Source: American Pharoah's stud fee will be north of $175,000
American Pharoah won't retire until next year, but when he does, his stud fee will be north of $175,000 and could go as high as $200,000, a source told Yahoo Sports.
Fresh off a win at Saturday's Belmont Stakes that made American Pharoah the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, the horse is expected to continue to race throughout this year with a source saying that the current plan appears to be for him to run in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga and then in the Breeder's Cup in October. This is, of course, provided that the horse emerges healthy from Saturday's race.
On completion of his racing career, American Pharoah will immediately retire to Ashford Stud (Coolmore America) in Kentucky and will commence stud duties in February 2016 (official start of thoroughbred breeding season). He will be in place at the farm by Feb. 15 for the start of breeding season, and it will be quite a cash haul for the horse. He will be the only living Triple Crown winner, which will certainly keep his stud fee high.
The source tells Yahoo Sports that his estimated stud fee will be "probably north of $175,000" and could go as high as $200,000 per foal. Given the amount, a very high figure considering stud fees came crashing down in recent years and have now stabilized, the Belmont Stakes win was huge for American Pharoah and Coolmore, which reportedly purchased the horse's stud rights for north of $20 million.
Last year, California Chrome came into Belmont like American Pharoah with wins at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. But his fourth-place finish saw his stud fees drop to an estimated $20,000, quite a drop-off from the echelon where American Pharoah projects to reside.
But even if Coolmore paid double the reported fee to owner Ahmed Zayat, it stands to make the investment back quickly. Colts can sire more than 100 foals a year, which at $175,000 would put the annual haul at $17.5 million.
This, however, is for an unproven sire. If American Pharoah produces winning foals, the number could rise. Tapit, for example, finished ninth in the 2004 Kentucky Derby, yet commands $300,000 per foal – the highest stud fee in North America.
Why is Tapit's fee so high? Because he produces winners, around 450 so far, according to BloodHorse.com.
So the $200,000 fee – which would rank second behind Tapit – could rise … or fall, depending on how the little American Pharoahs fare.
