Equistar acquires Preakness winner Cloud Computing, bolsters Pennsylvania breeding base

Cloud Computing already carried the kind of name recognition that changes a breeding shed, and Equistar Training and Breeding moved quickly to make him part of its program. The 2017 Preakness Stakes winner relocated to Annville, Pennsylvania, for the remainder of the 2026 breeding season, giving the Eckenrodes a proven stallion with a record that has already put him at the top of the state market.

The advertised fee was set at $3,500, a price that placed him within reach for Pennsylvania breeders looking for a stallion with both black-type credibility and a strong commercial profile. Cloud Computing arrived after previously standing at Pin Oak Lane Farm in New Freedom, where he had been in service since the 2024 breeding season. The move followed the death of Pin Oak Lane owner Dr. William Joseph “Doc” Solomon on May 5, which opened the door for the horse to change operations.

The timing also mattered because Cloud Computing had already established himself as the leading sire in Pennsylvania. On BloodHorse’s May 12 sire list, he ranked first in the state with 111 runners, 39 winners, 14 stakes winners and $1,638,536 in 2026 progeny earnings. Across five crops of racing age, he had produced 210 winners and more than $14.6 million in combined progeny earnings, the kind of numbers that give a stallion instant credibility with mare owners weighing where to send mares this season.

His offspring have given breeders the results to match the résumé. Among the best are Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes winner I’m Very Busy, Chilean Group 1 winner Zajarova, and stakes winners Big Data, Wonderrand, Royal Justice, Neural Network, Louisiana Liberty and Randemonium. That depth of production is what turns a Preakness winner from a familiar name into a serious regional breeding force.

Cloud Computing earned that reputation on the track with a short but important career. He won on debut in his 3-year-old season, was second in the Gotham Stakes and third in the Wood Memorial before his connections skipped the Kentucky Derby and pointed for Pimlico. There, he won the Preakness by a head over Classic Empire under Javier Castellano. The son of Maclean’s Music out of the A.P. Indy mare Quick Temper finished his career with 2 wins from 8 starts and $1,125,200 in earnings, and now Equistar will try to turn that race record into even more breeding traction in Pennsylvania.