Skip Away, whose 2001 fee has been reduced to $30,000.
Breeders hoping to breed their mares to Horse of the Year Skip Away at Rick Trontz' Hopewell Farm near Midway, Ky., won't have to dig as deep in their pockets as in previous years. Skip Away, who stood the past two seasons for $50,000, will stand for $30,000 this year.Skip Away's first foals were sold as weanlings in 2000, and 10 of them averaged $61,900. Two of them commanded six figures, but the overall average was disappointing when compared to his stud fee. As a covering stallion, the 10 mares in foal to his cover averaged $114,308, with one mare, Magical Maiden, selling for $400,000.Eight-year-old Skip Away (Skip Trial -- Ingot Way, by Diplomat Way) was Horse of the Year and champion older male in 1998 and an Eclipse Award winner two other years. He covered 134 mares his first season (in 1999) and 139 in 2000.
