Double millionaire three-year-old trotting colt Apex, the 2026 Hambletonian champion, will stand stud in 2027.

The current owners and Hanover Shoe Farms announced on Tuesday, Nov. 3 that they have come to an agreement to stand the impeccably bred Walner-Mission Brief colt Apex, 3, 1:49.2 ($2,554,718) at Hanover Shoe Farms starting in 2027.

Trained by Marcus Melander, Apex has won 11 of his 20 career starts with earnings exceeding $2.5 million for owners Jeffrey Snyder of New York City, New York, S R F Stable of Delray Beach, Florida and Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky.

Russell Williams, President of Hanover Shoe Farms, noted that, “Apex’s owners are great people to work with and the terms of the syndicate have set Apex up for historic success as a stallion.”

In addition to winning an epic Grade 1 Hambletonian stretch duel in a stakes and track record 1:49.2 at The Meadowlands, Apex won a division of the Grade 3 Stanley Dancer Memorial and defended his titles in the New Jersey Classic and New Jersery Sire Stakes Platinum championships during a million-dollar sophomore campaign.

As a two-year-old, Apex was named the Dan Patch divisional award winner after victories including the Grade 1 Mohawk Million at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:51.4, a Canadian record for two-year-old male trotters at the time, and the Grade 1 Peter Haughton Memorial.

(Standardbred Canada with files from Hanover Shoe Farms)