LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kendall-Jackson Winery owner Jess Jackson has purchased a one-third interest in reigning Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, the 6 1/4-length winner of Monday's at Belmont.

LAS VEGAS - Pulpit is a rising star in the stallion ranks. His runners win going short and long, and are equally proficient on dirt and turf. Pulpit had a particularly memorable weekend at Belmont Park last week when his offspring won the Peter Pan and Jaipur stakes.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Stakes wins by Lil' Sister Swiss and Wild Uncle Kurt in recent weekends at Hollywood Park have carried the California stallion Swiss Yodeler to the top of the national 2-year-old sire list and the state's overall sire list.

Through Thursday, foals by Swiss Yodeler had earned $1,360,944 this year, leaving him slightly ahead of In Excess ($1,352,888) on the state's overall sire list. Swiss Yodeler's lead is tenuous, at best. One victory by an In Excess offspring would reverse those standings.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - If there is anything better than a classic winner for a stallion's reputation, don't tell Northern Afleet. The dramatic Preakness victory of his son Afleet Alex was the crowning moment in an outstanding year for the stallion, who has nearly completed his first season at stud in Kentucky at Taylor Made Farm.

And although siring a winner of the Preakness is a grand accomplishment, Kentucky breeders were high on the potential of the young stallion before the Maryland classic.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Cash Is King Stable, which owns recent Preakness winner Afleet Alex, lived up to its name at the May 23-24 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile sale.

The partnership group plowed some of its profits from Afleet Alex's racing career back into the 2-year-old market at the very sale from which it bought its star for $75,000 last year. Trainer Tim Ritchey bought three horses for Cash Is King at the Timonium, Md., auction: a $125,000 Old Trieste-Surf City filly, a $75,000 Two Punch-Marion's Dover filly, and a $30,000 Northern Afleet-Twice as Real colt.

Two additional Florida freshman stallions have gotten their first winners.

Victories by offspring of Exchange Rate and Put It Down bring the Florida count to five stallions with first-crop winners.

B L's Appeal, Songandaprayer, and Trippi had their first winners earlier this month.

New York-bred juveniles were in demand at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale on Monday and Tuesday.

Fifty-five of them sold for a total of $2,230,000 - or an average price of $40,545, a major increase over the New York-breds sold at the corresponding sale in 2004.

Last year, the gross was $1,879,700 for 66 sold - an average of $28,480.

The 2005 numbers represent a gain of 19 percent on gross and 42 percent on average. The sale as a whole was up 43 percent in gross and 31 percent in average.

Two-year-old races are beginning to fill at Woodbine, and for the first time in several years, fans and horsemen can look forward to runners from a competitive group of high-profile Ontario freshman sires.

Two stallions have already had local starters - Perigee Moon, who stands at Michael Byrne's Park Stud in Orangeville, Ontario, and Trajectory, a resident at Gardiner Farms in Caledon East.

A son of Grade 1 juvenile winner Hennessy, Perigee Moon was undefeated in two starts as a 2-year-old, winning the Group 3 Killavullen Stakes at Leopardstown in 2000.

Good efforts often get overlooked at Pimlico when the focus is on the Preakness. It was hard not to notice, however, the result of the $75,000 The Very One Stakes, the 12th and final race on the Friday, May 20, Pimlico Special card.

Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky and Florida-based Padua Stables have purchased a 50-percent interest in Grade 1 winner Pico Central.

A 6-year-old Brazilian-bred, Pico Central will stand at Padua in Sumerfield, Fla., after his retirement at the end of this season.