News Releases

Thursday, October 22, 2009Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
The Jockey Club Releases 2009 Report of Mares Bred Statistics

The Jockey Club today released Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for 2009 that further confirm the accelerated decline in North American Thoroughbred breeding activity.

Based on RMBs received through Oct. 13, 2009, The Jockey Club reports that 2,409 stallions covered 45,317 mares in North America during 2009.

The annual statistics include the number of mares bred to each stallion and represent approximately 92 percent of the mares that eventually will be reported as bred in 2009. According to historical trends, The Jockey Club expects to receive RMBs representing an additional 4,000 to 5,000 mares bred from the 2009 breeding season.

The number of stallions declined 8.9 percent from the 2,643 reported at this time in 2008, while the number of mares bred fell 13.5 percent from the 52,410 reported at this time last year.

RMB statistics for all reported stallions in 2009 are available through the Publications & Resources section of The Jockey Club’s website at jockeyclub.com.

“Our mid-August projection of 30,000 registered foals in North America for 2010 was based on initial RMB returns, and these latest statistics reinforce that estimate,” said Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s vice president of registration services.

Iuliano noted that the largest decline in breeding occurred at the top end of the market, where the number of stallions covering 100 or more mares declined for the fourth consecutive year, from 113 in 2008 to 85 in 2009.

These stallions accounted for 24.6 percent of the total mares reported bred this year, down from 28.0 percent in 2008.

In 2009, Giant’s Causeway and Medaglia d’Oro led all stallions with 194 mares bred. Rounding out the top five were Candy Ride (ARG), 182; Lion Heart, 180; and Corinthian, 171.

Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky traditionally paces North America. During 2009, Kentucky’s 307 reported stallions covered 19,059 mares, or 42.1 percent of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions declined 10.6 percent against the 21,317 reported at this time last year.

Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred in 2009 through Oct. 13, 2009, only Pennsylvania stallions covered more mares in 2009 than in 2008, as reported at this time last year. Pennsylvania jumped from tenth to fifth in number of mares bred in 2009, while Louisiana surpassed California for third. The top 10 states and provinces, ranked by number of mares reported bred in 2009 through Oct. 13, 2009, are:

State/Province 2008
Stallions
2009
Stallions
Pct.
Change
2008
Mares
Bred
2009
Mares
Bred
Pct.
Change
Kentucky 318 307 -3.5 21,317 19,059 -10.6
Florida 202 155 -23.3 5,316 4,041 -24.0
Louisiana 230 216 -6.1 3,515 3,048 -13.3
California 233 201 -13.7 3,817 2,946 -22.8
Pennsylvania 89 97 +9.0 1,237 1,603 +29.6
New York 85 70 -17.6 1,839 1,561 -15.1
Texas 191 174 -8.9 1,722 1,411 -18.1
Ontario 77 72 -6.5 1,272 1,260 -0.9
New Mexico 128 124 -3.1 1,456 1,222 -16.1
Oklahoma 126 113 -10.3 1,335 1,222 -8.5

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.