Jockey Club expects no growth in 2013 foal crop

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Jockey Club expects the North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop to hold steady at least through 2013, according to figures the registry released Saturday afternoon that project the 2013 registered crop at 24,700.

That is the same number the Jockey Club projected last year for the 2012 foal crop, the smallest crop since 1971, which had 24,301 registered foals. Foal crop projections are based on the Reports of Mares Bred that The Jockey Club receives by the reports’ Aug. 1 due date each year.

The Jockey Club’s executive director, Matt Iuliano, also announced Saturday that the organization has revised its foal crop projections downward for 2010 and 2011, trimming its original estimates by 1,500 foals for each year. “The rate of registered foals produced from the number of mares bred has not met historical rates for these two foal crops,” Iuliano said.

That lowers the 2010 projected foal crop to 28,500 and the 2011 crop to 25,500.

The registered foal crop last grew in 2005, when it swelled 1.1 percent to reach 38,361 foals. It has dropped steadily each year since then, largely as breeders respond to financial pressures, including the global financial crisis and concerns about oversupply in the Thoroughbred yearling auction market.

◗ Stella F. Thayer and Peter S. Willmott have been elected to the board of stewards of the Jockey Club, filling the expired positions of Dell Hancock and D.G. Van Clief Jr., who served four-year terms. Thayer is president and treasurer of Tampa Bay Downs and president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Willmott is the chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.