The Jockey Club is projecting a North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 17,300 in 2025. This represents 700 fewer foals than the 2024 foal crop estimate of 18,000, a drop of 3.9%.
The foal crop projection is computed by using Reports of Mares Bred received to date for the 2024 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by Aug. 1 of each breeding season.
Declining foal crops have contributed to shorter fields and fewer race dates in North America. Wagering is typically highest on races with deep fields.
This year, The Jockey Club has published preliminary statistics regarding mares reported bred by state/province through the current date for 2024, 2023, and 2022.
See the statistics of active stallions and mares bred by state 2022-24
For the RMBs received through Sept. 30, The Jockey Club reports that 771 stallions covered 25,301 mares in North America during 2024.
The Jockey Club estimates an additional 2,500-3,500 mares will be reported as bred during the 2024 breeding season.
The following table shows the number of covering stallions and the number of mares bred over the past 10 years in North America as reported to The Jockey Club through Sept. 30 of the breeding year.
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
No. of |
1,488 |
1,407 |
1,375 |
1,299 |
1,175 |
1,065 |
1,016 |
955 |
880 |
825 |
771 |
|
Mares |
34,121 |
34,122 |
33,318 |
31,569 |
29,973 |
28,551 |
27,602 |
27,189 |
26,744 |
26,202 |
25,301 |
RMB statistics, sortable by stallion, mares bred, or state, for all reported stallions in 2024 are available through the Fact Book section of The Jockey Club's website.
Kentucky traditionally leads North America in Thoroughbred breeding activity. In 2024, Kentucky's 192 reported stallions covered 16,543 mares, or 65% of all mares reported bred in North America. Data based on stallion location is available here.
|
Mares Bred |
1 - 49 |
50 - 99 |
100 - 149 |
150 - 199 |
200 - 250 |
>250 |
|
No. of Stallions |
619 |
73 |
28 |
41 |
7 |
3 |
The following table shows the number of stallions that covered 200 or more mares and the number of mares bred by those stallions in North America as reported to The Jockey Club through Sept. 30 of the breeding year.
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
Stallions covering |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
8 |
12 |
12 |
16 |
14 |
10 |
|
Mares bred by |
609 |
850 |
879 |
883 |
1,124 |
1,840 |
2,719 |
2,598 |
3,463 |
3,213 |
2,210 |
Practical Joke had the highest number of mare's bred in 2024 with 277 followed by Justify (263), Gunite (256), Golden Pal (209), Elite Power (203), Uncle Mo (202), Gun Runner (200), Pappacap (200), Taiba (200), and Vekoma (200).
In addition, RMB information on stallions that bred mares in North America is available through report 36P or a subscription service at equineline.com/ReportOfMaresBred.
Stallion owners who have not returned their RMBs for the 2024 breeding season are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Interactive Registration, which enables registered users to perform virtually all registration-related activities over the Internet, is the most efficient means of submitting RMBs and is available at registry.jockeyclub.com.
The 2023 breeding statistics, which includes data for live foal reports for the 2024 foaling season, will be released later this month.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
