Foal crop projected to hold steady for 2016

The Jockey Club has released statistics for the 2015 breeding season and 2016 foaling year, showing nearly even statistics as compared to last year at this time.

The Jockey Club reports that 1,923 stallions covered 36,964 mares in North America during 2015, according to statistics compiled through Sept. 15. These have resulted in 21,991 live foals of 2016 being reported, a figure The Jockey Club estimates to be approximately 90 percent complete. In addition, 2,457 no foal reports have been received.

The reporting of live foals of 2016 is down 0.5 percent from last year at this time when reports had been received for 22,104 live foals born in 2015. Ultimately, the 2016 registered foal crop is projected to reach 22,500.

The number of stallions declined 8.6 percent from the 2,103 reported for 2014 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred declined 0.7 percent from the 37,244 reported for 2014.

Stallions based in Kentucky, which annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding, accounted for 55.4 percent of the live foals reported for 2016. Among the 10 states and provinces with the most mares covered in 2015, three produced more live foals in 2016 than in 2015: Kentucky, Ontario, and Texas. Breeding statistics are by conception area and do not indicate the state in which a foal was born. The Jockey Club also cautions that the released statistics do not represent a stallion’s fertility.

The statistics include 439 progeny of stallions standing in North America but foaled abroad, as reported by foreign stud book authorities. The statistics also include 109 mares bred to 28 stallions in North America on Southern Hemisphere time; the majority of these mares have not yet foaled.