Multiple leading Pennsylvania sire Cloud Computing is being purchased by Rodney and Sharon Eckenrode, the owners of Equistar Training and Breeding.
The 12-year-old son of Maclean's Music and winner of the 2017 Preakness Stakes (G1) previously stood at Dr. William "Doc" Solomon's Pin Oak Lane Farm. Solomon died peacefully at his home May 5, having just returned to his house after foaling a mare. Solomon was 84.
"I got a call from Mark Toothaker at Spendthrift asking if I would help finish out the season for them," Rodney Eckenrode said. "I said I would absolutely do it for them and absolutely do it for Dr. Solomon. As it turned out, the call for assistance turned into a purchase."
Eckenrode said Cloud Computing adds depth to his roster that already includes dual 2004 American classic winner Smarty Jones, who just missed sweeping the Triple Crown by a length to Birdstone in the Belmont Stakes (G1), and Brody's Cause , who was a grade 1 winner at 2 and 3 with victories in the 2015 Breeders' Futurity (G1) and 2016 Blue Grass Stakes (G1).
Cloud Computing arrived May 10 at Equistar, near Annville, Pa., east of Harrisburg, and resumed covering mares May 11.
"It is bittersweet, but I am happy to do this for Doc because he had been very supportive of everything we were doing here, and I supported him," Eckenrode said. "He was a staple in Pennsylvania horse breeding for 60-plus years. He will be greatly missed."
READ: Dr. Solomon of Pin Oak Lane Farm Dies at 84
Cloud Computing stood his first season at Pin Oak Lane in 2023. The stallion made an immediate impact in the regional breeding market by becoming the leading Pennsylvania stallion by progeny earnings and number of winners in 2024 and 2025. He continues his reign as the leading Pennsylvania stallion as of May 12 by number of winners with 39 and progeny earnings at $1,638,536. Cloud Computing is also leading the Mid-Atlantic sire standings by earnings.
From five crops of racing age, Cloud Computing has sired 210 winners that include eight black-type winners and a total of 19 black-type performers. His top runners include grade 2 winner I'm Very Busy, who won the 2024 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) and was runner-up in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T), and Chilean group 1 winner Zajarova, who won the 2023 Mil Guineas Maria Luisa Solari Falabella (G1) and placed in two other group stakes.
Cloud Computing's progeny to date have collectively earned more than $14.6 million and average $47,210 per starter. He stands for $3,500.
