What a way to kick off a new stallion's career. On Dec. 12, Northview Stallion Station played host to more than 500 people who came out to see the Chesapeake City, Md., farm's newest arrivals. It was a perfect opportunity to get a first look at Domestic Dispute and Great Notion, as well as visit with established stallions who stand at the busiest farm in the Mid-Atlantic region.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Sales Integrity Task Force announced its long-awaited code of ethics Thursday, taking a firm stance against undisclosed dual agency and giving support to increased disclosure requirements for veterinary procedures. But it offered no penalties for ethics violations, and did not require agents or sale companies to disclose the identities of buyers and sellers in transactions.

Northern Taste, Japan's leading sire for 11 consecutive years beginning in 1982, died Saturday at the Shadai Stallion Station on the island of Hokkaido, where he was pensioned in 1999. He was 33 and died of natural causes.

The stallion's death was reported in Japan Today and in other general media, an indication of the reverence in which Northern Taste, a son of Northern Dancer, was held.

Prospector's Music, Oklahoma's fourth-leading sire, died Dec. 10 of a ruptured cecum at Oklahoma Equine in Washington, Okla.

Prospector's Music, the sire of Grade 1 winner Gygistar, was 15.

Prospector's Music, a Mr. Prospector horse out of Minstrella, initially stood at Wafare Farm in Kentucky but moved to Oklahoma Equine three years ago.

In addition to Gygistar, Prospector's Music sired stakes winners Holiday Music and Prospector's Song.

LAS VEGAS - With only two weeks remaining until the end of the year, it's time to take stock of this year's group of freshman sires, and as happens every year, they are an eclectic mix of speed and classic influences who should have an impact for years to come.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eastern Echo, sire of Grade 1 winners Buddy Gil and Swiss Yodeler, died of a heart attack Tuesday at age 16, Maryland Stallion Station president Don Litz announced.

The syndicated Damascus stallion died at Shamrock Farms in Woodbine, Md., where he will be buried. The Maryland Stallion Station owned a majority interest in Eastern Echo and stood him at Shamrock for the last three seasons. He had been scheduled to move within the week to the Maryland Stallion Station's new facility in Glyndon, Md.

Cherokee Colony, a Grade 1 winner and California sire, died Dec. 10 at the University of California at Davis, the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association has announced. He was 19 and stood at Blooming Hills in Clements, Calif. His fee in 2004 was advertised as $2,500 live foal.

A yearling filly by Valid Expectations topped the Fasig-Tipton Texas December mixed sale on Sunday when she brought a bid of $34,000 from agent Danny Shifflet. A total of 180 horses were sold for $825,300 during the one-day sale, which was held at Lone Star Park near Dallas.

The sale's average price per lot was $4,585, up nearly 20 percent from $3,673 at the corresponding sale last year. During the 2003 auction, 148 horses sold for total receipts of $543,600.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A juvenile King's Best gelding set a price record Sunday at the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Hong Kong International Sale.

The New Zealand-bred gelding went for six million Hong Kong dollars, or about $771,694, breaking the HK$4.8 million record set at last year's auction.

The King's Best gelding is out of Georgiana, a New Zealand-bred Nassipour mare. Georgiana is the dam of Australian stakes-placed runner Vega Sicilia, by Rodrigo de Triano, and 2004 New Zealand Oaks runner-up Filante Etoile, by Soviet Star.

Cappuchino, a two-time Grade 3 winner, will join the Empire Stud roster in Hudson, N.Y., for the 2005 breeding season, the farm has announced.

Cappuchino, a 5-year-old son of Capote, will have a $3,500 live-foal stud fee. He will stand as the property of a syndicate managed by Empire co-owner Jamie LaMonica.

Trained by co-owner Jerry Hollendorfer, Cappuchino won six stakes, including the Grade 3 Turfway Park Fall Championship Stakes this year and the Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap in 2003. With a record of 8-2-5 from 32 starts, Cappuchino earned $509,220.