News Releases

Thursday, October 20, 2011Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
The Jockey Club Releases 2011 Report of Mares Bred Statistics

The Jockey Club today released Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for the 2011 breeding season. Based on RMBs received through Oct. 12, 2011, The Jockey Club reports that 1,935 stallions covered 36,504 mares in North America during 2011.

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 2011. According to historical trends, The Jockey Club expects to receive RMBs representing an additional 3,500 to 4,000 mares bred during the 2011 breeding season.

The number of stallions declined 11.5% from the 2,186 reported at this time in 2010, while the number of mares bred fell 10.0% from the 40,576 reported at this time last year.

RMB statistics for all reported stallions in 2011 are available through the Publications & Resources section of The Jockey Club’s website at jockeyclub.com.

The number of stallions covering 100 or more mares increased from 82 in 2010 to 84 in 2011. These stallions accounted for a greater percentage of the total mares reported bred this year — 30.6% of all mares bred in 2011 versus 26.8% of all mares bred in 2010 as reported at this time last year.

Further book size analysis shows a 2.5% increase in the number of mares bred to stallions with a book size of 100 or more in 2011 when compared to 2010 as reported at this time last year; a 32.2% drop in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 75 and 99; a 17.8% decline in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 50 and 74; an 8.0% decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 25 and 49; and an 11.4% decline in mares bred to stallions with a book size fewer than 25.

In 2011, Congrats led all stallions with 205 mares bred. Rounding out the top five were Giant’s Causeway, 198; Bellamy Road, 192; Scat Daddy, 191; and Henrythenavigator, 189.

Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky traditionally leads North America. During 2011, Kentucky’s 228 reported stallions covered 15,714 mares, or 43.0% of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions declined 9.2% percent against the 17,303 reported at this time last year.

Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred in 2011 through Oct. 12, 2011, only Ontario stallions covered more mares in 2011 than in 2010, 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 2011 through Oct. 12, 2011:

State/Province 2010 Stallions 2011 Stallions Pct. Change 2010 Mares Bred 2011 Mares Bred Pct. Change
Kentucky 266 228 -14.3 17,303 15,714 -9.2
Florida 123 116 -5.7 3,076 2,876 -6.5
Louisiana 205 181 -11.7 3,093 2,674 -13.5
California 184 176 -4.3 2,523 2,446 -3.1
Ontario 78 71 -9.0 1,385 1,396 +0.8
Pennsylvania 97 77 -20.6 1,542 1,188 -23.0
New York 53 51 -3.8 1,291 1,147 -11.2
New Mexico 118 118 0.0 1,181 1,066 -9.7
Texas 142 137 -3.5 1,046 1,016 -2.9
Oklahoma 129 98 -24.0 1,207 982 -18.6

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 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.