News Releases

Friday, September 13, 2013Contact: Shannon Luce (859) 224-2716
The Jockey Club Releases 2012 Breeding Statistics

The Jockey Club today reported that 2,392 stallions covered 37,908 mares in North America during 2012, according to statistics compiled through Sept. 9, 2013. These breedings have resulted in 22,001 live foals of 2013 being reported to The Jockey Club on Live Foal Reports received as of Sept. 9, 2013.

The Jockey Club estimates that the number of live foals reported so far is approximately 90 percent complete. The reporting of live foals of 2013 is down 2.2 percent from last year at this time when The Jockey Club had received reports for 22,500 live foals of 2012.

In addition to the 22,001 live foals of 2013 reported through Sept. 9, The Jockey Club had also received 2,891 No Foal Reports for the 2013 foaling season. Ultimately, the 2013 registered foal crop is projected to reach 23,000.

The number of stallions declined 8.7 percent from the 2,620 reported for 2011 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred decreased 4.8 percent from the 39,838 reported for 2011.

The 2012 breeding statistics are available alphabetically by stallion name through the Publications and Resources link on The Jockey Club homepage at jockeyclub.com.

Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s executive vice president and executive director, stated that the breeding statistics are not a measurement of the live foals born in each state or province, but are a count of live foals by conception area, regardless of where the foals were born. He also reiterated that the statistics should not be taken to represent the final fertility record of any single stallion or conception area.

Kentucky annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding activity. Kentucky-based stallions accounted for 41.1 percent of the mares reported bred in North America in 2012 and 48.8 percent of the live foals reported for 2013.

The 15,569 mares reported bred to 249 Kentucky stallions in 2012 have produced 10,726 live foals, a 2.1 percent decrease on the 10,960 Kentucky-sired live foals of 2012 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2012 declined 2.2 percent against the 15,918 reported for 2011 at this time last year.

Among the 10 states and provinces in which stallions covered at least 1,000 mares in 2012, only Florida and New York stallions produced more live foals in 2013 than in 2012 as reported at this time last year. The following table shows the 10 states and provinces, ranked by number of state/province-sired live foals of 2013 reported through Sept. 9, 2013.

  2012 Mares Bred 2012 Live Foals 2013 Live Foals Percent Change
Kentucky 15,569 10,960 10,726 -2.1%
Florida 3,187 1,642 1,751 6.6%
California 2,475 1,600 1,582 -1.1%
Louisiana 2,306 1,344 1,172 -12.8%
New York 1,664 713 971 36.2%
Ontario 1,350 700 684 -2.3%
Pennsylvania 1,124 628 608 -3.2%
New Mexico 1,127 585 503 -14.0%
Oklahoma 1,124 509 470 -7.7%
Texas 1,014 444 417 -6.1%

The statistics include 322 progeny of stallions standing in North America but foaled abroad, as reported by foreign stud book authorities at the time of publication. In this category, 103 live foals by North American stallions were reported from Republic of Korea, 60 from Great Britain, and 42 from Ireland. Remaining countries on the list are Philippines, 23; Japan, 19; Mexico, 17; Brazil, 13; France, 11; Jamaica, 10; Argentina, 5; India, 5; Thailand, 5; Qatar, 3; Chile, 2; Dominican Republic, 2; Ecuador, 1; Sweden, 1.

The report also includes 75 mares bred to 30 stallions in North America on Southern Hemisphere time. The majority of these mares have not foaled.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred racing and breeding, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms, among others. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.