Taylor Made Stallions has created a new "State-Bred Initiative Program" designed to help bolster state-breeding programs outside of Kentucky while also promoting several of their stallions.
The program allows approved mares to be bred to one of four stallions at their 2026 stud fee of $5,000: Angel of Empire , Dr. Schivel , Idol , and Tacitus . That stud fee will then be waived once the foal is reported as being born outside Kentucky and supporting documentation for state-bred registration is submitted. All mares submitted for seasons are subject to approval and must be designated as "State-Bred Initiative" mares at the time of submission. The full list of rules for the program is listed on Taylor Made's website.
"Regional breeders and state programs are vital to the overall health of the Thoroughbred industry, and we understand the importance of those breeders," Taylor Made vice president Travis White said in a press release. "With the foal population and the number of mares bred declining every year, we wanted to offer a unique opportunity to regional breeders in hopes of getting more foals on the ground and providing better access to what we believe are four high-quality stallions who are in various stages of their stallion careers. Hopefully, this initiative will bolster the future progress of regional programs, which will impact the industry as a whole."
The overall North American foal crop has been in steady decline since The Jockey Club reported more than 40,000 live foals in 1990. The number of live foal reports through Oct. 21 was 17,103, a 3.4% decline from 2024.
That trend is also visible on a state-by-state basis. Out of the top 10 states or provinces by number of mares bred, New York (4.8% increase) and New Mexico (0.8% increase) were the only two to show an increase in their 2025 live foal crop compared with 2024.
READ: The Jockey Club Expects 3.4% Drop in Foal Crop in 2025
"This might be a way for us to put our best foot forward and try to bolster up state-bred programs," White told BloodHorse Nov. 20. "It's expensive to ship here (to Kentucky), breed, keep a mare here. A lot of times, the mare doesn't get in foal. There are a lot of expenses that comes with sending mares here and sending them back where you're from. This at least helps reduce some of those potential expenses."
The four stallions offered are in what could be considered the challenging years of a stallion career. Typically, young stallions are most popular among commercial breeders with their first crop. Then, breeders tend to wait and see the results of that crop once they hit the racetrack several years later. Many times, that can lead to challenges to fill the books of second-, third-, and fourth-year stallions.
In 2026, grade 1 winner Angel of Empire will have his first foals hit the ground, dual grade 1 winner Dr. Schivel will see his first yearlings reach the sales ring, and grade 1 winner Idol will have his first crop hit the track. Tacitus was represented by his first 2-year-old runners in 2025, having sired grade 3-placed Silent Tactic.
Taylor Made already has a history of pitching stallions in these categories to regional markets during their early years, including the donation of stallion seasons to state auctions. White noted that Taylor Made's Not This Time , who now is considered one of the top stallions in the nation, got his start gaining winners and stakes winners in regional markets.
"If you look at some of these stallions that have gotten off to a good start, a lot of their early winners came in regional (markets)," White said. "It puts them in a program where they might have a better chance to win early on. It helps the breeder, the owner, and the stallion."
Although there is the potential to get in on the ground floor with up-and-coming stallions, Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association president Kristal Freese believes the lower-priced stallions being offered may draw mixed reactions from the state's breeders.
"I think it will give breeders another avenue to proceed," Freese said. "It will have some that will think it's great; it'll be something they want to take an opportunity on. You'll have others that, due to the fact they'll have to haul their mares to Kentucky ... it may not offset the cost. It's a long drive from Iowa to Kentucky. They're not waiving any of the mare care costs. There's all those upfront costs to be considered. But we only have a few stallions here in the state, so it certainly would be appealing."
Freese did note that she thought the deal appeared pretty straightforward in terms of the requirements necessary to receive the waived stud fee.
"I don't think it has a lot of hoops to jump through for compliance," Freese said.
Meanwhile, Indiana is right over the border from Kentucky and does not have as high an expense for shipping mares to the state. Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Association president Dan Spears said the stud fees being waived is "a really big deal."
"I think it's a good move, I hope to see it really make a difference," Spears said. "I think it's a step in the right direction, and it might get some more bites."
Spears owns five mares himself and, as a fan of Tacitus, said he would consider the stallion this upcoming season. However, he said for the program to really take off, they'd need "next tier" stallions to be the ones on offer.
After speaking with some of his board members about the offering, Spears said another concern was how it could impact the ITOBA Stallion Season Auction. Stallions of this price level, like Tacitus, have appeared in the fundraiser over the years. Should they be offered now, they might not draw any bids given breeders have a free option.
However, both Freese and Spears praised Taylor Made for taking the initiative and providing a new option for regional breeders. Both hope more farms follow in their footsteps with new ideas that could help revitalize foal crops in their states.
"I think that's a great positive, I'd like to see more of that," Freese said. "I definitely think it's a good step, and I wouldn't be surprised if we had some breeders here in (Iowa) take advantage of it. I'd love to see more farms offer something like this. I think the more farms that would do it, the bigger impact it would have here."
"Any time you see help from those farms, it's like 'Oh wow.' It's nice to see," Spears said. "It just shows that we all know there's issues going on (with the foal crop). Everybody's hurting. The low to mid guys are getting squeezed and priced out. I think it's a break (from that)."
