Off topic , but why do so many horses retire after the triple crown series of races? I don’t follow racing, but I hear they are at their peak as three year olds, run for the triple crown, then retire.
Breeding ...
Because winning horses command the highest stud fee’s. Make more studding them out then racing them and racing them risks injury or worse. (Horse breaks a leg, it’s typically put down for example.)
They retire horses after the triple crown, if they do well, to send them off to stud. A horse can make much more money in stud fees. Curlin, one of the current sire favorites, gets $150,000 per mare.
If they kept racing there’s a chance of injury and losing the stud fees.
Off topic , but why do so many horses retire after the triple crown series of races? I don’t follow racing, but I hear they are at their peak as three year olds, run for the triple crown, then retire.”””
Because their value as a breeding stallion is very high at that point. Not worth harming the horse in more races when each mare’s breeding fee is easily $100,000 per cover. Most stallions are also insured against them being sterile. Cigar was sterile....no babies by him.
Thorobreds still do LIVE COVER-—No collection of semen & artificial insemination by the Veterinarian.
Other breeds do AI & also do ‘embryo flushing’ so the same mare & stud can produce more than one baby per year.
Stud fees from a healthy horse are much greater than an injured horse that had to be destroyed is my guess.
Same reason Olympians retire after getting a gold. It would be embarrassing after that to lose a whole bunch. And your value goes down also.
Horses most usually improve as they age and mature (even elder triple crown winners defeat younger). Horses usually have a short racing life if they are very successful or prematurely injured. It is much more lucrative and risk averse to breed than to race (the insurance alone for the latter is astronomical). Justify’s sire was a wonderfully successful stud (i.e. he had four sons in this year’s Kentucky Derby), so I’m sure Justify especially will be retired sooner than later as they want to perpetuate those genes.