Jockey Club statistics indicate Thoroughbred foal crop continues to contract

The Jockey Club released statistics for the 2019 breeding season and 2020 foaling season on Monday that continue to show a contracting Thoroughbred industry in North America.

The Jockey Club reported that 1,552 stallions covered 31,198 mares in North America during 2019, according to statistics compiled through Sept. 29. These breedings have resulted in 19,677 live foals of 2020 being reported to the breed organization, which estimates that the number of live foal reports is approximately 85 percent to 90 percent complete, with the 2020 registered foal crop ultimately predicted to reach 20,500. The Jockey Club also received 2,467 no foal reports for the season.

The reporting of live foals of 2020 is down 3.4 percent from last year at this time, when The Jockey Club had received reports for 20,363 live foals of 2019.

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The number of stallions for 2019 declined 4.8 percent from the 1,630 reported for 2018 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred declined 4 percent from the 32,508 reported for 2018.

Kentucky, which annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding activity, was not immune to the declines. Kentucky-based stallions accounted for 55.3 percent of the mares reported bred in North America in 2019 and 60.2 percent of the live foals reported for 2020. The 17,240 mares reported bred to 228 Kentucky stallions in 2019 have produced 11,851 live foals, a 2.9 percent decrease on the 12,200 Kentucky-sired live foals of 2019 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2019 decreased 1.2 percent compared to the 17,446 reported for 2018 at this point.

Among the 10 states and provinces with the most mares covered in 2019, three produced more live foals in 2020 than in 2019 as reported at this time last year – Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

The Jockey Club’s statistics include 429 progeny of stallions standing in North America but foaled abroad, as reported by foreign stud book authorities at the time of publication. The report also includes 79 mares bred to 14 stallions in North America on Southern Hemisphere time; the majority of these mares have not yet foaled.

The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred listing the number of mares bred and statistics for individual stallions in 2020 will be released later this month.