Roadster rises to fourth in freshman sire standings ahead of OBS sale

Roadster has become the kind of regional sire that can alter the conversation around Ocala. Sitting fourth in the freshman sire standings as of June 15, he has already produced eight runners, three winners and $169,850 in progeny earnings, trailing only Life Is Good, Golden Pal and Early Voting on the early national leaderboard.

That position mattered as the Ocala Breeders’ Sales June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale began its three-day run June 16-18, with sessions starting at 10:30 a.m. ET and a catalog of 909 horses before supplements. Every one of the top 10 freshman sires in the standings was represented in the sale, turning OBS June into a direct test of how the market values the crop’s leading young stallions. For Roadster, the show of force was especially significant because he stands at Ocala Stud, a Florida operation that has long had to prove it can compete with bigger commercial centers.

Ocala Stud’s pitch starts with geography and infrastructure. The farm consists of three properties totaling 500 acres in the Ocala and Marion County area, and its main farm includes a 5/8-mile training track with a six-stall starting gate. Roadster entered stud there in 2023 at a fee of $7,500 stands and nurses, unchanged from 2023 through 2026. His first reported foal was a filly out of the Kiss the Kid mare Yooou Den, born Jan. 8, 2024.

The horse himself gives the profile some credibility. Racing for Speedway Stables and trainer Bob Baffert, Roadster won his debut at Del Mar in July 2018 by 4 1/4 lengths, was third in the Del Mar Futurity, then later won the Santa Anita Derby and finished second in the Malibu Stakes. He showed enough early speed to matter and enough class to stretch that speed into top-level form, a combination breeders still chase in the juvenile market.

That profile was on display again through his first winner. Daniel Alonso’s Ford Roadster broke through April 19 at Gulfstream Park in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight, giving Roadster his first winner and, with Strike finishing second, his first exacta of runners. Ford Roadster also earned a $25,000 Florida Sire Racing Incentive bonus, a reminder that regional incentives can push a young sire’s commercial case well beyond the racetrack itself.

Roadster’s OBS class has given buyers a fresh look at that ceiling. He is represented by 13 juveniles at the sale, and the headliner during the under-tack show was Hip 792, Southern Road, a gray or roan colt who worked in :10 for consignor Omar Ramirez. Southern Road, out of the Jess’s Dream mare Roarsrayofsunshine, is a half sibling to graded stakes winner Hurricane Ike and graded-stakes-placed Drums of Thunder. In a market that rewards both speed and staying power, Roadster is trying to turn a regional buzz into national race relevance.