Setting a Stud Fee

Today is the official start of breeding season and the opening of the breeding shed in Kentucky. On the heels of last week’s video — Authentic’s Appeal as a Stallion — this week you will hear from Ned Toffey, Spendthrift’s general manager, on how those attributes came into play when determining Authentic’s stud fee.

Authentic’s fee for 2021 is $75,000, which ranks as the highest among freshman sires in North America this year, and Ned outlines in interesting detail how that number was settled upon.

He touches on the multiple components that determine stud fees. The first centers on pedigree, and how impactful the stallion’s sire is. In the case of Authentic, sire Into Mischief has been wildly successful with his offspring on the racetrack and now is beginning to stamp himself as a “sire of sires”. Because of his notoriety, Into Mischief stands this year for $225,000, the highest fee among North American sires in 2021.

Ned explains, “When we go to set a stallion stud fee in his first year there’s a number of factors that we are looking at. You’re looking at first, sire power, who is the sire, and what is his stud fee. When you’re the son of a popular horse, you’re probably going to come in at a lower price point, but where are you going to fit underneath that? When a good stallion produces a horse like Authentic, his stud fee is likely to go up which does create room for you to price your horse accordingly, just below where the sire had been previously. So, sire power is very, very important.”

But that’s just the start and the thought process doesn’t end there, so please enjoy this fascinating video to learn more about the many factors involved in deciding Authentic’s stud fee.