It absolutely astounds me now, after 2008's major auctions' (KEESEP, FTK, FT Timonium, Barretts and the rest) results are in, that the stud fees being announced for 2009 are basically flat with what they were for 2008. The announcement today from Hill n' Dale re their stud fees combined with others recently suggest that a lot of these farms are really going to try to keep things just where they are. Notable exceptions seem to be Darley and Claiborne.
It would really be preferable to see some of these make some significant cuts...but as of right now I would rate the major farms' responses as disappointing.
2009 Stud Fees
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fastappy
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Those farms that don't adjust may be in for a rude surprise imo, and even more so in the regional markets, where small breeders can't recover their expenses at sales,and many times not even the stud fee.
More mares are being culled and scrutinized while many new stallions are coming on line. Darley and a few others are more sensitive to the current economic conditions. River Edge (Ca.) did not waste any time dropping Benchmark's fee significantly, to maintain a competitive flow of mares.
Barretts was a bloodbath and there were numerous "no bid" mares who cost their owners entry & consignment fees. I doubt that more money would be put in them by breeding them another year.
More mares are being culled and scrutinized while many new stallions are coming on line. Darley and a few others are more sensitive to the current economic conditions. River Edge (Ca.) did not waste any time dropping Benchmark's fee significantly, to maintain a competitive flow of mares.
Barretts was a bloodbath and there were numerous "no bid" mares who cost their owners entry & consignment fees. I doubt that more money would be put in them by breeding them another year.