Warrior’s Reward is in a paddock at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky., living the pensioner’s life, but the racing and breeding syndicate that was formed in his name continues to make waves in the Keystone State, leading all operations by combined Pennsylvania breeder stallion award earnings in 2025.
Led by managing partner Donny Brown, the Warrior’s Reward Syndicate earned $891,519 last year between the two categories, finishing ahead of runner-up Uptowncharlybrown Stud at $699,777.
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The bulk of that income was generated through namesake sire Warrior’s Reward and his foals. Warrior’s Reward, a Grade 1-winning son of Medaglia d’Oro, stood six seasons at WynOaks Farm in Delta, Pa., after beginning his stud career in Kentucky, and he was pensioned to Old Friends at the end of the 2024 breeding season. His final crop of foals will be yearlings of 2026, and his oldest Pennsylvania-sired runners have just turned six, meaning the stallion is positioned for several more prime years, even though he is no longer covering mares.
The Warrior’s Reward group was comfortably in front by Pennsylvania breeder’s awards in 2025, compiling $677,967.
For horses bred and sired in Pennsylvania, breeders earn a 40 percent bonus on purse earnings for races run within the state. Runners bred in the state but sired by a horse standing elsewhere are eligible for a 20 percent bonus.
The Warrior’s Reward syndicate finished third by stallion award earnings with $213,551. Ahead of them was leader Northview Stallion Station with $272,514 and runner-up Uptowncharlybrown Stud at $221,917.
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The owner of a Pennsylvania-based stallion at the time of a foal’s conception is eligible for stallion awards generated by that foal. Stallion owners receive 10 percent of the purse earned when a registered Pennsylvania-bred and -sired runner finishes in the top three in any pari-mutuel race within the state.
The leading on-track earner for the Warrior’s Reward syndicate in both categories was the homebred Candy Reward, who tallied $74,160 in breeder’s award earnings (fourth-most of all Pennsylvania-breds in 2025) and $18,540 in stallion awards (also fourth-highest of the year).
Trained by Brandon Kulp, Candy Reward won five of six starts during her 4-year-old campaign, featuring victories on dirt, turf, and synthetic.
Her season started on the main track at Penn National Race Course in a March 7 allowance race, where she tracked the pace early in the one-mile race for Pennsylvania-breds, and took command in the second half to draw off for a 1 3/4-length win. Candy Reward remained in state-bred company when she shifted north to Presque Isle Downs for a 6 1/2-furlong allowance optional claiming race on June 23, where she quickly established dominance and hit the wire with a widening 6 3/4-length advantage over the all-weather Tapeta.
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The next stop was state-bred stakes company, as the imposing favorite for the Princess of Sylmar Stakes, a one mile and 70-yard race at Presque Isle Downs on July 28. The filly was firmly in command by the time she hit the stretch and stretched her lead to 9 3/4 lengths at the finish. Just a few weeks after her stakes win, Candy Reward was shipped back to Penn National for a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance race, where she tracked the leader and got up late to win by a half-length.
Candy Reward’s lone defeat of the season came in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes, where she was hampered by a wide trip, but still managed to nearly earn graded black type for her resume with a fourth-place finish. She remained in open competition for her final start of 2025, repeating as the winner of the H.B.P.A. Stakes at Presque Isle on Oct. 6.
Candy Reward currently sits with a lifetime record of eight wins in 13 starts, for earnings of $318,055. Adding the horse’s various Pennsylvania incentive earnings to that figure over her three seasons of racing displays an incredible return on investment.
The Warrior’s Reward syndicate purchased her dam, the unraced Twirling Candy mare Unimaginable, for $20,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Candy Reward was the result of the first mating between Unimaginable and Warrior’s Reward, and the second foal from the cross – the 3-year-old filly Eye Candy Warrior – is a winner in 2026. The pair also conceived the unraced 2-year-old colt Mr. Monk before Warrior’s Reward was pensioned from stud duty.
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Unimaginable is herself a half-sister to Grade 2-placed stakes winner Legacy, and stakes-placed runners Five Hearts and Brilliant Future. The latter is also a black type producer.
Leading Earners Of Pennsylvania Breeder & Stallion Awards In 2025
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Apr 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.