Spendthrift announces 2025 stud fees, again led by 5-time Champion Sire Into Mischief
October 15, 2024
Photo by EquiSport
Spendthrift Farm has announced the stud fees for its roster of 29 stallions set to stand at the Lexington-based farm for the upcoming 2025 breeding season, once again led by North America’s reigning five-time champion General Sire, Into Mischief, who will stand for $250,000 S&N.
“Into Mischief continues to push into uncharted territory in the long and rich history of stallions in this industry,” said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift. “He’s not only on track to claim his sixth consecutive champion General Sire title, but he’s also reinforcing that high level of success on the racetrack while maintaining remarkable results at the sales. Of his five Grade 1 winners in 2024, four are new Grade 1 winners this year, bringing his career total to 22. He’s truly a once-in-a-generation sire.”
As the first stallion in history to approach $30 million in progeny earnings in 2024, Into Mischief currently holds a lead of around $14 million over the No. 2 stallion on the North American General Sires List. With two and a half months remaining in the year, his current earnings of $29,720,854 have already surpassed his previous record of $28,122,550, set in 2022.
Into Mischief currently leads North America in every major category in 2024. He has sired 30 black-type winners and 15 graded stakes winners to date, including five Grade 1 winners: Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River, Leslie’s Rose, and Breeders’ Cup contenders Citizen Bull, Gina Romantica, and Newgate. In the sales ring, Into Mischief led the Keeneland September Yearling Sale for the third consecutive year with a median of $450,000, which also represents his median across all yearling sales in 2024.
Spendthrift recently announced that it will be standing American classic winners Dornoch and National Treasure, along with fellow Grade 1 winner Kingsbarns, as new additions to its 2025 roster. Dornoch, Good Magic’s most accomplished son to date, is now available for inspection at Spendthrift. The imposing bay colt captured back-to-back victories in the 1¼-mile Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and Haskell (G1) at Monmouth. His introductory fee has been set at $40,000 S&N.
National Treasure, a leading contender for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar, is one of the top older horses in training in 2024, with major wins in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream and the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Saratoga. The speedy son of Quality Road became his sire’s first classic winner last year when he captured the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico. He is primed to become his sire’s all-time leading earner in North America after his final career start in the Breeders’ Cup before retiring to Spendthrift. National Treasure, with current earnings of $5,578,000, will have his introductory fee announced next month.
Champion Forte, fresh off covering a quality first book of 196 mares in 2024, will stand his second season for $45,000 S&N. Popular young stallions Omaha Beach – the No. 1 Second-Crop Sire in North America across all major categories – and champion Jackie’s Warrior are also coming off full books and will stand for $35,000 S&N in 2025.
Bolt d’Oro, the Champion First-Crop Sire of 2022, and Taiba, Gun Runner’s only three-time Grade 1-winning son, will both stand for $30,000 S&N. Taiba, one of the most popular first-season stallions in 2024, covered 200 mares.
Authentic, Into Mischief’s 2020 Horse of the Year, has sired 13 winners to date from his debut crop of 2-year-olds, including six winners at distances around two turns. He will stand in 2025 for $25,000 S&N, alongside Yaupon, whose first crop of yearlings has been well received, with a sales average of $180,970 from 102 sold to date.
Kingsbarns, Uncle Mo’s impressive winner of this year’s Stephen Foster (G1) at Churchill Downs, will stand his first season in 2025 for $20,000 S&N. He will be joined at that fee by Arabian Lion, Justify’s Grade 1-winning son, who covered 178 mares this year in his debut book, Cyberknife, Gun Runner’s multiple Grade 1 winner whose first weanlings will sell in November, and Maximus Mischief, Into Mischief’s leading second-crop sire, who sired seven black-type winners in 2024, including Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) contender Raging Torrent.
Thousand Words, a top five First-Crop Sire in North America this year, will see an increase in his stud fee to $12,500 S&N after siring 13 winners to date, led by Saratoga’s multiple graded stakes winner The Queens M G and Churchill Downs stakes winner Vodka With a Twist, the narrow runner-up in the Del Mar Debutante (G1). Both fillies are being considered for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar.
Thousand Words participated in Spendthrift’s renowned Safe Bet Program in 2024, which guaranteed graded stakes success from his first crop of 2-year-olds, or breeders would not owe a stud fee when their foal is born in 2025. For the upcoming breeding season, Basin, By My Standards, Known Agenda, and Rock Your World will all participate in the Safe Bet Program for the same fee as Thousand Words did in 2024 – $5,000 S&N.
Vekoma, currently No. 2 on the First-Crop Sires List in North America, also ranks No. 1 as a juvenile sire, with 25 winners and four black-type winners from his debut crop. Among them is the undefeated colt and Churchill Downs Grade 3 winner Jonathan’s Way, a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) on Nov. 1. A stud fee for Vekoma will be announced in the coming weeks.
Toffey expressed optimism about the state of the breeding industry, saying, “We continue to see an increase in purses at racetracks, which certainly helped fuel a record-breaking Keeneland September Sale last month. The demand for racehorses remains very strong, and that should create a sense of optimism among breeders as we approach the 2025 breeding season.”
He continued, “At Spendthrift, we’ve expanded both the quality and number of our stallions, allowing us to offer the most diverse roster we’ve ever had. Our goal has long been to provide the best opportunities for breeders at all levels, and we’re more confident than ever that breeders can trust in the quality and value we deliver across the board.”
For more information about any of Spendthrift’s stallions or to set up an appointment for inspection, please contact Des, Mark, Brian or Daniel at 859-294-0030. The below chart includes Spendthrift’s current stallion roster and 2025 stud fees:
Fees are subject to change pending future race results. Breeders can lock in pricing by booking early.
**Stallions participating in Spendthrift’s Safe Bet Program.