the upcoming season. The 26-year-old son of El Prado will retire at the Lexington, Ky., farm.
Medaglia d’Oro won three Grade 1 races, placed in another six, and earned more than $5.7 million. He is the sire of 104 graded/group stakes winners worldwide. Those include a record three winners of the Kentucky Oaks – Rachel Alexandra (2009), Plum Pretty (2011), and Good Cheer this year.
Two time Horse of the Year Curlin, one of the most preeminent sires at stud today, leads the farm roster for 2026. The only stallion to have sired 3 Breeders' Cup winners on the same day and the only stallion to sire 4 Eclipse Champions in the same year will stand for a fee of $225,000 LFSN. Curlin's Champion son,Good Magic, the sire of first crop Classic Winner Mage, winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch in his second crop, will remain unchanged with his stud fee set at $125,000 LFSN.
Moira, the Eclipse Award winner as champion turf female of 2024, has been retired.
Australian trainer Chris Waller announced the decision Wednesday morning. Moira was under consideration for Friday’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup at Caulfield Racecourse in recent days.
“We simply feel she is not racing at her absolute best right now and with her extraordinary resume, she will be an outstanding broodmare, a real asset to the Australian breeding industry,” Waller said in a social media statement.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The number of Thoroughbred mares bred in California declined 13.4 percent this year but maintained its customary position as second in North America to Kentucky, according to statistics released earlier this month by The Jockey Club.
The Jockey Club reported that 1,291 mares were bred in California during the 2025 breeding season, a decline from 1,491 in 2024 and 1,592 in 2023. The reduction comes at a time when racing in Northern California has ceased following the 2024 closure of Golden Gate Fields and the stoppage of fair racing in that part of the state.
Preakness Stakes winner War of Will is relocating to New York’s Rockridge Stud for 2026 after beginning his career at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, another major addition for the Empire State as it looks ahead to new developments.
War of Will, by War Front, was a dual-surface Grade 1 winner, taking the 2019 Preakness and the 2020 Maker’s Mark Mile. He placed in three other Grade 1 races and earned more than $1.8 million. From his first two crops of racing age, he is the sire of graded stakes winners Will Then and Final Accord.
Coolmore’s Ashford Stud continues to build its roster for 2026, as the farm announced Sunday that champion juvenile Citizen Bull will retire to the Kentucky farm following the Breeders’ Cup.
Citizen Bull, who currently races for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, is expected to make his final start in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will shuttle to stand the upcoming 2026 breeding season in Japan, where he has been immensely successful, before returning to Kentucky next summer, the international Coolmore group, which stands the stallion, has announced.
