The top of the Pennsylvania sire standings hasn't changed much over the past few years.
Once the mighty Jump Start took over the top of the podium six years ago, he has yet to relinquish it, and his rival Weigelia has never been far behind. However, Jump Start's death in 2019 means his position at the head of the class will eventually open up and be claimed by one of Pennsylvania's younger sires.
The class of stallions poised to take over in the long-term, those with five crops of racing age or less, each have their own unique sets of circumstances, but in the meantime, they have been making their owners five-figure sums in Pennsylvania stallion awards.
When a registered Pennsylvania-bred and -sired runner finishes in the top three at Parx Racing, Penn National, or Presque Isle Downs, the owner of their sire receives a 10 percent bonus of the purse share, which can add up quickly for a stallion with an army of runners in the state.
The clear leader in the class with five crops of racing age or less is El Padrino, whose long-term potential was snuffed out in 2017 when he died following colic surgery.
El Padrino left behind four crops, all now at racing age, and those runners have earned the stallion's owner, Northview Stallion Station, $70,284 in bonus money so far in 2021.
The biggest contributor to that pot has been Prince of Rain, a 4-year-old gelding who has generated $11,459 in stallion awards this season, with top-three finishes in eight of his 10 starts.
After winning his debut start at Penn National on Feb. 24, Prince of Rain finished second in a trio of allowance races at Penn National and Parx, before getting back on the winning track in a Penn National allowance on May 28. He added another win two starts later in a July 28 allowance at Parx Racing.
Prince of Rain has since graduated to state-bred stakes company, highlighted by a third-place effort in the Banjo Picker Sprint Stakes at Parx on Aug. 23.
The gelding races as a homebred for the Z & Z Stables of trainer Michael Zalalas and breeder Angelo Zalalas.
With second-place Uncle Lino having moved to Maryland, the stallion with the greatest inside track to long-term success in the Pennsylvania standings among the younger stallions is arguably Godstone Farm's Well Spelled.
Well Spelled, a 12-year-old son of Spellbinder, has four crops of racing age that has made Godstone Farm $30,863 in stallion award earnings this season.
The leader among Well Spelled's stallion award earners is No More Martinis, a 4-year-old gelding who has brought in $5,155 in awards for that category. No More Martinis has won three of four starts this year, all at Penn National.
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