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Moving
Original article written by John Smith posted 5 months 0 weeks agoMoving
Where a stallion stands can range from very important to irrelevant to its’ owner. Maybe some just stand them at farms they own, while maybe others just like it in a certain area perhaps for prestige or maybe even some stand them in obscure places hoping to sponsor a race with no other entrants.
From a breeder’s perspective this also could range from very important (me) to wow I want one from there so I can sponsor races with small fields then also to irrelevant.
I used to hold this in little regard until I realized how much a difference in winnings horses at similar talent levels could actually make with robust state bred racing. It is like an extended Trial Park in some areas. I think the first hurdle I had to overcome in embracing this was accepting all my mares weren’t going to breed freaks, and I just need to build up my barn/mares.
To that end, while there may be others, I have noticed a couple of “moves,” in my divisions of choice and I wanted to highlight them here.
First and largest was the complete re-focus of the TR division being moved to Georgia due to the creation of Sorority Park by Cleo Patra. With stallion like Mijo, Coltrane, Wildness, Valar, Dorian Gray, First Class, Still Fire and more all now calling Georgia home, this move was by far the largest transition I have observed in the past two seasons.
More individualized, Last season saw At Time’s End move from NY to Md. Standing at $50k, At Time’s End’s move to Md. certainly opened up more opportunities for which an owner of an At Time’s End progeny could qualify. This move certainly increased the chances one could profit from breeding to ATE. I didn’t breed to ATE this season, mainly because I have a lesser stallion already standing in Maryland, King of Fools, and I know these will be profitable sans an injury or possibly the overpopulation of Maryland for its’ robust state bred racing.
This coming season, it looks like Denzel will be calling Florida home. Moving from Kentucky, a state in which state bred racing is almost nonexistent, Denzel looks to capitalize on the large amount of maiden special weight races and state bred stake races available there. Denzel, thus far has always been a high probability returning a profit at just 20k stud fee, but now with the state bred racing, it is almost a guarantee!
While I know there must have been others, these are a few that have caught my eye. Maybe state breds are a high priority for you – maybe you never considered it – maybe it is just a consideration for a “tie,” in your narrowed down choices of stud. All I know is there are some stallions I would certainly use more if standing in a respectable state bred program. However, if you are breeding freaks I guess it doesn’t matter – but for the rest of us, there is our festivus!
Air your grievances well!
John