Reports show larger mare books

The trend toward larger books of mares is continuing, statistics released Thursday by The Jockey Club indicate.

The organization said that based on the current returns of its Reports of Mares Bred, a total of 58,739 mares went to 3,097 stallions during the 2005 North American breeding season. The Jockey Club said the statistics cover approximately 90 percent of the mares bred this year, and, based on past experience, it expects another 800 to 1,000 mare reports from 2005 to be returned.

The number of active stallions and mares both declined in 2005, with 4.4 percent fewer stallions covering 1 percent fewer mares than reported last year at this time. In 2004, The Jockey Club reported 59,342 mares were bred to 3,239 horses. But the number of stallions bred to 100 or more mares went up this year, from 117 last season to 126, accounting for 27 percent of the mares so far reported bred.

The top five stallions by mares bred are Lion Heart with 233; Chapel Royal, 222; Giant's Causeway, 215; Fusaichi Pegasus, 213; Monashee Mountain, 194; and Johannesburg, with 190.