Into Mischief's Latest Milestone Adds to His Greatness

There are achievements in sports that, without explanation, speak of the athlete's body of greatness. In baseball, it's 500 home runs. In football, it's 60,000 passing yards. It's 500 goals in hockey; in basketball, it's 25,000 points. You get the idea. Those are just a sample of the ways sports classify the best of the best. Thoroughbred horse racing is special. Just like any other sport, there are benchmarks that horses can achieve that illustrate their greatness. Think winning the Triple Crown or earning the most money, for example. But unlike other competitive endeavors, horse racing greatness continues after the playing career comes to an end. Stallions' progeny not only carry on their sire's legacy but can grow it. A reminder of that came June 28 when Deep Flame won the Maxfield Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old colt is the 200th black-type stakes winner for Into Mischief. That's a big number, not unlike the ones mentioned earlier. Let's put this into some perspective. Two hundred black-type winners is a more exclusive group than 500 home runs (28), 60,000-yard passers (10), 500 goals (50), or 25,000-point scorers (27). There are now eight stallions who have sired 200 black-type winners. That group of eight is a who's who of not just North American sires, but of global excellence. Atop this list is Ireland-bred Galileo, who sired 387 black-type winners. He is followed by Danehill (347); Dubawi (IRE) (320); Sadler's Wells, sire of Galileo (294); More Than Ready (236); Australia-bred Exceed And Excel (222), a son of Danehill; Japan's Deep Impact (209); and now Into Mischief with 200. This elite class was close to having another member, but Danzig's offspring came up two shy of 200. All of this is further evidence arguing the case that Into Mischief is one of the greatest sires of all time. His seven consecutive years as the top sire by progeny earnings in North America are tied with Bold Ruler for the longest streak in the modern era. He also had an unfathomable $34.6 million in earnings from his children in 2024. While Into Mischief currently ranks second among North American sires this year, there is little reason to believe he is slowing down or that he is ready to loosen his grip as top stallion. He leads all sires in the number of runners, number of black-type winners, black-type runners, graded stakes winners, and grade 1 winners. The standard bearer began his stud career in 2009 and stood this year at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington for $250,000. Inside the Numbers The General Sires List for North America has two points worth noting over the last two weeks. First, Not This Time added a little cushion in his battle with Into Mischief for the top spot with Magnitude's win in the $2 million Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) June 27 at Churchill Downs. The gap between Nos. 1 and 2 is just shy of $2.5 million. This battle has been and will continue to rage at least through the Breeders' Cup World Championships. Secondly, with Mendelssohn in Chile, he is no longer under consideration for top sire in North America. Joining the fray of the Top 25 is Medaglia d'Oro, who was not ranked two weeks ago.