Saturday Sires: Constitution

[Wandering Eyes]

He has a name as American as apple pie. How fitting then that Constitution has had a big week (and month) leading up to the Independence Day holiday. The WinStar Farm stallion's 'TDN Rising Star' Mindframe won his second Grade I of the year–one of just five horses to do so–in Saturday's GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs over a star-studded field while notching a 105 Beyer Speed Figure. Less than 24 hours later, Constitution's Pin Up Betty added the Anchorage Overnight Stakes in Louisville after also winning the GIII Old Forester Mint Julep Stakes earlier in the month, with her two June wins bookending additional stakes victories by Constitution's 'TDN Rising Star' Parchment Party in the GIII Belmont Gold Cup Stakes and the promising 'TDN Rising Star' Admiral Dennis in the Delaware Derby.

Constitution currently appears among the country's top five 2025 leading sires by earnings, or top four if the earnings are amended to include solely North American performances.

“I think he's very, very consistent and gets a high percentage of solid horses,” said David Hanley, WinStar's senior vice president of bloodstock services, “and now he's risen to the top of the league this year on the general sires list for runners in North America. He's only behind Into Mischief, Curlin, and Gun Runner.

“When you look at their top progeny this year–Sovereignty for Into Mischief, Journalism for Curlin, and Locked for Gun Runner–Constitution is right there with Mindframe. He stacks up with all of those horses. Now with Mindframe having beaten the Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone and last year's Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan [in the Stephen Foster], I think that puts him right at the elite status.”

Bred by Grapestock LLC and Fox Hill Farms in Kentucky, Constitution was the first of three graded winners for his dam, the Distorted Humor mare Baffled, who sold for $3.5 million at Fasig-Tipton while carrying a full-sister to him the same year he covered his first book. Such is the Constitution effect that a half-sister sold for $2 million at that same sale that year.

For his part, Constitution brought $400,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling. Twin Creeks Racing signed the ticket, but he raced in partnership for Twin Creeks and WinStar.

“He was a very talented racehorse,” said Hanley.

Named a 'TDN Rising Star' on debut, Constitution won his first three starts, including the GI Florida Derby. After missing the Classics with a hairline fracture in a cannon bone, he returned to add a GI Donn Handicap win at four. Even before the Donn, WinStar CEO and president Elliott Walden called him, 'the most exciting stallion prospect of his generation.”

Despite not necessarily expected to get early 2-year-olds, Constitution led the first-crop sire list in 2019 by both graded stakes winners (4) and winners (30) and finished second by earnings. It was a quick rise to the top levels, a spot he's showing no signs of abandoning. Constitution has eight U.S. stakes winners this year, with current international performers including Chilean Group 1 winner Spazzatura (Chi) and Chilean MGSW Medjool (Chi).

Among his first-crop runners was Tiz the Law, who won the GI Champagne Stakes at two before adding the GI Belmont Stakes, GI Travers Stakes, and GI Florida Derby at three. Now an Ashford sire and Constitution's first significant son at stud, Tiz the Law finished third in a close 2024 freshman sire race. With a joint-leading five black-type winners and two graded winners in 2024, Tiz the Law has added five graded performers in 2025 thus far.

“Constitution has so many things going on for him, including Tiz the Law, who is making a bit of an impression as a stallion as his first son to go to stud,” said Hanley. “Stallion sons Americanrevolution [first weanlings this year] and Independence Hall [first 2-year-olds] are also in the pipeline and they are both getting nice horses. Independence Hall has a lot of 2-year-olds on the watch list, with a couple out of the 2-year-old sales that were very impressive. A colt sold for $1 million at OBS March.

“Everything kind of builds to Constitution's continued success, but also his continued popularity.”

Mindframe wins Saturday's Stephen Foster, his second Grade I score this year | Julie Clark/Coady Media

Although expectations were high for Constitution as a stallion from the start, Hanley said it has been gratifying for the WinStar team to see him not only fulfill, but exceed, expectations and to be appreciated as one of the nation's leading stallions.

“For us, he's more popular this year than last year. He bred 186 mares and he's had good yearling sales. And now with a horse like Mindframe, who not only won the Stephen Foster, but also won a Grade I going seven furlongs, it shows Constitution is an elite horse.”

In his six crops ages three and up, Constitution has 39 graded winners and 77 black-type winners, including four champions in Chile from three years early in his stallion career when he shuttled. With a dozen 'TDN Rising Stars' and three seven-figure yearlings at Keeneland last September, the son of Tapit continues to make noise. Although he's had seven-figure yearlings the last three consecutive years, his yearling average and median have both consistently been on the rise with a career-high $329,708 average in 2024, as well as a career-high median of $300,000.

“I think with the mares that he has in the pipeline over the last few years, you'd expect him to get stronger, continue to get good mares, and hopefully continue to sire more Grade I winners,” said Hanley. “He's knocking out a lot of quality runners and now for him to have an elite horse like Mindframe has really put him up there with the very best stallions in America right now.”

Constitution kicked off his stallion career at $25,000 in 2016 and took the customary drop in his fourth year, going down to $15,000. That turned out to be a short-lived bargain, as his fee has steadily climbed since. The last three years, he's stood for $110,000, one of an elite group of just a dozen horses in North America currently at six figures. His own sire, Tapit, is among those six-figure stallions, as is another son of Tapit, Flightline.

A striking bay with distinctive facial markings, Constitution doesn't seem to be limited in what he throws. Like the best stallions, his runners have performed on turf and dirt, short and long, and they've been both fillies and colts.

“They tend to mature more as 3-year-olds and he gets high-class turf horses and top-class dirt horses,” said Hanley. “He's just a very good stallion all around.

“He's a beautiful horse. Physically, he's a very correct horse. A medium-sized quality mare suits him very well and he obviously gets a broad spectrum of mares seeing as he's a very well-made horse himself. While he fits a lot of mares, I think the most suitable mare for him is a medium-sized quality mare with muscle tone and plenty of quality.”

Pin Up Betty Sunday in her second Churchill stakes win of the month | Coady Media

Hanley gave a nod to Constitution's damsire, WinStar's Distorted Humor, who has emerged as one of the top broodmare sires of this generation.

“Constitution is a good mix of Tapit and Distorted Humor. I think he's got a lot of Distorted Humor in him and I think a lot of that comes through in his progeny, that will to try hard, to show speed, to have some precocity.

“Temperament-wise, Constitution is not aggressive, but he's an active, high-energy horse and I think a lot of that comes from his Distorted Humor genes on the bottom. I think he has a lot of that in his progeny.”

At 32, Distorted Humor is pensioned but remains at WinStar's stallion complex. Hanley said he is doted on at the farm, where first-crop yearling stallion Life Is Good is also out of one of his daughters.

While it would be folly to expect any young stallion to match the career accomplishments and long-term influence of Distorted Humor, Constitution is just 14 with his best-bred crops yet to reach racing age. With his books continuing to improve, there's a good chance he'll continue to trend upward. Hanley said he's on the right path.

“He's right up there with the top stallions we've had. Obviously Distorted Humor has been a champion sire several times and he would have been the best,” said Hanley. “Speightstown and Tiznow were just amazing stallions, with More Than Ready being another one. Constitution is getting to their level. I think he's on an upward trajectory and hopefully he can go on and be on par with those stallions.”

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