Top Maryland sire Not For Love dead at 26

Edited Press Release

Not For Love, Maryland’s leading sire for more than a dozen years, was euthanized the evening of May 29 due to complications from colic. Pensioned since March 2015 at his longtime home at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake City, Maryland, the son of Mr. Prospector was 26.

The bay stallion, out of the Northern Dancer mare Dance Number, entered stud at Northview Stallion Station in 1996 after being purchased as a 5-year-old by Richard L. Golden from breeder Ogden Mills Phipps. A stakes-placed full brother to champion 2-year-old Rhythm and graded stakes winner Get Lucky, granddam of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Not For Love was a member of the tremendous stallion family descending from famed *La Troienne. His second dam was champion 2-year-old filly Numbered Account.

Not For Love made headlines with his first crop, when the 2-year-old colt La Salle Street sold for $2 million in 1999, equaling the record for a 2-year-old sold at public auction. With 17 crops to race, Not For Love has sired at least one stakes winner per crop, and 85 stakes winners total. His runners have earned nearly $72 million, topped by millionaire son Eighttofasttocatch. An incredible 84 percent of his foals of racing age have started, 80 percent of his starters have won and his average earnings per starter is more than $91,600. He was the leading North American sire standing outside of Kentucky for eight consecutive years. 

He leads all Maryland sires by lifetime progeny earnings, lifetime juvenile earnings and is the all-time leading sire by Maryland Million wins, his offspring having taken 34 Maryland Million races, including the featured Classic six times, three by Eighttofasttocatch. Three times Not For Love had as many as four winners on the Maryland Million Day card. Named Maryland Stallion of the Year a record 13 times, he currently leads all Maryland stallions on the 2016 progeny earnings list. He is the sire of more than 1,010 foals, with 21 in his final crop, now yearlings.

Not For Love has become renowned as a broodmare sire, most notably through his grandson California Chrome, the richest North American runner in history after winning this year’s $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1), and currently rated the top horse in training in the U.S. 

At the announcement of the stallion’s retirement in 2015, Golden noted: “Not For Love will set the bar in Maryland for all stallions standing there in the future.”