Crawford Farms, Christina and Nancy Takter, Black Horse Racing and Bender Sweden Inc. have announced that Karl, the 2023 Dan Patch Award winner as Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year and 2024 Hambletonian winner, will stand his first season at stud in 2026.
A brilliant two-year-old, Karl won two races faster than 1:52 in his freshman season on his way to nine wins from 10 starts, a two-year-old record of 1:51.2 and $1,041,977 in earnings. Karl’s three-year-old campaign was highlighted by capturing harness racing’s crown jewel, The Hambletonian, in 1:51.3 in a driving rainstorm on a track with a -2 variant.
Karl retired with 18 wins, two seconds and one third in 23 lifetime starts, career winnings of $2,424,611 and a lifetime record of 1:50.2. Karl is the only trotter in history to earn $1 million at the age of both two and three.
According to trainer Nancy Takter, “Karl’s raw speed, natural talent and flawless gait are all exceptional qualities any breeder would value in a stallion. But his greatest asset? His intelligence. Karl understood what winning meant, and every time he stepped on the track, he gave nothing less than his absolute best to achieve it.”
His U.S. Hall of Fame driver Yannick Gingras added, “Best trotting colt I have ever driven. Period. Karl had everything you would want in a racehorse and then some. It’s a shame his career ended early because I believe he could have accomplished some special things.”
Karl will stand at Crawford Farms in Versailles, Ky. under the management of Dr. J Stallion Management and will be collected at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. His introductory stud fee is $15,000 USD live foal. A limited number of shares will be made available for purchase. Interested breeders should contact Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky at [email protected] or 717-578-7395 for more information.
(with files from Dr. J Stallion Management)