Prominent owner and breeder Charles Fipke will waive stud fees for the 2020 season on all his stallions as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fipke stands seven stallions publicly around North America, all homebreds from his program. He said that this move is intended to provide some relief to small breeders who could be particularly hard-hit by the economic implications of the pandemic.
Hard Spun and The Factor, both versatile stallions from the sire line of the great Danzig, are in lockstep early on the year in Daily Racing Form’s exclusive Beyer Sire Performance Standings. Each has three individuals who have triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures this year.
Through the first quarter of a racing season unlike any other, the sire standings are a list unlike any other. The global COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the $12 million Dubai World Cup, but the $20 million Saudi Cup got in its inaugural running before the pandemic began to upend the racing calendar.
The newest half-sister to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah arrived over the weekend at Summer Wind Farm in Georgetown, Ky.
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Tom’s d’Etat scored the fifth stakes victory of his career in Saturday’s Oaklawn Mile, the first start of his 7-year-old campaign. The late-blooming Tom’s d’Etat gives the late leading sire Smart Strike the opportunity for one more prominent son at stud when he eventually retires.
Honor A. P.
Honor Code–Hollywood Story, by Wild Rush
Bred in Kentucky by George Krikorian ($850,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase by C R K Stable)
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
The white-hot young sire Constitution has already proven himself an elite member of his class, among the leaders of an intensely talented and competitive group of first-crop sires. But with Tiz the Law's second career Grade 1 victory in Saturday's Curlin Florida Derby, Constitution has joined an elite club alongside an established stallion who is one of the most influential of the modern era.
The Turkish Jockey Club was bullish in the market last year, purchasing several established or promising stallions from various jurisdictions to move to its country. One of its investments is already skyrocketing in value, as Daredevil now has two daughters from his first crop established on the Kentucky Oaks trail, with Swiss Skydiver's victory in Saturday's Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks.
It has been half a century since the birth of Virginia’s most famous equine son – record-shattering Triple Crown winner Secretariat. The 50-year anniversary of his birth provides a chance to look back on the history of Thoroughbred breeding in the state, even as the state looks forward. Last season’s return of racing to Colonial Downs was a key point for the Virginia industry, which has worked hard to keep local farms and training centers afloat, and could now be finding some relief.
