With nearly two months in the books, here are a few take-aways among this year's active stallions in Maryland. . .
* Cupid ranks as the Mid-Atlantic region's leading sire by progeny earnings through Feb. 25 with nearly $625,000. And he has the most winners of all Maryland stallions during that span, counting 15. With offspring campaigning all over the country (as well as in Puerto Rico) he's had three stakes performers -- his millionaire daughter Sterling Silver finishing second in the Inside Information Stakes-G2 at Gulfstream in late January; Cupids Crush finishing second in her seasonal debut in the Marie G. Krantz Memorial at Fair Grounds a week earlier; and 4-year-old filly Casta Diva, a Grade 1 winner last year at Camarero Race Track, taking the Clasico Dia de Reyes Stakes-G2 at the track to start the year. Her record is 18-15-2-1, all in Puerto Rico, for earnings of $309,919. Last year Cupid sired six stakes winners plus seven stakes-placed.
Maiden special weight winners this year have won at Santa Anita (Piney Woods), Sam Houston (Lebombo) and Charles Town (Peaceful Union). This weekend he has 3-year-olds entered in maiden special weights at Oaklawn, Laurel and Fair Grounds.
His daughter Thrill Seeker, a winner first time out last November and second in the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie Stakes in her only juvenile starts, is entered in the Louisiana Broodmare of the year Charged Cotton Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 28.
Standing his third Maryland season at Atlanta Hall Farm in Monkton, Cupid's oldest Maryland-sired runners are yearlings this year.
* Blofeld is one of three Mid-Atlantic sires with earnings in excess of $500,000 to date (Pennsylvania sire Cloud Computing, with near twice as many starters, is the third). The Murmur Farm stallion has two stakes performers thus far in 2026, both stakes winners in 2025 -- Code of Silence and Iniziamo, the latter in Peru. Code of Silence captured the Maryland Juvenile Stakes in December and in his most recent start was third in Laurel's Spectacular Bid Stakes on Feb. 4.
* Golden Lad has the richest earner in the region, his 5-year-old daughter Takethemoneyhoney having earned $100,000 in her two starts -- a dominating victory in the Geisha Stakes in January and then missing by a nose in the Barbara Fritchie in February. A six-time winner, with three seconds, in nine starts, she had total earnings of $351,770. Three of her wins were in stakes.
Three-year-filly Our Golden Gator has made two career starts -- a stellar debut in January at Parx where she drew off easily for the score, and a third in Aqueduct's Ruthless Stakes in February. She returns to the entries at Parx on March 3 in the mile and a sixteenth Main Line Stakes.
With the retirement of Great Notion at their Northview Stallion Station home in Chesapeake City, Golden Lad now ranks as Maryland's leading lifetime sire by progeny earnings (from seven crops to race).
* Northview Stallion Station's Engage has highest average earnings per runner among Maryland sires and is the leading second-crop sire in the region. He's had nine starters this year from his first crop, three winners, including stakes performer Close the Gate, who has battled hard in his four starts, all at Laurel and all since mid-December. After breaking his maiden by nearly 10 lengths in January, Close the Gate finished second in the Spectacular Bid Stakes and returned less than three weeks later to finish third in the Miracle Wood Stakes.
* Country Life Farm stallion Mosler is one of three Maryland sires with an early stakes winner, his speedy son Quint's Brew repeating in the Jennings Stakes in mid-January. Racing exclusively in stakes since his stakes debut in June 2024 and hitting the board all eight times, he returned looking to defend his General George Stakes title on Feb. 14 but came up short when finishing third. He's earned $80,000 this year to boost his lifetime earnings to $441,240 in 10 starts.
