Jockey Club report indicates slight decline in foal crop

This year’s North American Thoroughbred foal crop will show a slight decline, according to The Jockey Club’s report of 2017 breeding statistics and 2018 foal crop statistics released Monday.

The Jockey Club has reported that 1,778 stallions covered 34,288 mares in North America during 2017, according to statistics compiled through Sept. 26. The number of active stallions has declined 5 percent from the 1,863 reported for 2016 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred also declined 5 percent from the 36,045 reported for 2016.

These breedings have resulted in 21,130 live foals of 2018 being reported to The Jockey Club. The reporting of foals is down 2 percent from last year at this time when The Jockey Club had received reports for 21,624 live foals of 2017. In addition to the live foal reports, The Jockey Club also has received 2,516 no foal reports for this season.

The Jockey Club estimates that the number of live foals reported so far is approximately 90 percent complete. Ultimately, the 2018 registered foal crop is projected to reach 21,500.

“It is important to note that the live foals reported in The Jockey Club breeding statistics are by conception area and do not represent the state in which a foal was born,” Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club, said in a press release. “Breeding statistics also are not a representation of a stallion’s fertility record.”

Kentucky annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding activity. Kentucky-based stallions accounted for 51 percent of the mares reported bred in North America in 2017 and 59 percent of the live foals reported for 2018.

The 17,401 mares reported bred to 235 Kentucky stallions in 2017 have produced 12,370 live foals, a 0.2 percent decrease on the 12,396 Kentucky-sired live foals of 2017 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2017 decreased 3 percent compared to the 17,912 reported for 2016 at this time last year.

Rounding out the top 10 states or provinces by reported foals of 2018 behind Kentucky are California, Florida, New York, Louisiana, Ontario, Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma. Among those 10 states, only three produced more live foals in 2018 than in 2017 as reported at this time last year – Ontario (25 percent increase), New Mexico (1 percent), and Pennsylvania (29 percent).

California (8.6 percent), Florida (19.6 percent), and New York (14.8 percent) all showed significant declines in their foal crops.