The Jockey Club is projecting a 2005 North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 37,200, equivalent to the forecast for the 2004 foal crop announced at this time last year.

The foal crop projection is computed by using Reports of Mares Bred (RMB’s) so far received for the 2004 breeding season. RMB’s are to be filed by Aug. 1st of each breeding season.

“The current pace of RMB submissions closely resembles that from last year so we expect both the 2005 and 2004 foal crops to be similar in size after all foal registration applications are eventually received,” said Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s vice president of registration services.

The 37,200 estimate for both 2005 and 2004 is slightly above the projected 2003 registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 37,000.

Foal registration is to be completed within 12 months of the birth of the foal. However, late registration is available for additional fees, making actual foal crop counts problematic before Dec. 31st of the crop’s two-year-old year, the time by which the vast majority of the foal crop has been registered.

Additional foal crop information is available in The Jockey Club’s Online Fact Book, accessible through www.jockeyclub.com.