News Releases

Thursday, October 21, 2010Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
The Jockey Club Releases 2010 Report of Mares Bred Statistics

The Jockey Club today released Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for the 2010 breeding season. Based on RMBs received through Oct. 13, 2010, The Jockey Club reports that 2,186 stallions covered 40,576 mares in North America during 2010.

The annual statistics include the number of mares bred to each stallion and represent approximately 90% of the mares that eventually will be reported as bred in 2010. According to historical trends, The Jockey Club expects to receive RMBs representing an additional 4,000 to 4,500 mares bred from the 2010 breeding season.

The number of stallions declined 9.3% from the 2,409 reported at this time in 2009, while the number of mares bred fell 10.5% from the 45,317 reported at this time last year.

RMB statistics for all reported stallions in 2010 are available through the Publications & Resources section of The Jockey Club’s website at jockeyclub.com.

“The decline in breeding activity in 2010 falls in line with our forecasted 10% decline for next year’s registered foal crop, from 30,000 foals in 2010 to 27,000 foals in 2011,” said Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s executive vice president and executive director.

Although the number of stallions covering 100 or more mares declined from 85 in 2009 to 82 in 2010, these stallions accounted for a greater percentage of the total mares reported bred this year — 26.8% of mares bred in 2010 versus 24.6% of mares bred in 2009.

Examining the origins of the 4,741 fewer mares bred in 2010 by stallion book size, 34.8% of the decline in mares bred occurred in stallion book sizes under 25; 16.7% occurred in stallion book sizes between 25 and 49; 34.7% occurred in stallion book sizes between 50 and 74; 8.3% occurred in stallion book sizes between 75 and 99; and 5.5% occurred in stallion book sizes of 100 or more.

In 2010, Giant’s Causeway led all stallions with 217 mares bred. Rounding out the top five were Dunkirk, 186; Kitten’s Joy, 173; and Candy Ride (ARG) and Malibu Moon, each with 172.

Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky traditionally paces North America. During 2010, Kentucky’s 266 reported stallions covered 17,303 mares, or 42.6% of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions declined 9.2% percent against the 19,059 reported at this time last year.

Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred in 2010 through Oct. 13, 2010, only Louisiana and Ontario stallions covered more mares in 2010 than in 2009, as reported at this time last year. The following table shows the top 10 states and provinces, ranked by number of mares reported bred in 2010 through Oct. 13, 2010:

State/Province 2009 Stallions 2010 Stallions Pct.
Change
2009
Mares
Bred
2010
Mares
Bred
Pct.
Change

Kentucky

307 266 -13.4 19,059 17,303 -9.2

Louisiana

216 205 -5.1 3,048 3,093 +1.5

Florida

155 123 -20.6 4,041 3,076 -23.9

California

201 184 -8.5 2,946 2,523 -14.4

Pennsylvania

97 97 0.0 1,603 1,542 -3.8

Ontario

72 78 +8.3 1,260 1,385 +9.9

New York

70 53 -24.3 1,561 1,291 -17.3

Oklahoma

113 129 +14.2 1,222 1,207 -1.2

New Mexico

124 118 -4.8 1,222 1,181 -3.4

Texas

174 142 -18.4 1,411 1,046 -25.9

Note: Each incidence in which a mare was bred to more than one stallion and appeared on multiple RMBs is counted separately. As such, mares bred totals listed in the table above may differ slightly from counts of distinct mares bred.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, 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.