News Releases

Thursday, October 18, 2007Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
The Jockey Club Releases 2007 Report of Mares Bred Statistics

The Jockey Club today released Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for 2007 that show both an increase in Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky and a second consecutive decline in the number of North American stallions covering at least 100 mares.

Based on RMBs received through Oct. 11, 2007, The Jockey Club reports that 2,808 stallions covered 56,796 mares in North America during 2007.

The statistics include the number of mares bred to each stallion and represent approximately 90 percent of the mares bred in 2007. The Jockey Club expects to receive an additional 800 to 1,000 RMBs from the 2007 breeding season, according to historical trends.

The number of stallions fell 8.0 percent from the 3,053 reported at this time in 2006, while the number of mares bred declined 4.4 percent from the 59,434 reported at this time last year.

“The number of stallions has persistently declined over the last two decades but the percentage decline to date for 2007 is larger than in recent years,” said Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s vice president of registration services. “We encourage those who haven’t already done so to submit their RMBs as soon as possible to not only avoid delays in receiving their Service Certificates but to provide us with a good statistical base for assessing the 2008 foal crop.”

In North America during 2007, 125 stallions were bred to 100 or more mares, one fewer than covered that amount in 2006 and three less than the record 128 stallions to do so in 2005. Of those 125 stallions, 102 stood in Kentucky, which in 2006 was home to 94 stallions that covered at least 100 mares. Other states and provinces in which stallions covered 100 or more mares were Florida (12 stallions), California (3), Maryland (3), New York (2), Arkansas (1), Louisiana (1) and Ontario (1).

Stormy Atlantic led all stallions in 2007 with 199 mares bred, four more than Johannesburg (195). Rounding out the top five were Wildcat Heir (177), With Distinction (177) and Giant’s Causeway (176).

Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky traditionally paces North America. During 2007, Kentucky’s 333 reported stallions covered 21,724 mares, or 38.2 percent of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions increased 2.6 percent against the 21,172 reported at this time last year.

The top 10 states and provinces, ranked by number of mares reported bred through Oct. 11, 2007, are:


State/Province

2007
Stallions

% of All Stallions
2007
Mares Bred
% of All
Mares Bred

Kentucky

333 11.9% 21,724 38.2%

Florida

211 7.5% 6,376 11.2%

California

255 9.1% 4,447 7.8%

Louisiana

238 8.5% 3,780 6.7%

New York

92 3.3% 1,967 3.5%

Texas

205 7.3% 1,935 3.4%

New Mexico

137 4.9% 1,775 3.1%

Maryland

47 1.7% 1,384 2.4%

Oklahoma

120 4.3% 1,381 2.4%

Ontario

66 2.4% 1,257 2.2%

RMB statistics for all reported stallions in 2007 are available through the Publications & Resources section of The Jockey Club’s website at http://www.jockeyclub.com.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. The Jockey Club fulfills that longstanding commitment by serving the industry through its family of companies and by providing support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives.