Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., has announced the advertised fees for its 2025 stallion roster, led once again by the venerable War Front.
WAR FRONT, a son of the mighty Danzig, will stand for an advertised fee of $75,000. He is North America’s leading sire by lifetime percentage of stakes winners and graded stakes winners. This year, he added to his impressive list of top runners with E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1) winner Full Count Felicia, and Grade 3 winners Fort Washington, First World War, and Goliad, winner of the $2,000,000 Mint Millions Stakes.
New to the Claiborne Farm roster for 2025 are PRINCE OF MONACO (by Speightstown) and BRIGHT FUTURE (by Curlin).
PRINCE OF MONACO, one of the top dirt sprinters of his class and the only son of legendary stallion Speightstown to win a Grade 1 at age 2, is targeting this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) and will have his fee announced at a later date. The Stonestreet homebred earned TDN Rising Star honors after an 8-length romp sprinting 5 furlongs on the dirt at Los Alamitos for the powerhouse ownership group that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Tom Ryan.
“The Prince” then jumped straight into graded company, dominating the Best Pal Stakes (G3) by a widening 4 ¼ lengths in a stakes-record time of 1:09.19 and earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. Subsequent multiple Grade 1 winner Muth and Grade 2 winner Raging Torrent finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. PRINCE OF MONACO’s 2-year-old campaign was highlighted by yet another graded victory in the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1). In 2024, the Bob Baffert trainee finished second by a half-length in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) and second again by a neck in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1), in which he earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
BRIGHT FUTURE, winner of the $1-million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), will debut at $12,500. The 5-year-old son of Curlin won five of eleven career starts and earned $947,940 for owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
A dominant 4 ¾ length winner on debut going 1 mile at Gulfstream Park, BRIGHT FUTURE proceeded to win three races during his subsequent 4-year-old campaign, highlighted by the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga, for which he earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. Bright Future came back in 2024 to win the historic Salvator Mile Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park, a race previously won by influential stallions Smart Strike and Distorted Humor, overcoming early traffic trouble with a powerful stretch rally on the rail to win by 1 ¾ lengths.
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner BLAME continues to be one of the best values on the market, and will be offered at $25,000. The Arch stallion is the sire of recent multiple stakes-winning 2-year-old colt Crazy Frazy, while his value as a broodmare sire has been further expanded by fourteen stakes winners to date in 2024, including graded/group winners And One More Time (G1), Simply in Front (G2), Honor D Lady (G2), Tiny Temper (G2), Christmas Parade (JPN) (G2), Switzerland (AUS) (G2), Sabatini (G3), and Hope Road (G3).
Met Mile (G1) winner SILVER STATE, by Hard Spun, will be represented by his first 2-year-olds in 2025, following a Keeneland September Yearling Sale where he had a trio of horses sell for $250,000 or more. He will stand for $15,000 in the coming season.
ANNAPOLIS, a son of WAR FRONT who won the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) in stakes-record time, will stand for $12,500 in his second season at stud. The Bass Stables homebred was well-received by breeders in his debut season, covering 149 mares.
Preakness Stakes (G1) winner WAR OF WILL is North America’s second-leading freshman sire by turf winners and earnings, led by the stakes-placed runners She’s Got Will, My Emmy, and Garden of War. His 2-year-olds sold up to $400,000 at auction in 2024. The son of WAR FRONT’s stud fee will be determined after the Breeders’ Cup.
DEMARCHELIER (GB), a son of all-world sire Dubawi (IRE), will stand for $5,000. He is North America’s leading second-crop turf sire by winners in 2024 with 18, and he has the second-highest lifetime average turf earnings in his class among sires with more than 25 starters.
Champion sprinter RUNHAPPY will stand for $7,500 after a season that saw him tally five stakes winners and continue his climb up the national sire list by earnings for the third straight year.
Veteran FIRST SAMURAI, one of the most reliable names in the stud book, will stand for $5,000. With 73 percent winners from starters and 12 percent stakes horses, few stallions are more proven to start off a broodmare’s produce record on a winning note than the son of Giant’s Causeway.
LEA, a son of First Samurai, will have a stud fee listed as Private. A versatile performer on the racetrack whose runners are just as versatile, LEA was led in 2024 by stakes winner Your So Sillea and Grade 3-placed Sherlock’s Jewel, as well as Media Luna, a Grade 3 winner in Puerto Rico.
Following is a complete list of Claiborne Farm’s 2025 stallion roster and advertised fees:
ANNAPOLIS – $12,500
BLAME – $25,000
BRIGHT FUTURE (NEW) – $12,500
DEMARCHELIER (GB) – $5,000
FIRST SAMURAI – $5,000
LEA – Private
PRINCE OF MONACO (NEW) – TBD
RUNHAPPY – $7,500
SILVER STATE– $15,000
WAR FRONT – $75,000
WAR OF WILL – TBD