Euro Runners Give North American Sires Prominence

As the year nears its conclusion, movement among the top 25 North American sires based on progeny earnings typically becomes stagnant or limited to moving up or down a couple of spots. It is a good time to look at how sires stack up in a scenario that isn't as all-encompassing as the General Sires List. This week, we'll take a look at how sires standing in North America are doing with offspring running in Europe. At first glance of the top 25, seven have died, and another (Medaglia d'Oro) has been retired from stud duties. This is a subcategory that might experience some ranking volatility in the years to come. But furthermore, of the sires ranked in the top 25 of the General Sires List, eight, including Medaglia d'Oro, appear among the top 25 of those with European runners. Interestingly, these sires do not fall in line with their overall rankings by Northern Hemisphere earnings as of Dec. 1. Justify and Nyquist are Nos. 9 and 10 on the General Sires List and are at or near the top of sires standing in North America with Euro runners, at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively. Medaglia d'Oro is No. 16 overall and No. 11 when factoring only runners across the Atlantic Ocean. But Quality Road, who sits just one spot behind overall, is six spots higher when only comparing progeny running in Europe. Others who appear on both lists are Mendelssohn, who is ranked No. 15 overall and No. 13 with European-raced progeny; Uncle Mo is No. 18 overall but climbs to No. 10 based on this filter; City of Light is No. 22 overall and reports at No. 15 based on European runners; and Street Sense is No. 23 overall and comes in at No. 22 among sires with European runners. Some sires, who either haven't been in the top 25 of the General Sires List or have not been ranked recently, find new prominence in this spectrum. These include Frosted, Blame, Kitten's Joy, Sir Prancealot (IRE), Karakontie (JPN), War Front, Maximum Security, Bucchero, Midshipman, and Mo Town. From a financial perspective, eight of the 17 active North American sires ranked prominently by European race results are providing value to the owners of their progeny with stud fees for 2026 at $25,000 or less. If we expand to include the top 50 sires standing in North America with runners in Europe, only six have stud fees greater than $25,000. By contrast, the overall General Sires List has 18 sires whose stud fees exceed that benchmark. With the preponderance of turf racing in Europe, one might expect more uniformity in the rankings by European results when compared with North American turf results. Still, there are major differences between the two lists. Of the top 25 leading North American turf sires, 13 appear among the top standing in North America with European runners. Again, the rankings on the two lists don't fall in line with each other. For example, Blame, who stands at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Ky., is third among the sires with runners in Europe. He is No. 19 among turf runners in North America. Nyquist, as noted earlier, is fourth based on what his Euro runners have earned, but No. 19 among the North America-raced turf sires. Three others—Kitten's Joy, Karakontie, and War Front—rank in the early 20s of North American turf sires but are in the top 11 of sires whose runners perform in Europe. Speed rules in North America, so turf sprints also help shape the leading turf sire rankings. The average winning distance among the top 25 North American turf sires' progeny is 7.78 furlongs, compared with the top 25 North American sires by European race results that have an 8.94-furlong average winning distance. Justify, Blame, Kitten's Joy, City of Light, and English Channel all have a progeny AWD of greater than 10 furlongs. On the leading sires by European results list, 18 sires have an AWD of 8 furlongs or more. Among the leading North American turf sires, only seven of the top 25 have an AWD of 8 furlongs or more, and none have an AWD greater than 9 furlongs.