Regional Stallions and the BC

[cewright]

Hats off to regional stallions Real Quiet and Kipling for siring 2007 BC champions! However, for Kip DeVille to compete, his owners had to pay a supplement reported to be $300M because Kipling was (is) not a BC nominated stallion. As a small scale TB breeder, I think by definition I am a dreamer. I realize the odds of my mare ever producing a champion caliber runner are small, but I can hope.

I find in my discussions with some regional stallion owners their stallions are not nominated for the BC as they do not feel the expense is justified. They say regional breeders do not nominate the foals in high numbers. I am not sure this is a viable metric since I will not breed to a stallion which is not BC nominated. My feeling is if the stallion owner does not have enough confidence in his stallion to nominate why should I believe the stallion will fulfill my dreams? Comments?

Chuck

[geowarrior]

Hi Chuck

There was a discussion on this some time ago (can't remember in what thread). I believe that for some operations Breeders Cup nominations might mean the difference between being in the black and in the red. What actually surprised me more was that Ginger Punch(Awesome Again) had to be supplemented. Apparently it is not only the stallion owner but the foal owner that has to pay something for the nomination.

Despite the cost a great many of the small regional stallion operations that I follow, do nominate to the Breeders Cup.

Do we know where Real Quiet will be standing next year? I was so happy at Midnight Lute's magnificent victory for my favorite sire. And equally overjoyed at the victory of Kip Deville.

[madelyn]

Breeder's Cup nomination for a stallion is annual and is equal to his stud fee. Then, his eligible foals can be nominated by October 15th of the weanling year for $500. After Oct 15th, it is $1500.

[HiddenEchoFarm]

I find in my discussions with some regional stallion owners their stallions are not nominated for the BC as they do not feel the expense is justified. . . . My feeling is if the stallion owner does not have enough confidence in his stallion to nominate why should I believe the stallion will fulfill my dreams? Comments? Chuck

We nominated our regional sire because we believe in him that much. And as we also breed 1 or 2 mares to outside sires, we do with our stallion what we would expect other stallion owners to do to attract our business.

I believe that for some operations Breeders Cup nominations might mean the difference between being in the black and in the red. What actually surprised me more was that Ginger Punch(Awesome Again) had to be supplemented. Apparently it is not only the stallion owner but the foal owner that has to pay something for the nomination.

The stallion owner pays the BC the equivalent of a stud fee for the sire to be nominated. Each foal's owners must pay a $500 nomination fee in the foal's first year. If the stallion doesn't get many paying mares, the need to pay one of the fees to the BC will definitely eat into the profit. If the stallion owner is supporting him with most of the mares he sees [and that is the way of regional sires, especially new ones] then there's a lot of money to put out to BC-nominate those foals.

My understanding is that whoever nominates the foal can earn money in other Breeder's Cup races, besides the big ones. So you have to believe in your stallion, the quality of your mares, and how well they match each other.

[Then work like crazy to get the babies into the right hands at the track.]