Breeding of Thoroughbred Horses DeclinesBy Kentucky Equine Research Staff · October 10, 2011
With about 85% of this year’s records in, The Jockey Club reported that the Thoroughbred foal crop will number about 27,000 live foals in 2011.
The foals are the offspring of 2,904 stallions that bred 44,184 mares in North America in 2010. The total represents a drop from figures for 2010 when 27,233 live births were tallied.
Estimates of the 2012 foal crop are predicting that the downward spiral will continue. The Jockey Club expects only about 24,700 live foals for next year.
The number of breeding stallions declined just over 7% in 2011. Broodmare numbers were also down more than 10% compared to the total for 2010.
David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, stated that he felt the declining birthrate might actually help the industry because quality animals could bring higher prices at horse sales. The recent Keeneland September auction of yearlings, where a number of untried youngsters sold for prices in excess of a million dollars, supports this possibility. The overall gross for horses sold was up 22% over the 2010 sale, and the average price per horse rose more than 17% from last year’s figure.
