The breeding fees for top stallions can soar well beyond their racing earnings, with some elite sires making much more in retirement than they did on the track. These fees range from a few thousand to several hundred thousand pounds (or currency equivalent) per mare, depending on pedigree and performance. In this article, we will take a look at the going rate for the most in-demand stallions around and how much revenue they can bring in.
How Much Money Can Stallions Earn?
Knowing the stud fee for a stallion is one thing but you need to know how busy they are to understand how much money they can make. If a stallion has a fee of £100,000, this is how much they earn with each mare. Usually, an active stallion will be able to cover around 150 or even 200+ mares a year if there is enough demand for them. Picking the first figure of 150, a stallion with a stud fee of £100,000 would bring in a whopping £15m annually.
A stallion can be sexually active for many years, often into their 20s. Several of the stallions currently demanding the largest fees in racing (Dubawi, Curlin, Into Mischief, Sea The Stars, Tapit) were retired to stud in 2010 or earlier. Thanks to this, a horse can easily end up covering thousands of mares. Admittedly, the best stallions will not usually command a monster fee immediately (Dubawi began at £25,000), as demand increases through a strong progeny record, but even so, it is a long time to be earning.
While there is potentially huge money to be made, it is important to remember that only a minuscule number of thoroughbred racehorses charge five or six-figure fees for their offspring. At the time of writing the Racing Post listed 726 active stallions but around 5,000 horses retire each year in the UK alone, never mind elsewhere. You then have to factor in that most stallions do not command a particular big fee. Some fees are kept private but from the 640 with a listed fee, 435 were going for less than £10,000.
Top Stallion Fees
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Here is the list of the most expensive stallions, ordered by their stud fee. These are among the 18 global stallions commanding a fee of £100,000 or more.
Frankel – £350,000
Sitting in first place on the TRC Global Rankings is Frankel who has been able to replicate his success on the course off it. Some of his most notable progeny include Westover, Alpinista, Inspiral and Cracksman. Recent successes have seen a sharp incline in Frankel’s stud fee, (£200,000 in 2022 and £275,000 in 2023) so he might well become the outright most expensive stallion in 2025.
Dubawi – £350,000
Currently tied with Frankel as the most expensive stallion is Dubawi, who has been in the stud game since 2006. A firm favourite among breeders, Dubawi is seen as a safe, albeit expensive, stallion to pair up with a mare. He is the most successful stallion Britain has ever seen, racking up 266 Stakes winners and 175 Group winners. Born in 2002, the former Irish 2000 Guineas winners will not have many years as a stallion left but he will remain in high demand until then.
Curlin, Gun Runner, Into Mischief – $250,000
Trailing Dubawi and Frankel by quite some margin are the American trio of Curlin, Gun Runner and Into Mischief who all have a $250k (USD) stud fee. Between them the three stallions covered 461 mares in 2023, bringing in huge money to their respective Kentucky farms.
Sea The Stars – €200,000
As far as Irish-based sires go, there are none bigger than Sea The Stars. He has sired more than 100 Stakes winners and around 20 of his sons are at stud across Europe. Perhaps his most famous offspring is the four-time Goodwood Cup winner Stradivarius. Interestingly, Stradivarius currently commands just a £10k stud fee but it will be interesting to see if this picks up over time given his immense staying abilities.
Other Big Names
To finish, we wanted to quickly mention some other top stallions and their stud fee. Tied with Sea the Stars on €200,000 you have Siyouni and Wootton Basett. Just below these, it is back to America for Quality Road ($200,000) and Tapit ($185,000), the latter of which was sent to stud back in 2005. As for British runners, the only other outside of Dubawi and Frankel advertising a six-figure price is Kingman, a horse that suffered just one (narrow) defeat across eight starts.