Spendthrift

Following the sudden passing of Spendthrift foundation sire Malibu Moon, much has been said on his accomplishments at stud. The perennial leading sire has had 126 stakes winners, 51 graded winners and 17 Grade I winners. He's the sire of a Kentucky winner in Orb and an Eclipse Champion in Declan's Moon. As a broodmare sire, he has produced champion Stellar Wind (Curlin) and Breeders' Cup runner-up Bellafina (Quality Road). Just yesterday, he had his 21st 'TDN Rising Star' with Always Carina. To Spendthrift's Stallion Manager Wayne Howard, those stats...

By the time a stallion's fourth book opens, the team behind him is usually pulling out all their stops to fill those pages. But perhaps no marketing technique in their repertoire can have quite the same effect as just one big price tag when the stallion's first crop of juveniles go to market. At last week's OBS March Sale, three first-crop juvenile sires were represented by youngsters that surpassed the $500,000 mark in the sales ring, and representatives from each of their respective farms said the phone has been ringing...

While there's never one fool-proof indicator for determining stallion potential, Spendthrift Farm has found one race that they feel consistently produces winners who draw their attention. In the past four years, they've welcomed a trio of GI Metropolitan H. victors to their stud barn. First was Mor Spirit (Eskendereya), the first Grade I-winning two-year-old to later win the Met Mile since Holy Bull in 1994. Then came Mitole, another son of Eskendereya who would go on to be named the 2019 Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter. This year, they welcome a...

It was a record-breaking year for video production at the TDN, and for video views, with over 3.8 million TDN videos and advertisers' commercials shown on our platforms. We took a look to see what you were watching the most. Here are our top 10 videos of the year, as watched on the TDN's YouTube Channel and the TDN site combined. Click on the red links below to watch. Zenyatta and Her Candy Ride Filly at Lane's End. 108,960 views. She may be the fan-favorite of all time. Meet the...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks. JUSTIN CASSE Authentic (Into Mischief), $75,000, Spendthrift Farm  The easy answer to this is Authentic, based on the obvious. His connections, his accomplishments in the summer and fall, as well as his sire. He's the leader of the pack in...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks. AIDAN O'MEARA, Stonehaven Steadings  Authentic (Into Mischief), $75,000, Spendthrift Farm  The horse we're most excited about this year is a bit of an obvious one, but it has to be Authentic. His sire has developed into the preeminent sire of...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks.     DEREK MACKENZIE, Vinery Sales  Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro), $10,000, Darby Dan  My favorite new sire for 2021 is Higher Power. Physically, he's just phenomenal and his pedigree is hands down the best this year for the new sires....

Multiple Grade I-winning millionaire Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}--Mona de Momma, by Speightstown) has been retired from racing and arrived at B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm where the 4-year-old will take up stud duty in 2021. His fee has been set at $20,000 S&N. This year's impressive winner of the GI Carter H. and GI Runhappy Metropolitan H., Vekoma was scratched as the morning-line favorite in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint after spiking a fever upon arrival at Keeneland. He will be given a few days to settle in at Spendthrift...

As many people in the United States and around the world question their personal views on diversity and racial inclusion, we decided to look inwardly on our industry, and we found it wanting. So we asked a tough question to several industry members: How do we make racing at its highest level more diverse? ERIC GUSTAVSON, President of Spendthrift Farm As we all know, diversity comes in many shapes and sizes. And the question, 'how do we make racing at its highest level more diverse?' is locked and loaded for...

Anne Sabatino Hardy is Executive Director of Visit Horse Country I didn't grow up around horses, but I did grow up with a gambler. My dad liked Craps and Blackjack mostly, and played well. According to family legend, during a high school spring break trip to Las Vegas, one successful late-night Craps game was punctuated by "Annie needs a new prom dress!" I can't verify the story (my parents had standards, after all--I was relegated to the room), but indeed my first prom dress was secured during a visit to...

In what may be an unprecedented example of bad luck for a major race, Saturdays's GI Pegasus Invitational lost not just its marquee star, but also its second choice Thursday. The day kicked off with the news that GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Spun to Run (Hard Spun) would be scratched due to a skin issue. About five hours later, it was learned that morning-line favorite Omaha Beach (War Front) would also be a late scratch as trainer Richard Mandella discovered his colt had an issue with his right...