Fees Steady for Top Darley Stallions

Most of Darley America's stud fees for 2017 will remain unchanged, led by Medaglia d'Oro and Bernardini  , whose fees stay at $150,000 and $100,000, respectively.

New to the roster is Eclipse champion 2-year-old and 2016 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Nyquist  , who enters stud at $40,000.

Mitchell: Derby Winner Nyquist Retired

Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winner Cathryn Sophia, who will be offered in the Fasig-Tipton November sale, bolstered the 2017 fee for Street Boss  , which will rise to $17,500 from $12,500. The grade I-winning son of Street Cry (IRE) had other top winners this year in grade III winner and Del Mar Oaks (gr. I) runner-up Decked Out, Alfred G. Vanderbilt  Handicap (gr. I) second Holy Boss, and previous grade III winner Metaboss, who is entered in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT).

Other sires with fee changes include Animal Kingdom   and Elusive Quality  , whose fees have both been lowered to $30,000; Girolamo  , whose fee is now $10,000; and, Alpha  , whose fee has dropped slightly to $7,500.

"This has been such a great year on a number of fronts," said Darren Fox, sales manager at Darley's Jonabell operation near Lexington. "We started the year off with arguably our best year ever in the shed with very strong demand across the board. Then Nyquist followed shortly thereafter with his Kentucky Derby win; an Eclipse champion who was undefeated when winning the Derby hasn't happened since Seattle Slew so it's an exceptional accomplishment.

"We thought Rachel Alexandra was a once-in-a-lifetime filly but Medaglia d'Oro has another great one in Songbird," Fox continued. "And Bernardini continues to deliver and has become a consistent source of graded winners every year. So all in all, we are expecting strong demand again in 2017 across the board for our stallions."