LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Smarty Jones's racing career is now closed, and so, apparently, is the sale of shares in the 3-year-old stallion prospect. Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky., offered 20 shares for $650,000 each, and, according to Dan Rosenberg, president of Three Chimneys, the demand easily outstripped availability.

"They sold out in a matter of several days," Rosenberg said Friday. "Our problem in selling the shares was saying no to people we didn't want to say no to."

Rosenberg said that 20 separate individuals or entities bought the shares. "Demand exceeded supply, and because demand exceeded supply, we doled them out," he said.

Rosenberg said that the stud fee for Smarty Jones, a son of Elusive Quality, would likely be announced "within the next couple of weeks." So far, there's no word on when Smarty Jones will arrive at his new residence, an event that undoubtedly will draw a lot of interest from Smarty fans. Even though the colt hasn't arrived for breeders' inspection, Rosenberg said the Three Chimneys office has gotten a number of mare nominations, though he wouldn't identify specific potential mates for Smarty just yet.

"Obviously, the interest in him is quite high," Rosenberg said. "We're excited to have him, and the public has been terribly, terribly supportive of the decision."

Smarty Jones's owners and breeders, Roy and Pat Chapman, announced their decision last week to retire the colt because of chronic bruising in his fetlock joints. The problem isn't necessarily career-ending, but the Chapmans cited a desire not to risk their classic winner.

The deal to bring Smarty Jones to Three Chimneys was worth a total of $39 million, with the Chapmans retaining half of the 60 shares in the horse. Three Chimneys kept 10 shares.