Does the lunar cycle affect horses' performance?

Ken Snyder interviews Dr Barbara Murphy

Moon myths demystified: Lunar phases and a full moon are credited with impacting births, violence, you name it. But there is no hard data to support it, especially effects on humans. Horses? Yes and no.

“According to the available research, moonlight has very little impact on them,” said Dr. Barbara Murphy, Associate Professor of Equine Science at University College-Dublin and the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer for Equilume. The company researched and produced lighting for horses to maximize fertility, performance, and health.

There is one thing: “A retrospective study in Thoroughbreds was done, which showed that peak conception rates occurred during or immediately after a full moon,” said Murphy. 

She offers, however, an explanation drawing on common sense plus knowledge of light and its effects. “Horses in the wild tend to be more reproductively active at dawn and dusk. That's around the time they can still see what they're doing, and predators aren't as prevalent at that time. Plus, it’s often when stallion testosterone levels are highest in spring.” 

Just as Thoroughbred mares instinctively foal at night as a defense against predators (even though they are ensconced in perfectly safe barns), a full moon in the wild provides enough light to breed when there is less risk of predators. Instinct continues. 

There is another factor at work too, according to Murphy. “It's the quality of daylight and the normal absence of light at night.”

White light or regular daylight comprise multiple wavelengths of different colors. Blue wavelengths in light optimally suppress melatonin to regulate sleep-wake cycles and make daylight essentially a time of wakefulness. Melatonin in the body is a hormone that rises in the evening and falls in the morning. It basically tells us it’s time for rest and recovery. 

“Blue light is usually absent at night, facilitating sleep, but moonlight has some blue light in it when there is a full moon. The blue light itself makes them [horses] more alert and more active around that time.”

There is much more known, however, about blue light and its documented impact on horse foaling, behavior, and overall health.

Manipulating light, of course, has long been a practice in Thoroughbred horse breeding to create a false spring for mares to foal early. “You want them under an extended duration of light around Thanksgiving or the first of December. That turns on all their reproduction and growth hormones in time for when we want them in the breeding barn,” Murphy said. This light essentially tricks the mare into thinking spring is here and they begin entering heat cycles.

Murphy recommends practices that have produced astonishing results. One is maintaining consistency with the duration of light. Sixteen hours is optimal. Nature takes care of some but not all of that. 

Research as part of Murphy’s study for a PhD at the University of Kentucky introduced her to transitioning to another kind of light to ensure horses receive maximum benefits of nighttime rest. “We were trying to take blood samples from horses at night. My professor at the time told me, ‘Whatever you do, Barbara, be very careful and only use dim red light to collect your samples at night.’ Red light won’t disrupt the effects of melatonin, giving horses a full night’s rest and uninterrupted growth for the foal. In short, uninterrupted night darkness in nature should be duplicated or mimicked with stabled horses. 

Murphy went back to Ireland and developed a red light for stables similar to that used in developing photographs. “What it means is the stable staff can go in and check the horses. They can put on bandages, they can take a temperature, they can feed them without disrupting their circadian rhythm.”

Light quality is also important. “Daylight is about one thousand times or more intense than what we normally need in a stable. Most good LED lights now have some blue component, which is great, and they should be left on during the day and not turned off in the middle of the day when they're finished exercising or coming in from turn-out. However, to be used effectively, they should ideally be on a timer, have a high blue component and transition gradually to red light or darkness at night”.

A study conducted by an Ocala trainer involved 200 horses, half of whom were put under blue enriched light by day on a timer and a dimmed red light at night. The study was to see the impact on horses before a breeze-up sale in Florida. With horses under blue and red light there was, what the trainer reported as “an incredible difference in the muscling that was put on by the horses, their coats, their condition, their training, and trainability.”

“There was a massive difference in the quality of the scopes,” she added. “Most notable according to the trainer was an absence of pharyngitis.”

A number of other studies investigating the benefits of light, this time for pregnant mares, were carried out in Kildare in Ireland, Brandenburg in Germany and Lexington, Kentucky. Results were reported in the scientific journals Theriogenology, Domestic Animal Endocrinology and The Equine Veterinary Journal. One studied 46 Quarter Horse mares at a research farm in Kentucky. Nineteen mares were fitted with commercially available blue-light masks identical to blinkers used for some horses in races, but with a blinker over just one eye delivering blue light to extend dusk until 11 pm nightly. In total, “daylight” was extended to 16 hours. A second group of 27 horses, matched for age and expected foaling dates to the first group, did not receive additional blue light. 

The 19 horses foaled babies with an average weight just over 104 pounds (good for a Quarter Horse baby). Foals from the other 27 horses without blue light had an average weight of just under 96 pounds. In another study, after foaling, researchers discovered in blood samples from one-day old “blue light babies” evidence of a better immune system. “The foals got to their feet fifteen minutes faster if the mare had been exposed to blue light for that last one hundred days before foaling, which was fascinating, because the foals were stronger, more mature,” Murphy said.  

The greatest benefit, however, may be in ensuring a normal gestation period of 335 days for horse breeders with mares receiving added blue light. Twenty percent of Thoroughbred mares go longer than 355 days. In a Kildare study, mares without added light had an average gestation length of 350 days. Mares equipped with a  blue-light mask in those final three months of pregnancy shortened gestation by almost 14 days to foal close to their due dates. Clearly, careful practices using light can mean important gains for breeding efficiencies. 

“The German study found that the mare's follicles post-foaling were bigger. Also, ‘the foal heat ovulation,’ which is the first ovulation that the mare has after she foals, occurred five days sooner, and indicated better post-foaling fertility. 

“If a mare conceives in February during the start of the breeding season, and she's due to foal in the subsequent January, she needs to see long days of light again in December. Normally in nature, when a mare foals in April or May, which is the natural breeding season, she would have received the long daylight signal for the final months of her pregnancy.”

In a presentation to the International Society for Equine Reproduction (ISER) Murphy expanded on findings from studies to note that ideal exposure to daytime blue light positively impacts circadian rhythms (biological processes with a 24-hour period). Pre-foaling applications of blue light showed a bevy of benefits in post-foaling fertility, an earlier return to estrus post-foaling, improved colostrum, high foal immunity, and improved first-service conception rates in older mares to name only a few of the benefits. 

It could be, perhaps, expected that added blue-light has bearing on stallions and their year-round fertility. A research study resulted in higher testosterone levels through a breeding season, higher sperm produced earlier in the breeding season, and increased semen volume. 

Murphy laments the lack of understanding and application in some facets of the industry about light cycles. “I just wish more people would appreciate the power of the light they expose their horses to, and the timing of it. 

“The final three months of gestation is the fastest growing time of a horse’s entire life, and the light we give to the pregnant mare controls how the foal develops.” This is also true for horses in training in order to achieve those marginal gains and all of their organs working together in synchrony. “If you have a strong, light-dark cycle, every single aspect of their physiology works better. They're getting more nutrition from their food, they're putting on more muscle, they’re healthier.”

That’s not saying all breeders and farms aren’t aware of a blue light regimen and its benefits. “If you drive around the Bluegrass you'll see them from December on, the little blue lights in the field from the blinkers. The light mask has been fourteen years on the market now, it’s pretty established, but there are some left still to be convinced” Murphy said.

Her company was the first to manipulate a mare’s cycle with a head piece. “I originally developed it in order that the horses could be turned out more and be more active and less stressed and exercised yet still meet our timelines for reproduction.”

Murphy looked, too, at light therapy within stables when horses are brought in after turnout. Her challenge was “provide them with light that's similar to nature and have the same effect--the long daylight, delivered consistently, with optimum wavelengths similar to nature.” 

The important thing, Murphy said, is an uninterrupted rest period at night. Just as with humans, sleep interruptions deprive one of sufficient rest to enable us—horses and humans—to be at our best. “White light abruptly turned on at night is a stressor to horses and plays havoc with their internal rhythms. So think before you flick the switch!” she says. 

How stud farms determine stallion fees

Article by Jennifer Kelly

The end of the year brings magical seasons like the Breeders’ Cup, winter holidays, and in horse racing, a cascade of retirements as prospective stallions and broodmares exit their careers on the track for the next phase. This is when the sport goes from wagering on races that last minutes to one that lasts years, a bet, a wager that pedigrees, physical attributes, and on-track performances will translate to the breeding shed. 

That wager hinges on a mix of knowns and unknowns; a test of how to transition a stallion from athlete to producer, balancing husbandry and business acumen, aided by tax incentives and the lure of opportunity in an ever-evolving marketplace. 

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The first Thoroughbred stallion imported to the United States was Bulle Rock, a son of the Darley Arabian out of a Byerley Turk mare, who arrived in Virginia in 1730. A century later, Glencoe, broodmare sire of Kentucky and Asteroid, landed on American soil in 1836. In those early eras, transporting horses was a challenge, so a stallion would stand in one location, servicing mare from the immediate area before being moved to a different farm the following season. 

As transportation improved, the process reversed. An owner could keep their stallion at their farm, inviting broodmares to come to him. Sole owners and breeders like Samuel Riddle, who stood Man o’ War, could control the size of their stallions’ books and the quality of the mares admitted to the breeding shed. Income from stud fees went directly to the owner, along with the tax burden. 

As stallion prices rose, sharing financial responsibility – i.e., purchase price, veterinary care, board, fertility insurance – became appealing. Syndicates allowed partners to share costs while also ensuring sustained demand for that sire’s services. Shareholders, often broodmare owners themselves, could use their breeding rights or sell them and later decide to retain and race the foal in their colors or sell it to recoup some of their expenses. 

One of the earliest syndicates came in 1925, when Arthur B. Hancock of Virginia’s Ellerslie and Kentucky’s Claiborne Farm joined forces with William Woodward, Marshall Field III, and Robert Fairbairn, all of whom had breeding programs of their own, to purchase Sir Gallahad III, a stakes winner in England and France. The group pooled $125,000 to bring the son of Teddy to Claiborne, where he went on to sire Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox along with classic winners like Gallahadion, High Quest, and Hoop Jr. 

By the 1950s, syndicates had become more common as breeding in the United States started shifting toward farms standing multiple stallions, often owned by groups of up to 40 shareholders. That number, said Headley Bell of Mill Ridge Farm, was based on the idea that “if a stallion were turned out in a herd of mares, that 40 would be a natural herd for them.” 

“Horses stood on syndicate agreements, which were very refreshing in that there generally were 40 or 45 shares in a horse, and breeders were limited to one Northern Hemisphere season,” said Michael Hernon of Hernon Bloodstock, who recruited Tapit for Gainesway Farm. “Now, this would be horses like Nijinsky, Mr. Prospector, Danzig, and the like. Because of the limitation in the supply of the product and the success of those horses in the commercial market, their fees became quite significant. But that resulted from the fact that the supply was so controlled. Over time, somewhat regrettably, we started to move away from syndicate agreements.” 

Today, syndicates remain a viable way to launch a new stallion, but outright ownership by major breeders like Coolmore and Spendthrift, has become more common. With previous owners often retaining a share, these arrangements—combined with the commercial market’s expansion—have fueled book sizes that now exceed 200 mares. The Jockey Club’s 2024 Report of Mares Bred listed ten stallions that covered 200+ mares.

In 2025, commercial consideration drives much of the decision making. Farms that bring on new stallions choose between syndication or outright ownership, reflecting an industry increasingly oriented toward breeding to sell.

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At Fasig-Tipton’s The Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in August and then the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the top sellers came from established stallions Gun Runner and Into Mischief. First-crop sires like Flightline, Life Is Good, and Mandaloun also made headlines, each with yearlings selling for seven figures, led by 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline with 10 total. Flightline also commanded $2.5 million for a share at the 2024 Keeneland Championship Sale at Del Mar, underscoring how lucrative new stallions can be.

With stallion ownership generally falling into the categories of syndication or sole ownership, breeders no longer need to stand and support stallions entirely on their own. Sole ownership allows breeders like Spendthrift to control a stallion’s book and retain the earnings, though it also carries the preponderance of the risk. 

“We generally own a stallion outright,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift’s general manager. “Very often, the people who've raced a horse are interested in retaining some percentage. That's generally something that remains on the table for us. But the majority of our stallions, we own all or most of.” 

For farms like Claiborne, syndication remains the preferred model: “It's a lot of money to bring in these high-dollar stallions, and we can't do it all ourselves,” observed Claiborne president Walker Hancock. “We rely on some great shareholders and syndicate members to help us stand the horse and make the purchase possible. It has evolved over the years. This year, we did our first 50-share syndicate, which we've never done before.”

Ocala Stud favors partnerships over syndication. “We like to partner. We have syndicated horses in the past, but it's been a long time since we've done so,” said David O’Farrell, Ocala Stud’s general manager. “As the Florida Breeding Program has waned over the years, we just feel like there's fewer people that would be willing to participate in a syndicate. It's worked better for us to have partnerships, whether it be four or five different partners that invest in a stallion and then support the horse with mares.” 

Regardless of the ownership structure, adding a new stallion relies on two factors: the stars of the racing year and the relationships each farm has nurtured over time. This process can begin months or even years before a potential stallion retires from racing. As Hernon observed, “lately, the demand for a young, appealing horse starts coming into focus earlier, and the horse starts to be pursued from that point of view. Then, conversely, some of them might come down to a career-ending injury that forces the horse to come out of training.” 

The challenge remains identifying stallions whose on-track appeal will translate to the breeding shed. As Mill Ridge’s Headley Bell put it, “now you're starting a whole another purpose for this horse and you're redefining what this horse is going to look like. If we believe in him and in his potential as a stallion, we have to give him the best chance. As in, it's not just buying that horse, it's will the market support the horse so people will send mares?”

What are farms looking for in a potential stallion? Hernon identified four factors: “the pedigree, the physical, the performance, and those combined will lead you to the price. And then, of course, the stud fee will ultimately be determined by how much is paid for the horse. The farm has to try and structure the deal whereby they can get enough representation of mares underneath the horse to give them a chance and try and recapture their expenditure before the horse becomes exposed with his first couple of crops on the racetrack.”

Farms must consider not only who is available in a given year, but also who is already in the shedrow. 

“We probably wouldn't go after two sires of the same caliber, like the same distance, same surface, same sire line, so we do try and differentiate between that,” noted Hancock. 

Sequel Stallions’ Becky Thomas looks for “a sire line that I respect. Our last stallion that we brought to market was Honest Mischief, of course. He’s the leading sire of his group. I try to model our program up of what I feel like is brilliance. At some point in time, I want to see that you displayed something that was different than a lot of the other stallions.”

For programs like O’Farrell’s, a stallion is just the beginning of their investment. They maintain a broodmare band of about 50, raise the resulting foals through their two-year-old year, sell them essentially as ready-made racehorses. 

“It really comes down to, do we feel like we can get a runner? And do we feel like that we can market these horses at the two-year-old sales in three years? It’s a huge investment for us, carrying them to the two-year-old sales,” O’Farrell shared. “You've got a significant amount of investment in that broodmare, and so you better believe in the stallion because you're carrying the output for so long.”

Once a farm identifies a candidate, the challenge is turning successful racehorse into a successful stallion and doing it quickly enough to ensure long-term commercial viability. 

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Farms take different approaches to ensure a prospect transitions into a pro. For Spendthrift, “our goal is to add at least one, if not several, stallions every year. That's basically because we understand that the simple odds are that most stallions are not going to be successful,” Toffey said. “Our mindset is that we have to continually try to bring in new horses to continue to build the roster and to replace the ones that are not making the grade.”

Other farms, especially regional ones like Ocala Stud, do not add a new name every year. “We’re not always in the market for a new stallion because we can't justify bringing one in and standing them for enough money,” O’Farrell observed. “It's hard to justify it from a stud fee perspective. When we look at stallions, rather than doing the math of seeing what it would take to get out in three years, our philosophy is more, would we be willing to breed 15 good mares to the stallion in the first two years?”

Bringing on a new stallion carries significant costs, including fertility insurance, board, veterinary care, and marketing. Such a significant investment requires the stud fee be calculated carefully. Price the stallion too high and breeders may shy away; too low, and it can signal a lack of confidence. “The objective of every farm is to get mares to the stallion. When you set the stud fees, you’re basically taking a wild guess,” O’Farrell explained. “Obviously, it comes down to what you paid for the horse. Not that you need to get that money back in three years, but you need to price him to where you feel like he can be competitive.”

The stud fee also affects long-term viability. “It's become expensive now to board a horse and pay the insurance and the associated vet work. We're in a different world now. The in-vogue stallions are highly in demand and they're going to cost a lot of money,” Hernon observed. “It's a catch-22 because the farms who buy them, based on purchase price and the demand and the competition for said horses, will determine a high dollar value on the horse to secure them. Consequently, the farm has to breed a significant number in order to make the figures work, and recapture most of their investment.”

Setting that fee is not formulaic; it is nuanced. “It's not just one or two Grade 1s equals X stud fee,” Toffey observed. “What did they do at two? What did they do at three? How did they win their races? Who did they beat? Who is the sire? What is the female family? How did they win their races? Were they the favorite every time or were they 20 to 1 and came out of nowhere? There's a lot of variables that go into building it.” 

For farms like Mill Ridge and their stallion Oscar Performance, a horse that the Amermans bred and raised at the farm, Bell emphasized collaboration. “We've got to do this together. Our objective isn't to make him worth the most valuable today. We have to make him valuable down the road. In order to do that, we're going to have to be reasonable in how we price this horse because those 20 shareholders end up being your partners. You're asking them not to support this horse in the first year; you're really trying to provide incentives to them to support them in the first through fourth year, at least.” 

Spendthrift and similar stud farms take a proactive approach when it comes to promoting new stallions because perception drives demand. “Since a huge percentage of the breeding market today are commercial breeders, when they look at a horse, they got to feel like, ‘This is a horse that I can use and have some success with,’” Toffey shared. “Either it's going to work well with my mare, it looks the part, or ‘Hey, look, people are really going want to buy these horses, buy this horse's offspring, so they're going to be commercially viable.’” 

Commercial viability often comes before racing ability. Buyers, whether mare owners, pinhookers, or racing managers, rely on tangible factors like pedigree and physical attributes when deciding whether to invest in a stallion’s progeny. Bringing on a new stallion means not only covering the costs of a mature horse but also attracting customers for his services—that is marketing.

For a horse like Flightline, an undefeated Horse of the Year, marketing is easier. For others, farms use in-house marketing teams or public relations firms.

“Every horse has strengths and weaknesses, and we, go back to the old expression, accentuate the positive. We want to look at what messages will resonate with breeders,” Toffey said. Spendthrift brands each stallion individually, developing logos and merchandise, as do other farms like Claiborne and Lane’s End. 

Other breeders take a lighter approach. “Our philosophy is, if you stand horses, if you stand a quality stallion at the right price, that is going to be the best advertisement,” O’Farrell observed. 

Marketing, along with the stud fee, ultimately affects book size. In 2024, 64 first-year sires covered a minimum of five mares, with four—Gunite, Elite Power, Pappacap, and Taiba—servicing 200 or more. That’s just 6% of the total. Other stallions with large books, like Justify, Gun Runner, and Vekoma, had multiple breeding seasons under their belts. Book size reflects more than stud fee; it also depends on the stallion himself.

“Horses, like people, are different. They're made different. They have different characters, different DNA. They're not all equal on the racetrack, and they're certainly not all equal in the breeding shed,” Hernon observed. “Horses have different levels of libido and fertility, and some have a limitation in the number of mares they can comfortably breed in a season. Newer stallions, they don't know what they're doing, and they have to be taught.”

While breeding a mare may seem an instinctual undertaking for a horse, in reality it is a skill no different than teaching a horse to accept a rider and then to race. Farms may limit a new stallion’s book to allow them a chance to learn. Overbreeding a horse can be as problematic as over racing, because it can affect their confidence and create challenges for a stallion manager. 

“Often, what we do with our first-year horses is we start them a little bit lower to make sure that they can handle [the job.] Not every horse can handle 180, or 160, or 150. So the first year, we're going to try to keep them down below 200,” Toffey observed. “There's some things we can do to estimate those things beforehand, but you really never know until you get into breeding season. It's a case-by-case basis.”

Some farms maintain each stallion’s book at a set level but have adjusted over the past 25 years to remain competitive. “We used to cap it at 140, but we felt like our stallions were at a bit of a competitive disadvantage with other people breeding theirs to 250 plus,” Claiborne’s Hancock shared. “In order to keep up, we have raised our book size to about 175, 180. Now, I don't anticipate going over that. I think our stallions can comfortably handle breeding that many mares.”

A farm’s book policy can influence where a stallion stands or where breeders send their mares. “Breeders will just have to choose what farm policy of numbers of mares on the book that they're comfortable with, and that can predetermine their choice as to stallion and where they might breed,” Hernon observed. 

Technology has also reshaped book management. Broodmare managers have tools like drugs to help a mare ovulate at a more ideal time and ultrasounds able to show finer details, enabling veterinarians to gauge the size of an ovarian follicle and predict more precisely when a mare might be ready to breed. Whereas in previous decades, a mare might need to be covered twice to ensure that they catch, such advances can increase the chance a stallion impregnates them on one. 

“We're now able to do book sizes with the assumption that mares don't need to be doubled. Whereas it used to be not uncommon to have to double a mare on a heat cycle. Now it still happens, but it's rare that we have to double a mare. That alone opens up so many more spots. We're able to be way more efficient with the use of a stallion,” Toffey said. 

Even after identifying a stallion prospect, negotiating a deal, setting a stud fee, and filling the book, doing it outside Kentucky, which remains the heart of American breeding, can be challenging, even in established regions like California, Florida, and New York.

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Even generations of experience in the sport does not insulate a farm from the realities of the modern bloodstock marketplace. David O’Farrell, the third generation at Ocala Stud, acknowledges the challenges: “Look, there's no question that Kentucky is the center of commerce in the Thoroughbred world and will be for a very long time. It's getting tougher in the so-called regional markets. But I do think there's a very good opportunity in places like Florida, where people that are investing and doing business have the opportunity to win these [breeder] awards, even though they might not be as lucrative in Kentucky.”

Becky Thomas of New York’s Sequel Stallions takes a similar approach: “Our stallions in New York cannot compete with the stud fees that Journalism and Sovereignty are going to demand. So we do not compete at that level, and most people in Kentucky cannot compete at that level. We try to be competitive with our like class level.” 

For Rocky Savio of Savio-Cannon Thoroughbreds, moving their stallion Smooth Like Strait, from Kentucky to California might go against conventional wisdom, but the move was strategic. The stallion’s foals can be raced at his owners’ home tracks, as well as take advantage of the California-bred incentive program. 

“We feel familiar with this scene. Michael [Cannon] and I have been going to Del Mar for the past 30 years of our lives, and Smooth Like Strait did most of his racing and winning on the West Coast. He's a California horse,” Savio shared. 

In September, the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association announced a bonus increase for Cal-bred winners of maiden special weight races at 4 ½ furlongs and longer in both restricted and open company, adding $2,500 to both bonus for races at Santa Anita and Del Mar. Starting with the 2026 crop, the CTBA also instituted a $1,000 bonus for each registered state-bred foal up to 25 foals per CTBA member breeder. Additionally, the organization provides a transportation reimbursement up to $3,000 for mares 12 years old or younger purchased for $20,000 or more out of state and then bred to a California stallion.

“Obviously, another reason why we're going to California is for the Cal-bred bonuses.

That's why we made the move,” Savio shared. “I know everyone's moving the other way, and we're going against the grain of what's actually happening. But I think there's something left there that is beneficial to an owner.”

Regional programs in California, New York, and Florida offer awards for breeders and stallion owners, plus stakes races restricted to state-breds. The New York Racing Association is even moving toward full purse parity for state-bred races by 2027, while Florida adds incentives for state-breds at select out-of-state tracks in 2026.

Even with these incentives, programs like Sequel and Ocala Stud must compete with Kentucky, especially given the commercial market growth. As such, stud fees have to be competitive in states where the margins are slimmer and even a thousand dollars can make or break a stallion’s season.

“You have to understand your market. If they're not selling, then you've got a price that is too high. If they're selling too much, then you've got a price that’s too low. So you have to feel the market out a little bit. And it's incredible how much a $1,000 price point makes a difference in a market like Florida,” said O’Farrell. 

Thomas sees that “New York is somewhat of an island, but really, we are part of an international business. I don't want to bring stallions to market that I don't feel like have a domestic as well as international feel if they hit. I mean, there's no stallion that's popular past the freshman year unless they hit.” Because it remains a top-tier racing hub, owners still flock to the Empire State to compete in its lucrative and famed tests. With the coming purse parity and the new Belmont Park, breeding, selling, and racing in New York is full of financial opportunity beyond purses. 

Additionally, as O’Farrell points out, for regional farms like his to send mares out of state is not cost effective.

“That's what's killing the business in the regional markets, in my opinion,” O’Farrell said. Everybody wants to access the Kentucky stallions. But when you have a farm and you have to pay somebody else to care for your horses and you don't have control over them, it's a huge problem. It makes it harder to be a breeder when you're also paying another farm to take care of your mares.” 

With that in mind, collaboration between racetracks and breeders is key to regional markets, “They need the product. We need the races. So it is very much a partnership,” said Thomas. “And I think we, on both sides, need to continue to be excellent partners and grow the program.”

“Those factors are extremely significant because we need a breeder base far beyond what you see in Kentucky because there's a lot of our commercial New York breeders that breed outside of New York as they have resident mares, and they're still a registered New York bred as long as you follow the rules of the program. We don't just compete within New York; we compete within the whole domestic market.”

Regional breeders still feel pressure to compete with Bluegrass stallions, balancing stud fees and acquisitions to stay viable. That means sending mares to Kentucky despite the costs, “something that's not talked about enough,” O’Farrell said. “I think that you have to find a way to lessen the burden for people who have farms in these regional markets to access those types of stallions. Because there's no question, the industry has gone more towards a flight to quality. You’ve got to let people want to try to improve their breeding programs, but you can't have it so burdensome to where they have to pay for their farm and pay for other people's farms, too.”

As Savio observed, “our industry is filled with guys like Michael and I, people with one or two stallions, trying to make the right decisions. Once you get to the middle and the bottom of the sport, it's just people trying to make the right decisions. Not everybody's a Gun Runner or an Into Mischief, or even some of those top 25 horses. Everybody else is fighting for the same dollar. And it's very hard.” 

Those decisions can make or break farms in regional markets, especially in light of the stiff competition they face in the ever-present and all-encompassing commercial markets. State breeding programs and federal benefits like bonus depreciation help breeders like the O’Farrells, Rocky Savio, Michael Cannon, and others stay close to home and still compete across the country.

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The 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale capped a blockbuster year for bloodstock. Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga Select Sale posted 25 seven-figure yearlings out of 166 sold, while Keeneland saw 57 seven-figure yearlings among 3,076 lots. Saratoga grossed a record $100,715,000, up 22.6% from 2024, while Keeneland hit $531,634,400, up 24% from its 2024 record.

One factor driving this year’s records includes recent legislation which reinstated bonus depreciation, a tax benefit that the federal government had been phasing out until this past July. 

“Depreciation is just a fancy term for when I can write off or deduct the purchase price of assets that I buy and I use in my business,” said accountant Jen Shah. 

In the long run, this 100% bonus depreciation means that a farm can write off that expenditure the same year, thus reducing their tax burden. That means more cash in their pocket to spend, which means more capital to burn. But the deduction only comes that first year, so “you have more cash in your pocket sooner because you've reduced your tax burden” so long as that horse is available for whatever purpose the buyer intends, in this case, for stallion services.

“It doesn't have to necessarily be bred, but the horse has to be available to be bred. Now, you would never breed a horse in the fall in the Northern Hemisphere, but it does have to be retired from racing before year end in order for you to say that that horse is placed in service,” Shah shared. The goal of this tax benefit is to encourage investment in American assets. In this case, that includes stallion prospects. 

As Headley Bell points out, the federal government was already a willing partner to the sport, but these changes give breeders something they always need more of: time.

 “Uncle Sam is really our best partner. If you look at the business, in my opinion, the depreciation and things we have are extraordinary,” Bell observed. “Because it's a hard business, you have to demonstrate that you are trying to run it as a business in order to take advantage of it. But it allows you to buy time and offset other income or revenue, so you have to try to position yourself to get lucky. You can't just keep on going down that road of losing money, so this allows you to buy time. And in this business, buying time is the best thing you can do.”

As Hernon pointed out, the end result is that “people are willing to pay more money for what is perceived to be good prospect. And there's a lot of money that's come into the market.” With so much liquidity, “people are more aggressive spending this year under the current tax law situation. Now, if that remains constant, that's to be determined.”

Another issue at the heart of these recent record sales is the concentration of sire power to a vaunted few, which narrows the genetic diversity of the Thoroughbred. The origin story of the breed starts with the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian. Through selective breeding first in England and then here, both the Byerley Turk and Godolphin Arabian lines are on the outside looking in, with the Darley Arabian line becoming most prominent in the United States. Some of this shift comes from the influence of the commercial market on breeding in the last 25-50 years.

 “We have two sports today. We've got racing and we have sales, and each are highly addictive. There's a huge amount of a drama attached to both spheres, and the sales are like the gladiator's ring, I suppose. It's highly charged,” pedigree expert and author Suzi Prichard Jones observed. “Owners probably get to play more of a role in the whole sales saga than they do on the race course. There's intrigue. ‘Who's on this horse? Who's bidding? So and so looked at it. We'll bid this much.’ It's a game, and It's very addictive. People are breeding horses and buying horses accordingly.” 

Often the reason why certain lines dominate over others is directly related to results on the racetrack as well as intangibles like temperament. Certain sire lines, most notably the Byerley Turk, were known for an abundance of spirit, which has led some breeders to prefer horses who are easier to handle. However, the long-term effects of allowing the commercial marketplace to inform breeding choices are still unknown. 

“The reason these horses are commercial is because they've bred successful racehorses and they're producing successful racehorses,” said Prichard Jones. “Nobody's doing anything wrong. But when you take a deeper dive, and you look at the genetics and the pedigrees behind them all, you have to raise the question, is this a good thing?”

“If we need that diversity, then we're going to find out to our detriment in 20 years’ time, because then every Thoroughbred will be descended from Phalaris, who was a horse born in 1913. It's going to be interesting just to see how it goes.” 

This focus on the commercial is a pivot from the sport’s origins, where families with names like Whitney, Woodward, and Stanley were able to breed to race, their eye on the results on the racetrack rather than the results in the sales ring. This shift has pushed the issue of genetic diversity in the Thoroughbred to the side, with the issue of pedigrees focused more on the productive sire lines rather than the overall genetic health of the breed. 

“There are very few people who actually make money in this game. For a lot, it's a lifestyle. They just keep their heads above water. Maybe one year you have a good year, the next two or three years, you just eke along, and then you have a really bad year, and then maybe you have a really good year again,” Prichard Jones observed. “And that's how it goes. We love these horses dearly and we're addicted to them. This is a dreamer's game.” 

*************************************************************

Breeding is not for the faint of heart. Declining foal crops, shrinking markets, and high expenses challenge even experienced operations. 

“That's the challenge of today’s ‘commercial market.’ These stallions are getting so many mares in the first year that it's harder for these other potential stallions to get enough mares to be able to give them a chance,” Bell said. “That's the crossroads we are today, the commercial market driving these stallions.” 

With more than half of all foals born in the United States going through the auction ring, the pressure to produce horses that offer breeders high returns in sales makes bringing a new stallion to market a gamble not everyone can afford. As with any given race day, when even a longshot has a chance to win, predicting which stallions will hit and which will miss is often the biggest bet. 

“Mr. Hughes used to love to say about this game, ‘Nobody knows.’ I think it's particularly true about standing stallions,” Spendthrift’s Toffey observed. “I don't think there's any better illustration than that.” 

Sales prep - has getting yearlings ready for sale changed over the last twenty five years?

The art of yearling preparation in thoroughbred racing has undergone remarkable transformations, yet has always kept the same golden ideals when preparing the world to see the next crop of elite equine athletes. Yearling preparation, as many come to find it, marks the start of a horse’s journey to create themselves; and along with that ideal, create an impact on anyone that lays eyes on them. 

Where once young thoroughbreds were given very minimal handling before they were sent off to the sales ring or showed off to buyers, today’s modern equine athletes are blessed with the technology of advanced balanced nutrition, state of the art biomechanics, measured conditioning, and even mental training. They are handled everyday as newborn foals to prepare them for what they are to face in yearling preparation. In a way, many could say that yearling preparation can even start at birth. 

With the growing influence of data analytics and advances in veterinary recommendations and technologies, today’s yearlings are sculpted for not only physical conformation, but also for the earliest of maturity and trainability. This has caused the bar of the overall buyer expectation to be raised higher than we have ever seen it. A shift like this has certainly reflected the industry’s heightened competitiveness, and the ever-increasing demand for horses who are ready to perform the second that the hammer falls. It has always been what buyers have aspired for, but the definition on what it should look like has changed significantly over the years. 

Prepping a thousand pound, elite athlete that can reach speeds of up to forty miles per hour is never an easy task. In fact, the yearling prep game has developed much more on the individual level simply because we have the technology to do so. The goal to create a profile that ‘checks all the boxes’ for buyers is the same goal no matter what level you are in the business. Denali Stud, a leading consigner at every major yearling sale, has set an example of what equine excellence should look like. 

Denali is responsible for bringing some of racing’s best, like Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, Kentucky Oaks heroine Malathaat, and champion two year old colt and top sire Uncle Mo. Perhaps there is a method to their madness, as Yearling and Sales Manager Donnie Snellings has integrated an articulate schedule for his horses to be at their best when they are presented to the world for the first time. Since joining Denali in 2009, his process of using modern day techniques to prep Denali’s star studded yearlings has brought generations of success. 

His watchful eye of forage intake, joint evaluation, and overall development of confirmation is prominent throughout the season. Fillies are more so in groups, and colts are put in individualized paddocks due to temperament. Snellings adds that the colts are a bit more active than the fillies; who in contrast tend to immediately start grazing as soon as they get turned out with their group. “There’s always the one you’re trying to get the belly off of, so I may swim those. Those with bad confirmation I usually will walk only. Some will walk, and some will jog. It is all based on what I see in them every day on the farm”. 

This individualized look into using modern exercising technologies is prominent in the current yearling market. The patterns of walking and jogging either by hand or by machine, along with swimming in equine engineered pools polishes Denali Stud’s yearlings to look their best at the sales. 

That is quite the contrast of what yearling preparation used to be. “About forty or some years ago in the early eighties, not a whole lot of prep went on at all. Horses were still groomed of course, but there was never really an exercise program at all. The physical demand wasn’t as great as it is today. Mostly, they were kept in until the sale”, Snellings says. 

 The contrast between these two eras of yearling prep is driving the new vision that we see in these young horses at today’s sales. Even back then, there were always your million dollar yearlings by Storm Cat or Mr. Prospector, but the physical expectations of what those individuals should look like has clearly raised the bar for adding more steps to prepare these yearlings for the sales ring. 

An inside look at the industry’s leading consignor for more than twenty five years further clarifies the strict agenda that is put on today's yearlings to look their best. Taylor Made Sales Agency has been setting the bar in their preparation to bring out the best within every individual equine athlete. 

President and CEO Mark Taylor has said “I feel like we put more emphasis on the individual than ever before from nutrition to exercise. We are trying to grow our yearlings naturally while helping them become the best version of themselves.” He also feels that the biggest change in how yearlings are prepared at Taylor Made Farm compared to thirty years ago is that the process has become much more ‘customized’. 

To further incorporate customization into a thoroughbred’s work schedule, Vice President of Boarding and General Farm Manager Logan Payne explained that they follow a consistent six day work schedule that is specifically designed to bring out the full potential of each horse. Two days of machine walking is followed by two days of strictly handwalking in paddocks going about twenty minutes each in two different directions. 

After those four days of muscle and bone building is completed, the yearlings will then move on to two days of ring walking where they will walk over rows of PVC pipes that are about five feet apart to get them into the habit of striding out for future inspections. “Some yearlings may be picked to swim depending on what they have going on. Maybe five out of one hundred will swim at a given time”, Payne adds. He is referring to the individualistic look into the close monitoring of the joints that are strained during the duration of yearling prep. 

Wanting to restrict the straining of certain areas of yearlings during their transformation has become very common with the modern exercise schedules we have today within yearling preparation. Aqua treads and coldwater swims are becoming a lot more prominent in the industry with this task, given that a lot of farms and consignors use them. 

However, maybe the biggest reason why yearling prep has changed over the years doesn’t quite start behind the gates of the farms. If we fast forward to the sale itself, we will quickly notice the rapid growth of precise radiograph technology. Behind the vast scrutiny of every bone and muscle in a horse’s leg at the sale, x- rays and ultrasounds have gotten into a horse’s profile more than they ever have before.

 The best buyers and owners are vetting their horses to the absolute maximum, and every flaw or malfunction that these horses faced in their preparation for the sale will be brought into light. 

When raising horses to meet those standards, Taylor Made’s Director of New Business Development Frank Taylor states “ We’re so focused on horses x-raying and scoping good, that it affects how we prep these horses”.  

The minimal handling and veterinary technology of yearlings twenty to thirty years ago would simply allow such flaws to go undetected. Knowing this, the growing concern for sesamoiditis has such a strong influence on how yearlings are prepared that it dictates not only the method of preparation for each individual horse, but also the intensity of exercise they can undergo. “These images are getting more precise, and are showing more and more, which causes you to really watch how you're prepping your horses”, Payne says. 

Just like the precise vetting that dictates the value of a horse at auction, the preciseness in an exercise program for the individual horse and its needs is equally at high rise as well. With this information, I believe it is safe to say that prepping schedules are becoming as precise as the radiographs themselves.

 Back over at Denali, Snellings has said “My thoughts would be with the use of your veterinarian, and the advances in x-ray. I think that we are all better equipped now to make good decisions on which horses fit into which program. And also, I think the surfaces that we have to work with now are so much better than what we had even 20 years ago.” 

This shows how important it is to find the best schedule or program that fits each horse individually, so you’re not overdoing or falling short of unlocking a horse’s full potential before the hammer falls. In other words, you can’t work a yearling filly with a weak hind the same way you work a yearling colt with a strong shoulder to get the same result. Their bodies will clearly respond in different ways and will withstand and give out to ailments along the way. The recovery period to those ailments is when you start to run into problems.

 The journey from farm to consignor showcases the everyday hard work and dedication that goes into knowing these horses individually to get them to their full potential before a sale. The sale reveals the finished product. 

All and all, it seems the yearling market has both changed and balanced itself out when preparing the next generation of athletes for the industry’s greatest sales. The golden rule to follow, as Frank Taylor puts it, “Our goal is to raise athletic racehorses that are marketable as yearlings. So when we’re prepping a horse, we’re focused on getting the horse looking good and trying to get it very presentable so it will sell the most at the sale; but we’re also doing that with the idea that we do not want to do anything to detrimentally affect the horse’s racing career”.  

Overall, yearling preparation has evolved from a more generalized approach to one that is highly individualized and responsive to every horse’s unique needs. Advances in conditioning programs, targeted exercise, nutrition, and veterinary technology have led to more customized care. Buyers come to the sale for one reason and one reason only; and that is to buy an athlete. In modern day, a deeper respect for the individual horse meets with a broader commitment to their future success on the track.

The legacy Storm Cat has left on the Triple Crown series

By Alicia Hughes

storm cat - Keeneland Library Raftery Turfotos Collection

They hit the wire in unison beneath one of the most recognizable backdrops in all of sports, a trio of equine athletes calling upon the entirety of their pedigrees and fitness to try and claim the most career-defining of prizes. One, an industry blood blue who had sold for a seven-figure price befitting his breeding. Another, a budding international star carrying with him the aspirations of a country in addition to the 126 pounds on his back. 

The one whose nose ultimately landed in front happened to be the most overlooked member of the indefatigable threesome, a colt from a seemingly modest background who produced a result most deemed an upset. The lens of hindsight can reveal many truths in the aftermath, however. And given the enduring influence of a certain stalwart in his sire line, Mystik Dan’s victory in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (Gr.1) over regally bred Sierra Leone and Japan-based Forever Young proved to be the continuation of a legacy that is still gaining strength decades after its initial impact.

In the 30 years that he graced the Thoroughbred industry with his presence, William T. Young’s homebred Grade 1 winner Storm Cat managed to put himself in the conversation as one of the all-time game-changing stallions, both in terms of his impact on the commercial marketplace and prolific output by his offspring on the track. Commanding a stud fee as high as $500,000 at his peak, the son of Storm Bird out of Terlingua twice led the general sire list, producing eight champions, 110 graded stakes winners, more than $129 million in progeny earnings, and 91 yearlings that sold for $1 million or more at public auction.

tabasco cat - storm cat’s only son to win a classic

Included in Storm Cat’s litany of top runners was Tabasco Cat - his only son to win a Triple Crown race. He won two - with the 1994 runnings of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Then came champion Storm Flag Flying, and European champion Giant’s Causeway, the latter of whom held the mantle as his best son at stud. While he built a resume that rewrote records in the stud book, one of the few milestones missing for the dark bay stallion was the fact he never sired a horse who captured the Kentucky Derby, the 1 ¼-mile classic that stands the most famous test in Thoroughbred racing. 

Despite not having one of his own wear the roses, Storm Cat’s impact on the first Saturday in May has exponentially grown in the years since his passing in 2013. When Mystik Dan won a three-horse photo beneath the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs to annex the 150th edition of the race, he became the fourth Kentucky Derby winner in the last seven years to trace their sire line to the former Overbrook Farm flagship stallion. 

The trend got kicked off when Justify, by Storm Cat’s great grandson, Scat Daddy, triumphed in the 2018 Kentucky Derby en route to sweeping the Triple Crown. Since that time, much of Storm Cat’s Derby influence has been due to the overwhelming success of six-time leading sire Into Mischief, who is by Storm Cat’s grandson Harlan’s Holiday. Into Mischief himself sired back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners in Authentic (2020) and Mandaloun (2021) and is the sire of fellow Spendthrift Farm stallion Goldencents, who counts Mystik Dan as his first classic winner.

Having already hit many of the hallmarks that define truly great stallions, those who helped craft Storm Cat’s career are especially heartened by the fact that he is now definitively shaping the outcome of the race that most requires the rarified combination of stamina, speed, and mettle.

Ric Waldman

“(The Kentucky Derby influence) certainly has not been unnoticed by me, although I’m pleasantly surprised with how it has carried through,” said bloodstock consultant Ric Waldman, who managed Storm Cat's stud career for Overbrook. “I mean, that’s the real mark of a successful sire: how long can his line continue to go. When you look at the level that these sons and grandsons and great grandsons of Storm Cat have reached, you realize there is something in that Storm Cat blood. Now, how do you define it? I’ve never been able to. But it’s real. There is something in those genes that just comes through.”

When the list of Triple Crown nominees was announced for 2025, the odds of the Storm Cat line adding to its recent run of Kentucky Derby achievements could have easily been installed as the shortest price. 

The two stallions represented by the highest number of offspring nominated to the classics were the aforementioned Into Mischief (21), and Taylor Made Farm stallion Not This Time (14), a son of Giant’s Causeway. As the Kentucky Derby prep season heated up, the pair indeed had their sons stamp themselves as leading contenders for the 10-furlong test with Into Mischief having juvenile champion Citizen Bull, Florida Derby (Gr.1) hero Tappan Street, and Fountain of Youth Stakes (Gr.2) victor Sovereignty while Not This Time boasted Jeff Ruby Steaks (Gr.3) winner Final Gambit and Risen Star (Gr.2) winner Magnitude, who unfortunately was knocked off the Derby trail due to injury.

Adding to the breadth and depth of the Storm Cat sire line this Triple Crown season is Justify producing Virginia Derby winner American Promise and Drefong, another great grandson of Storm Cat, having UAE Derby (G2) winner Admire Daytona (JPN).

Though his name is now synonymous with success at the highest level of Thoroughbred racing and breeding, Storm Cat had a decidedly unglamorous start to his stud career. His precocity was undisputable, having prevailed in the 1985 Young American Stakes (Gr.1) before finishing second by a nose to Tasso in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Gr.1). But after just two starts during his sophomore season, injury ended his on-track career, and he entered stud at Overbrook for a $30,000 fee.

The fact he was able to make himself into an industry legend without the benefit of an elite book of mares in the first part of his stallion career was indicative of the innate quality housed beneath his coal-colored frame. Fittingly, two of the stallions who are currently pushing the sire line forward into classic territory followed virtually the same script.

“It’s in the makeup of the blood that Storm Cat made it in spite of everything else not going his way as far as establishing himself as a successful stallion,” Waldman said. “That’s the true makings of a stallion."

Not This Time

As the dark bay horse sauntered down the path from the stallion complex and paraded for breeders during Taylor Made Farm’s January stallion open house, those who were fortunate enough to see his grandsire in the flesh couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. 

not this time - jon seigel / pm advertising

From a physical standpoint, Not This Time morphs more into Storm Cat’s doppelganger with every passing year – a near carbon copy, save for having four white feet instead of two. The similarity extends well beyond the resemblance, however, as he also mirrors his grandfather in both his abbreviated career, blue-collar ascent, and versatility of runners.

not this time

Trained by Dale Romans for Albaugh Family Stables, Not This Time came into the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as the race favorite off a scintillating triumph in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs. Like his grandsire, he would come painfully close to victory.  Where Storm Cat had a clear lead in the stretch of his Breeders’ Cup outing only to get nailed on the wire, Not This Time was the one doing the chasing over the Santa Anita Park stretch, putting in a determined rally that fell a neck short of eventual divisional champion Classic Empire.

A soft tissue injury discovered in his right front shortly after the Breeders’ Cup would end Not This Time’s career, and he commanded just $15,000 in his first initial season at stud. Though circumstances didn’t allow him to show his full racing potential, the brilliance he inherited from his sire line wasted no time showing up once his runners started hitting the track. 

In 2020, he was the third-leading freshman sire by progeny earnings and by 2022, he was in the top 10 on the general sire list. That same season, his son Epicenter, who captured the Grade 1 Travers Stakes and ran second as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, would become his first champion when he earned the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old male. 

“We were optimistic but, in this business, you never know where the next great stallion will come from,” Ben Taylor, president of Taylor Made Stallions, said of Not This Time, who currently stands for $175,000. “But he had all the credentials, and we were just lucky to get him. 

“Looking back, I remember everyone was obviously devastated when he was injured and couldn’t go on with his career. But if he didn’t have his injury, we might not have ever been in a position to get him, so their bad luck was actually maybe fortunate for us. Strictly from a financial standpoint, it was probably a windfall because it allowed him to go to stud early and achieve what he’s done at a very young age.”

Into Mischief

Twenty years after Storm Cat began his stud career in 1987, the great grandson who would ultimately topple some of his records made his career debut when he broke his maiden at Santa Anita. He would never finish worse than second and captured the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity in his third start. Ultimately, though, injury too would cut Into Mischief’s career short after just six starts, leaving owner Spendthrift Farm with the challenge of how to get enough numbers in his book when he stood his initial season for $12,500 in 2009.

into mischief

“I think we’d all be lying if we said we zeroed in and said, ‘It’s got to be this, it’s got to be that (with regards to the matings)’. Early on it was, we would take what we could get as far as mares,” said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift Farm. “But it is not uncommon for a stallion to start off with a modest book of mares both in terms of numbers and quality. Those exceptional stallions seem to prove over and over that they can overcome that, and he’s certainly done it. Even with the small books, he was doing remarkable things.”

As the annals of meteoric rises, Into Mischief is due the heftiest of chapters. In 2012, the same year his fee had dipped to $7,500, he would end up third on the freshman sire list and notch his first graded stakes winner when Goldencents took the Grade 3 Delta Jackpot that November. 

In 2013, the half-brother to Hall of Famer Beholder would have a pair of Kentucky Derby starters in Goldencents and Vyjack with the former also becoming his first of what is now eight Breeders’ Cup winners when he annexed that year’s Dirt Mile. Into Mischief would begin his now six-year reign atop the general sire list in 2019 and last year became the first stallion to surpass $30 million in progeny earnings in a single season.

“I remember after Into Mischief hit with his first crop, I look back and always ask myself, ‘What did I miss?’,” Waldman said. “Is he truly a fluke that I wouldn't have caught, or did I overlook this? And in Into Mischief’s case, I missed it. But I’m not even sure Spendthrift saw he could be as good as he was, so you have to give credit to that sire line.”

With the ascent of Into Mischief and Not That Time, as well as the exploits of the late Scat Daddy, the sire line has in fact evolved from being known as primarily a speed influence into one that can inject stamina – a necessary component for 3-year-olds going the 1 ¼-miles distance in the Kentucky Derby for the first time.

Into Mischief’s ability to get top-class progeny across divisions has been well documented – from champion female sprinter Covfefe to 2024 Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) winner Laurel River. And when entries were taken for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup, Not This Time’s all-around aptitude was on full display as the 11-year-old stallion was represented by Grade 1 winning turf sprinter Cogburn and graded stakes winning marathoner, Next.

“He’s kind of done it at every level, he’s done it at any distance,” Toffey said of Into Mischief, who commands a fee of $250,000 in 2025. “He definitely leans toward being a speed sire, but he has multiple classic winners. He has demonstrated his consistency, his brilliance.”

“The versatility of a Not This Time - long, short, dirt, turf - it’s like Storm Cat himself,” added Waldman. “The Not This Times probably want to go a little farther than most of the Storm Cats did, although Giant’s Causeway clearly was a classic distance horse. As a result, you can get a horse that can run at a classic distance.”

Just as his stud career steadily gained in momentum, Storm Cat’s influence on the biggest stages shows no signs of slowing. With both Into Mischief and Not This Time having their top books of mares to date coming down the pipeline, as well as the ongoing success of the likes of Justify and Practical Joke, the days of his sire line lording over the race widely regarded as the most consequential in North America don’t figure to conclude anytime soon. 

“You never get tired of seeing it, and to see it continue for this many years later…because eventually the veins should die off,” Waldman said. “We’ll see how long this goes with Storm Cat, but it is heartwarming. He helped everybody who touched his life, and everybody’s life was better for having Storm Cat.”

State Incentives 2025 - The different state incentives for owners and breeders across North America

Words - Ken Snyder

There’s an old saying, “the more things change, the more they are the same.”  “Same,” in the case of Thoroughbred breeding, might actually be desirable, as in a leveling off of declining foal crops and short fields not getting any shorter. 

“Change” is borderline cataclysmic. To wit, the possibility of decoupling racing at Gulfstream Park from the casino poses an existential threat to the racetrack, and dark clouds are beginning to loom over Santa Anita that’s not coming from the recent fires.

Still, the industry soldiers on. 

It’s ironic that Kentucky, the hub of the Thoroughbred industry in North America, prospers with record-high purses and full to overflowing fields. 

On the positive side for breeders and the industry as a whole, sale prices increased over 2023 in the weanling, yearling and broodmare divisions. 

Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, one major barometer of industry health, broke a cumulative sales record on the 10-day mark with sales topping $405 million, beating the prior record set in 2022. 

Total yearling sales receipts across North America increased by just over 4% year on year with an average price also increasing just over 6% above ’23 averages. With an inflation rate of 2.89% at time of writing (down from the astronomical 9.06% in 2022) breeders could actually spend some of their sales revenues.

Naysayers, however, might snidely ask horse purchasers, “Where ya’ gonna’ race ‘em?”

The answer is states where racing venues operate with breeding incentives, thank you very much. For that matter, one of the states —New York– will boost state-bred incentives by 15% in 2027 in time for renovated Belmont Park. That would be 15% of $42.8 million (the total for 2024 New York-bred races) or a cool $6.4 million in 2027. 

It seems, by the way, New York breeders are ahead of NYRA. The state actually experienced a foal crop increase from 1,446 to 1,524 at time of writing with full results not yet in… one of the few states with a plus number last year.

Also in the plus column is Pennsylvania. Foals numbers are projected to remain the same through 2023 to 2024. But with ten new stallions to hit the breeding sheds this year, including 2022 Kentucky Derby-winner Rich Strike, that number will likely increase in years to come. Rich Strike is one of approximately 45 stallions standing in Pennsylvania, according to Brian Sanfrantello, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

The Keystone State might be the best place for breeding awards east of Kentucky. Last year, Warriors Reward topped stallion standings with $199,664. Add breeder totals to that and you have $927,518. 

Speaking of Kentucky, there was $58.1 million last year in Owners’ Awards, but no stallion owners’ awards. But Kentucky has the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KBIF). Awards since the fund’s inception in 2005 total over $200 million for winning eligible races. 

The KBIF also solves a mystery for most racegoers in the Commonwealth in racing programs. It is common to see purse money added to by the “Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.” That money comes from a 6% sales tax on breeding to a Kentucky stallion.

Peripheral but important to many small breeders in Kentucky for the coming season has been both Spendthrift Farm and Taylor Made Stallions cutting fees for six stallions and seven stallions respectively. 

In total, fee reductions for thirteen damn good stallions went from a total of $205,000 last year to $124,750 in 2025. The cuts enable a wider market of breeders to pass through Spendthrift’s gates and might generate new blood in the sport.

In Florida the absence of a state income tax carries over to horse breeding. Unlike Kentucky, there is no tax on stallion seasons spending; horses purchased from an original breeder are sales-tax exempt; there is no personal state income or individual capital gains tax; and feed/animal health items are tax exempt. 

The incentives require a journey into the proverbial weeds with different awards for Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs--some bonuses for a maiden special weight and allowance races but not handicap races; a percentage of a gross purse for winning a Black-Type stakes race; and bonuses on open overnight races. 

The incentives vary between Gulfstream and Tampa. Suffice to say, according to the FTOBA’s website, Florida breeds - "Registered Florida Stallions”-- are eligible for “purse and race incentives plus the $1.2 million 2-year-old stakes series at Gulfstream Park.”

My guess is the trainer, jockey, and maybe even some owners just wait till they get their check from a track’s payroll clerk to know what they won.

Louisiana is much simpler. A horse sired by a Louisiana stallion and foaled in the state who finishes first, second or third at a Louisiana track earns a 25% award. (Purses with this award structure are capped at $200,000.) A horse sired out of state but foaled in Louisiana earns 20% for first, second, and third if the race is within the state. A “non-resident” filly or mare, can earn an award of 10% if sired by a Louisiana stallion and racing in the state. It’s win, place, and show for these horses, too. The smallest award is 9% to resident and non-resident mares sired by out-of-state stallions. This includes mares bred back to an out-of-state stallion.

Arkansas might be the easiest incentive program to understand. Stallion awards are to an owner of an Arkansas-bred stallion for first through fourth place for any race in North America. Awards are “calculated on the earnings of 1st through 4th place finishes.” 

California’s breeding awards are not complicated but vary by race condition and purse size. It’s pretty straightforward (unlike the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund) and is available in the state-by-state breakdown of incentives.

Meet the new stallions in Pennsylvania for 2025

A Kentucky Derby winner. . . a Canadian champion. . . Hall of Fame pedigrees. . . dazzling racing careers – the Pennsylvania stallion roster has been enriched with the addition of nine new stallions for the upcoming breeding season. Pennsylvania stallions offer breeders added punch – in addition to their runners earning more through the state’s lucrative breeders program, their offspring are eligible for the rich PA-Sired, PA-Bred Stallion Series stakes.

ALEJANDRO - Lola Cash and Built Wright Stables’ Alejandro offers a Hall of Fame pedigree as a son of Preakness-winning two-time Horse of the Year and leading sire Curlin out of the only daughter of Preakness-winning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra.

The first foal out of Grade 1-winning juvenile filly Rachel’s Valentina, a daughter of Preakness-winning champion and top sire Bernardini, Alejandro earned $453,836 in a 35-start career as he competed at 11 different tracks, won four times and placed in 16 others over five seasons. Victories came at Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park and Remington Park, at distances up to 1 3/16 miles.

Rachel’s Valentina was a Grade 1 winner of the Spinaway, and recorded seconds in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies-G1 and Ashland Stakes-G1 in six career starts while earning $738,800. 

Rachel Alexandra was named 2009 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly after wins in the Preakness, Haskell and Woodward, each over males, the Kentucky Oaks-G1 by more than 20 lengths and Mother Goose-G1 by 19 1/2 lengths. A 13-time winner with five seconds in 19 starts, she earned $3.5 million and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility in 2016.

Curlin, a notable sire of sires, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2014. 

Bay, 2018, Curlin—Rachel’s Valentina, by Langfuhr

Standing his first season at Mountain Springs Farm, Palmyra, PA

Stud fee: $1,500 LFSN; a free lifetime breeding award is included if paying $3,000 to send two mares 

BEREN - Pennsylvania-bred champion 3-year-old and sprinter of 2021, Susan Quick and Christopher Feifarek’s seven-time stakes-winning homebred Beren stands his first season alongside his sire, Weigelia, at WynOaks Farm.

In  2021, he raced at least once a month from January through November, won seven times, five in stakes – the Gold Fever and Paradise Creek (by 10 3/4 lengths) at Belmont Park, the Crowd Pleaser (by 9 1/2 lengths going 1 1/16 miles) and Parx Summer Sprint (by 6 1/2 lengths) at Parx, and the Danzig at Penn National – and was second in the Steel Valley Sprint at Mahoning Valley Race Course. 

Racing through age 6, Beren’s richest victory in 35 career starts came in the 2022 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash. Eleven of his 12 wins were at distances from 6 to 7 furlongs. He also ran in 17 consecutive stakes and finished fourth or better in 14 times. His nine stakes-placings included a third in the 2023 Grade 3 General George at Laurel. Beren retires with earnings just shy of $1 million ($944,890). 

He is out of Quick and Feifarek’s homebred millionaire Silmaril (by Diamond). His third dam is graded stakes-winning Kattegat’s Pride. The family includes graded stakes winner Chip and millionaire Smooth B.

Bay, 2018, Weigelia—Silmaril, by Diamond

Standing his first season at WynOaks Farm, Delta, PA

Stud fee: Private Contract

CURLIN’S WISDOM - Bred on the same cross as Grade 1-winning millionaire Connect, one of the nation’s leading young sires, Curlin’s Wisdom enters stud after a career in which he was a stakes-placed runner of $455,853 from 29 starts.

The dark bay son of Curlin was a model of consistency at 2 and 3. In 15 straight starts, from October 2021 through December 2022 while racing at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga, he finished in the top three 13 times and was fourth in the other two. He was second in the $250,000 Empire Classic Stakes at 3 in his stakes debut after three straight wins, from 1 mile on the turf to 1 1/8 miles on the main track. 

His dam, the winning Rockport Harbor mare Whisper Wisdom, is a half-sister to two stakes winners including Curlin’s son Connect, winner of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile and the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby. Connect has sired the likes of Grade 1 winner and $2-million earner Rattle N Roll.

Dark bay or Brown, 2019, Curlin—Whisper Wisdom, by Rockport Harbor

Standing his first season at Cabin Creek, Gettysburg, PA

Stud fee: Private Contract

ENTICED - A top-10 nationally-ranked sire with two crops of racing age, Medaglia d’Oro’s graded stakes-winning son Enticed moves to Pennsylvania and immediately jumps into second on the state’s 2024 stallion earnings list. Bred and raced by Godolphin, he previously stood at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Kentucky.

Now owned by a syndicate, Enticed has four stakes winners in his first crop, including graded winner Visually, winner of Santa Anita’s Senorita Stakes-G3. His runners in 2024 earned more than $3.2 million, for an average of $31,879.

Enticed’s first crop of 2-year-olds put him solidly in the top-10 on the freshman sires list in 2023, with 23 winners and earnings of more than $1.2 million. Daughter Shimmering Allure, who made her stakes debut in Grade 1 company, earned $239,095 while winning Aqueduct’s Tempted Stakes and finishing second in the Demoiselle Stakes-G2.

Enticed was a graded winner at 2 and 3 who earned $595,680 in seven starts. He won the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes-G2 at 2 over Tiz Mischief and Promises Fulfilled, and finish third in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes in his second start after winning his debut at 6 furlongs at Saratoga. At 3 he won the 1-mile Gotham Stakes-G3 by daylight and finished second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial. 

His dam, $1,666,500-earner and six-time stakes winner It’s Tricky, won eight of 14 starts including three Grade 1s – the Coaching Club American Oaks, Acorn and Ogden Phipps. She is also the dam of graded stakes-placed 2-year-old filly Enliven. Second dam is graded winner Catboat.

Dark bay or Brown, 2015, Medaglia d’Oro—It’s Tricky, by Mineshaft

Standing at Mountain Springs Farm, Palmyra, PA

Stud fee: $5,000 LFSN

IMPOSING - Royally-bred Imposing, out of Tapit’s champion daughter Untapable, is the first son of Hall of Famer Gun Runner to stand in the region.

Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male, ranks as one of the top stallions in the world today, with more than $22 million in progeny earnings in 2024 alone. Counted among his four Grade 1 winners last year are Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone. 

 Gun Runner won six Grade 1s including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and amassed $15,988,500. Imposing’s dam Untapable earned the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly in 2014 when she won six of seven starts, all graded stakes, five Grade 1, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff against older mares as the favorite. She earned of $3,926,625 from 20 starts. 

Second dam Fun House, a daughter of Breeders’ Cup Turf-G1 winner Prized, was a graded winner of $432,922. She was named Broodmare of the Year after also producing Grade 1 winner and sire Paddy O’Prado. The family includes multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Red Route One, a son of Gun Runner out of a full sister to Untapable.

Imposing was unraced due to injury.

Bay, 2021, Gun Runner—Untapable, by Tapit

Standing his first season at Cabin Creek, Gettysburg, PA

Stud fee: Private Contract

MAGIC SPOON - Undefeated juvenile Magic Spoon is the first son of champion 2-year-old Good Magic to stand at stud in the region. The chestnut 4-year-old is one of 20 stakes winners by one of the hottest young sires in the world today.  With just three crops to race, Good Magic is already the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Preakness winner Dornoch, plus 10 other graded winners. The son of Curlin ranked in the top 20 nationally by progeny earnings in 2024.

A member of Good Magic’s second crop, Magic Spoon captured Santa Anita’s Golden State Juvenile Stakes over 11 rivals at 7 furlongs as the favorite in only his second start. In his debut he produced a great closing kick - flying at the end to get up after a troubled trip to break his maiden at 6 furlongs over Santa Anita’s main track. He was sidelined by injury after his stakes victory and retires with earnings of $136,350.

Magic Spoon is out of stakes-placed Canadian Mistress, a full sister to $389,420-earning stakes winner Frontier Warrior (by the Gone West stallion Canadian Frontier) and half-sister to $237,213 stakes winner Midnight Ruler. 

Chestnut, 2021, Good Magic—Canadian Mistress, by Canadian Frontier

Standing his first season at Cabin Creek, Gettysburg, PA

Stud fee: Private Contract

RICH STRIKE -  Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike becomes the latest classic winner to stand in the state. The son of Travers Stakes-G1 winner Keen Ice and grandson of Curlin enters stud with career earnings of $2,526,809 in 14 starts. 

The chestnut burst onto the racing scene in spectacular fashion in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. The longest shot in the field of 20 – getting in last minute after a late scratch – he rallied from more than 17 lengths back, weaved his way through the field, caught favorite Epicenter in deep stretch and edged away. He earned his way into the field when third in his previous start, the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks over Turfway Park’s all-weather track. 

Rich Strike won or placed in four stakes, three graded. From the end of his juvenile campaign until his final start in May 2023, he raced exclusively in stakes. He missed by a head to the year-older Hot Rod Charlie in the 2022 Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill and finished fourth behind Epicenter (in a three-horse photo with Cyberknife and Zandon for second) in the Travers Stakes-G1 as well as behind Flightline in the Breeders’ Cup Classic-G1.

Out of Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Gold Strike (by Smart Strike), Rich Strike is a half-brother to graded winner Llanarmon and to the dam of graded-winning Pennsylvania-bred millionaire Neecie Marie.

Chestnut, 2019, Keen Ice—Gold Strike, by Smart Strike

Standing his first season at Mountain Springs Farm, Palmyra, PA

Stud fee: $6,500 LFSN, special consideration for PA foaling mares

TYSON - Canadian champion older horse of 2023, Tyson stands his first season as the property of Darryl and Jill Myers’ new Thoroughbred operation, Stone Jug Ranch, in Dillsburg.

On the board five times in seven starts his championship season, four in consecutive graded stakes, the son of leading sire Tapit counted wins in beyond a mile in Seagram Cup-G2 and Dominion Day-G3 and a third in the Eclipse-G2, all over Woodbine’s synthetic track. He traveled to Saratoga for his main track debut in the Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1 and ran third, less than 3 lengths behind Bright Future. In his first start in 2024 he was second in the Eclipse-G2. Tyson retires with a record of 10-4-1-2 and earnings of $378,548. 

From the dynamic family of Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, the most expensive broodmare ever sold (at $14 million), he is out of the winning Smart Strike mare Honouring, a full sister to Grade 1-winning juvenile filly Streaming and stakes winner Treasuring and a half-sister to three other stakes performers. Her half-sisters include the dams of Belmont Stakes-G1 and Travers Stakes-G1 winner and champion 3-year-old Arcangelo, and multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Cezanne. 

The rich family history boasts additional Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and champion 3-year-old filly of 2007 Rags to Riches, as well as Irish champion Man of Iron and multiple graded winners Casino Drive and Greatest Honour. 

Gray/Roan, 2019, Tapit—Honouring, by Smart Strike

Standing his first season at Stone Jug Ranch, Dillsburg, PA. 

Stud fee: $3,500, or $2,500 for multiple bookings, with special consideration for PA foaling and stakes-producing mares

ZOZOS - Graded stakes-winning miler Zozos, the first son of major sire Munnings to stand in the region, has been acquired by Rodney Eckenrode for the Equistar Training and Breeding roster.

A millionaire with seven wins in 15 starts, from 6 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, Zozos excelled as a miler. His victories at the distance came in the Ack Ack Stakes-G3 and Knicks Go Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park’s Hanshin Stakes. 

Zozos made his stakes debut at Fair Grounds in his third start, the 2022 Louisiana Derby-G2 at 1 3/16 miles, and finished second to Epicenter, who would later win the Travers Stakes-G1. That effort earned him a berth in the Kentucky Derby-G1 (he finished midpack). He ran third in the 2024 Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes at 7 furlongs, missing second by a neck to Gun Pilot, and retired with earnings of $1,011,463.

His dam Papa’s Forest is a winning daughter of Forestry who earned $233,593 while racing from 2 to 6. Her other foal of racing age, $334,948-earner Emerald Forest, is the current 7-furlong track record holder at Louisiana Downs after zipping 1:21.07 in 2021. 

Zozos’ third dam Barbara Sue, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and sire Super May and four-time graded winner and sire Ide, raced through age 8, won five stakes, and produced graded winner Diamond On the Run and additional stakes winners Tropical Blossom and Barbette.

Dark bay or brown, 2019, Munnings—Papa’s Forest, by Forestry

Standing his first season at Equistar Training and Breeding, Annville, PA . 

Stud fee: $2,500 LFSN

Bloodstock Briefing - Looking ahead to the 2025 breeding season

Words - Jordin Rosser

As 2024 draws to a close, stud farms all over the country are gathering stallion prospects for the upcoming year and to attract breeders to their new prospects, managers must think strategically on where their prospect will fit in next year’s market. 

With the North American foal crop on the decline in recent years and rising costs, breeders have begun to attempt new tactics and adapt to new business strategies to allay these concerns.

We have gathered the opinions of Lere Visage, the general manager of Rockridge Stud in New York and his stallion manager, Erin Robinson. Rockridge Stud stands stallions such as AmericanRevolution, Mind Control and War Dancer. Supplemental information including statistics were provided by the Jockey Club Fact Books – referencing three of the largest states for breeding: New York, Kentucky, and Florida.

Q: What factors determine trends in the next year’s breeding season?

Breeding Community

Similar to real estate, location is a key factor in determining matings due to time and financial costs incurred by shipping the mare to the stallion and possibly boarding for the mare to ensure she is in foal. 

Depending on the breeder’s financial status, the location of their farm in relation to the stud farm is a limiting factor in choosing a stallion for their mare. 

In New York, Rockridge Stud is trying a new tactic, as Robinson mentioned in the case of Mind Control and AmericanRevolution, multiple farms ‘collaborated to get the stallions to New York and get him “syndicated and with full support from breeders near and far” by offering micro shares in ownership for these future racing hopefuls. In allowing these stallions of ‘Kentucky caliber’ to be offered in New York, have led these stallions to reach ‘Kentucky numbers’ of mares bred (nearly 200), as stated by Visage. 

Breeding/Racing Incentives – Breeders Awards, Tax Incentives, State-Bred Racing Conditions and Stallion Stakes

For the three large foal crop states, the incentives to produce foals are plenty. In Florida for example, there are tax exemptions for the purchase of horses from the original breeder and stallion seasons. In Kentucky, the KTDF registration allows for additional purse money to be added to a KY-registered horse - similar to both New York and Florida. In New York, the breeder’s awards have been upped to 40% for a New-York sired horse in 2024 - a 20% increase from 2023. 

In Florida and New York, there are racing conditions written to sweeten the purse for state-registered entries and if the horse is sired by a registered state stallion, the horse is then eligible to participate in stakes races with additional purse money and increased breeder awards leading to a strong financial incentive.

Commercial Stallions

To provide stallions of superior quality, the commerciality of the horse requires it to have already been successful in the breeding shed previously or fresh from the racetrack.

The qualities necessary for an attractive first year stallion include horses with great race records, good conformation, and sired themselves by a proven sire. At the end of the racing season, stud farms are working to add newly retired stakes horses or their siblings to their stallion roster. For stallions with runners, the year’s results could allow for a stallion to be more or less popular with breeders. 

Q: With the continued decrease in foal count, how does this affect the upcoming breeding season?

According to the Jockey Club, the number of foals born in 2022 (fully registered and a more accurate count of horses foaled by the time the horse is 2 years old), decreased by 4.89% from 2021. At first glance, the decrease in percentage is concerning.

However, according to Robinson, there is a strong likelihood that “not well producing mares have been taken out of the producing population and there is more rehoming and retraining”. In reality, as Robinson points out, not all producing horses are “cut out for that career” and, if able, it would be more constructive to retrain and rehome them. This has been moving the industry towards ensuring the best breed with the best when possible and creating more high quality horses.  

Q: How can we address these concerns heading into the upcoming year?

As an industry, it can be disheartening to see the foal crop count falling. However, it might behoove us to consider the minimum number of runners necessary to fill races at the tracks currently open and take into consideration the percentage of horses who do not start out from the foal crop as well as how often a horse is likely to race. This minimum viable racing foal crop calculation could provide a more complete picture of the industry and provide more ideas around racing conditions. 

In the Thoroughbred racing industry, there is a place for all players, but only if they have a strategy. In breeding, the goal is to support their stud until he begins to produce runners where his progeny will speak for himself. Some farms choose quantity of foals, some choose quality of mares and others support risk management through unique ownership structures which include the developing micro share offerings. 

Starting a stallion syndicate is not a new concept, but starting a stallion syndicate with micro shares and with a community of stud farms is - if this concept proves itself to be viable, it may begin to change how stud farms operate.  

Bloodstock Briefing - opinions on enhancing yearling sales

Compiled by - Jordin Rosser

The ecosystem of the Thoroughbred racing industry, like all ecosystems, requires its components to be interconnected and interdependent to be a functional system. If one of the components disappears or is compromised, the ecosystem as a whole suffers. Today, the racing industry has shown trends that the middle market is on the decline, risking a lack of market diversity. To restore the Thoroughbred racing industry ecosystem to its full potential, other areas need to be supportive – the bloodstock industry is one we can start the discussion with. 

To discuss ideas on how the bloodstock industry can strengthen the middle market, we gathered the opinions of racing secretaries, bloodstock agents, and middle market buyers. Keith Doleshel, a NYRA racing secretary, and Tracy Egan, the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, bring to light the benefits of auction races to New York’s racing program. Clark Shepherd of Shepherd Equine Advisors, a well-known bloodstock agent in addition to a respected pedigree analyst, weighs in on middle market client strategies at auctions. Lastly, Charles Weston: an experienced and knowledgeable middle market buyer who has seen success over the last 30 years through partnerships and bloodstock selections. 

Q: What can the bloodstock industry do to support the middle market? 

Note: This is strictly opinion and does not reflect the stance of any organization. These points are intended to be read as conversation starters and used to fuel the discussion around what might be good for the health of the industry.

Based on the panelists’ experiences as a bloodstock agent or as a middle market buyer, they have compiled a list of suggested starting points: 

Education for New Investors 

Many new investors may be overwhelmed at the amount of knowledge required in selecting new additions to their stable, the processes of training horses, and general strategies on how to be a successful racehorse owner. Shepherd is an avid believer that the new middle market investor can learn the skills to see a horse’s “potential value” to give confidence in the process and in their agent’s decisions but only if they in turn are trained on what is expected. 

Technology Advancements

Auction houses’ ability to provide transparency and information accountability has given rise to more disclosures thereby improving information surrounding the bloodstock for sale, in turn making it more important to purchase the “right '' horse. Shepherd recommends genetic testing, cardio scans, and performance analytics to give more insight on purchasing the “right” horse, who will be both successful and profitable. 

Breed for Racehorses not Commercial Horses

Recently, breeders are becoming more “savvy” according to Shepherd with regards to breeding their bloodstock to become racehorses instead of commercial horses (meaning horses for the sales ring). Racehorse attributes include the right pedigree and conformation to be quality horses destined for the track. With the continued decrease in commercial horses, the ratio further trends towards more quality racehorses for owners to become more profitable. 

Create more ‘Coupons’

Weston affectionately calls registrations, certifications, auction races, and other nominations by the term ‘coupons’. These provide incentives for extra purse money for owners, breeders awards, and more to go into the pockets of middle market buyers and breeders. When attempting to make their bloodstock investment profitable, one strategy Weston uses is to have certifications and nominations be as geographically local as possible which allows for easy shipping between tracks for options in race conditions, incentivized purse structure, and in the case of auction races the ability to be competitive. 

Partnerships

One of the main concerns discussed amongst the industry is rising costs in training bills and initial purchase prices due to supply and demand concerns. Partnerships can provide an avenue through which buyers can own significant percentages of a horse but split the costs of ownership amongst others. A strategy Weston uses is to send his horses to a trainer who wishes to be a co-owner as it allows for the individuals’ training bill to be lowered and incentivizes the trainer to select the best racing conditions while offsetting risk.

Q: Does breeding to the sons of top stallions for less in stud fees provide a benefit to the middle market? 

A consensus was reached among the panelists indicating the profit margin is most apparent in bloodstock whose sires are sons of top stallions with the exclusion of the top freshman stallions. Due to the stud fee being cheaper, the initial cost needed to break even with respect to the stud fee as a breeder is significantly lower compared to other stallion options. Thus, when the breeder wishes to sell, the profit margin may not be as large as if the bloodstock was by a top stallion with a good conformation or movement, but it still does provide the opportunity for profit – particularly if the resulting bloodstock does have good conformation and movement. From a middle market buyer’s perspective, if a horse is purchased anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 and requires class relief to the claiming ranks to be competitive, the purchaser is less likely to be impacted negatively as there is opportunity to offset both the initial and recurring costs.  Weston has found success with this method with many purchases he has made for himself or in partnerships inclusive of Con Lima, who was a multiple graded stakes winner earning nearly $900,000 and sired by the A.P. Indy stallion Commissioner.  

Q: If the large-scale introduction of auction races were to be implemented, how would that affect the market? 

Thoroughbred racing in Europe launched auction races into prominence with their racing programs and due to their popularity, the concept was brought to America via tracks in New York and Kentucky. Many of the benefits of these races include giving “trainers and owners who do not own expensive horses a chance to win at important venues”, an “outlet for middle market and regional stallions to sire winners in what has become a hyper competitive marketplace”, and “an opportunity to play on a level [playing] field” according to Tracy Egan. Given the overfilling of auction races in New York, Keith Doleshel believes the idea will begin to “trickle down” to other racetracks. In general, striking a balance between the different levels of racing is required to maintain a high-quality meet, and these auction races provide additional opportunities for the middle market to find success and stand out.

For the racing industry to flourish, the middle market is needed not only at the auctions but at the racetrack. If the middle market were to shrink further, the purchases of middle market horses would primarily be conducted through claiming races. Given breeding operations need a healthy profit margin to continue through auction purchases, claiming horses would only incentivize breeders to narrow their operations. Beyond this, racetracks need bloodstock at all levels to be sustainable and continue to be competitive for the racing enthusiasts, betters, and horsemen. How else can one progress otherwise, after all? Racing is a global economic engine and to preserve it, a successful middle market must exist. To do this, we must come together as a community to bring new blood into the market in a well-informed manner where the newcomers believe they have a genuine chance at success.

The Principles of Genetic Research and its Impact on the Thoroughbred Racing World

Article by Holly Robilliard and Cassie Fraser

GMO Thoroughbreds? Superhorses created in the lab? Is genetic doping a real “thing”? It’s time for a reality check and a good, hard look at what’s real, or even possible, and how it can hurt or help the Thoroughbred industry.

Breeders, trainers, and owners continually seek a competitive edge, striving to produce horses with the speed, stamina, and resilience needed to succeed on the racetrack. Concurrently, there is increasing pressure and responsibility to minimize animal discomfort, injury, and death in a public forum. Therefore we must carefully examine and balance all the tools at our disposal before determining which ones to use and how.  

Interestingly, there is a growing technology that may be of more notable controversy than even horse racing: The power of genetics. Perhaps the greatest power man has ever wielded, genetics has sparked numerous debates over the good and evil it can bring. As with most new things, there is a significant fear of the unknown, so how do we even begin to understand it? In short: research, homework, and fact-finding. Let’s look at what is fact, scientifically known, and possible today, and then consider what may be possible in the future. 

Genetic Influences on Equine Performance

DNA, often called the “blueprint of life,” holds the key to a horse’s inheritance and development, from its physical prowess, size, and speed, to temperament and abilities. By studying their genetics, we can unravel the intricate code that dictates the pre-existing traits and characteristics of these powerful athletes. This information can then be utilized in our breeding and performance programs to improve suitability and success, all while upholding ethical standards and preserving the integrity of the sport.

The general rule for Mendelian traits is that a foal inherits one allele from each parent for a given gene. If the inherited alleles are the same, the horse is called homozygous for that gene. If they are different, they are heterozygous. As heterozygosity goes up, genetic diversity is increased, resulting in more variation in the genetic content. This results in a greater adaptability to environmental stressors and change, leading to a more robust animal and population. With equine genetics, we tend to focus on three kinds of genes: Causatives - genes/variants that directly cause a trait or condition, Correlatives - genes/variants that appear alongside, or in common, with a trait or condition, and Risks - genes/variants that increase their likelihood/risk of acquiring that trait or condition. 

A Thoroughbred study by Momozawa et al. found an association between the dopamine d4 receptor (DRD4) gene and a measure of temperament. In the study, “curiosity”, defined as, “an interest in novel objects and a willingness to approach them”, was prevalent in horses with a particular gene variant. Horses preferring to observe carefully, from a distance, were of the opposite variant type, named “vigilance”. Although further research is required, it is not unreasonable to consider that temperament affects a horse's ability to learn, break from the gate, or handle the pressure of large crowds on race day.

Another performance trait, perhaps of more notable interest to Thoroughbred enthusiasts is the “speed” gene, myostatin (MSTN). This insertion results in increased muscle growth in horses and other mammals. Genetically, horses can have two copies of the “Sprint” variant, two copies of the “Endurance” variant, or one copy of each, “Sprint/Endurance.” Thoroughbreds homozygous for the Sprint variant tend to excel earlier in age, at shorter distances (8 furlongs or less) with quick bursts of speed. Horses homozygous for Endurance excel later, and at longer distances (9 furlongs or more). However, heterozygous horses won at all distances, having both quick bursts of speed  and endurance capabilities (Fig 1).

Using genome-wide association studies (GWAS), scientists can analyze equine DNA and identify specific genes associated with various health and performance traits. This research holds immense promise, pinpointing genes responsible for desirable traits like speed, temperament, gait, size, and overall health. So how can we use it to produce horses with optimized genetic profiles for racing, while minimizing risk and injury? The answer lies within our breeding programs.

Breeding & Buying Optimized With Genetics

For generations, breeders have been making selections for observed traits, such as pedigree, racing history, prior offspring performance, and conformation. Additionally, “Nicking,” the strategic crossing of certain lines with an observed affinity for one another, is another well-known method used to make breeding decisions. These techniques may be successful, as the chosen bloodlines possess underlying genetic traits that express and complement one another. Given science today, the next evolutionary step in this process is to genetically test and confirm the desired traits are present and will be passed on in the most advantageous combinations.

Inbreeding (having drastically reduced genetic diversity) poses a significant challenge within the Thoroughbred racing industry due to the closed nature of the studbook. Science shows that a 10% increase in inbreeding reduces a horse’s likelihood of successful racing by 7%. Essentially, higher genomic inbreeding correlates with poorer performance. Traditionally, we have relied on pedigree and conformation to make mating decisions. Today, using actual genetics, we can calculate accurate genomic inbreeding and work toward decreasing it. On paper, two mares (full siblings) would appear to have the same inbreeding value. In reality, they can differ greatly, and if bred to the same stallion, may produce foals with drastically higher, or lower, genomic inbreeding values.

Using myostatin again, let’s look at a stallion that, by conformation and pedigree, appears to be the perfect match for your mare. Genetically, the mare is Sprint/Endurance and the stallion is Sprint/Sprint. This would result in a foal who is 50% likely to be Sprint/Endurance and 50% likely to be Sprint/Sprint. Now, if you breed that same mare with a stallion who has, at a minimum, one copy of endurance, the foal would still have a 25% chance of being Sprint/Sprint. However, it would also have a 50% chance of being Sprint/Endurance, and a 25% likelihood of being Endurance/Endurance, giving it longer-distance capabilities.

Beyond discovering performance-related traits, genetic research plays a vital role in promoting the overall health and sustainability of the breed. Health and soundness risks, such as Recurrent Laryngeal Neuropathy (RLN), or “roaring”, Kissing Spines, and Tendinopathy are being actively developed as genetically testable variants. Some of these traits can limit a Thoroughbred's pre- or post-racing career. Other predispositions, like Chronic Idiopathic Anhidrosis (CIA), or “non-sweater,” or Fracture Risk, can be life-ending if they go undetected. 

Through the use of genetic testing and associated technologies, breeders can “Build-A-Horse” to their specifications by crossing specific sires and dams using confirmed, heritable genetics, that create that optimal foal. By making breeding decisions based on math and science, we can reduce the presence of undesirable health traits in our programs.

As more Thoroughbred owners utilize genetics, collaborating researchers will continue identifying areas of strength and vulnerability in health and performance. This knowledge empowers breeders and buyers to make informed decisions that preserve genetic diversity and ensure the long-term strength of Thoroughbred bloodlines. Given the considerable investment of both resources and effort involved in the production and training of horses destined for the track, decreasing risk and increasing financial management is paramount. Remarkably, the cost of utilizing genetic testing to ascertain a horse’s optimal race distance is less than one week's feed, and can ultimately save owners and breeders both time and money.

Navigating Ethical Considerations

As genetic research becomes increasingly integrated into the Thoroughbred racing industry, it’s wise to approach this technology with foresight instead of fear. Whilst it offers unprecedented opportunities for improvement and advancement, this research also carries the potential for unintended consequences and ethical dilemmas that must be carefully navigated. 

The topic of cloning has been hotly debated in the last decade. The first reaction appears to be to “ban” it in certain registries and competitions. Interestingly, the fears stoked by this technology have not materialized into truth for a seemingly simple reason: You can replicate the genetic code of an animal, but it’s another thing entirely to replicate the uterine environment, the training, feeding, life experiences, and competition circumstances.

Another recent concern within the industry is the concept of “gene doping” to create superhorses, which involves artificially modifying an athlete's genes to enhance their performance. For example, the myostatin gene may become the target of genome editing in horses, as it alters the amount and composition of muscle fiber types. Although there are no known foals born, to date, with genetically altered myostatin, could it happen? Maybe. Would the effect be instant in something like myostatin? No. Why? Because that’s not how it works! A live animal has a fully formed physical plan in place, especially for things such as muscle, tendons, and bone. Today’s most advanced gene therapies tend to be extremely targeted regions, take months to years to work, and are extraordinarily expensive. 

Assuming it’s possible to change the myostatin disposition of a horse, could we detect that it was manipulated? The answer, according to multiple experts, is a very strong, “maybe”. Technique and timing would matter as would the simple question of, “Could this foal’s parents have passed on this genotype?” As technology advances and provides the opportunity for a competitive edge, it’s safe to say that someone will try it. What then? The answer may just come down to numbers, like everything else on the track.

So, with all of this knowledge, can someone choose a bunch of genetic traits and create a Superhorse? Although you hear about it every day, complex genetic editing is just in its infancy. It is possible to change a gene or variant within an embryo- We’ve been doing it for decades already. So why not a Superhorse? Well…consider the following:

1. It’s not easy to insert a single correct genetic edit that results in a living animal. 

2. It takes a large number of iterations and time for that one change.

3. The process can be super expensive. Multiply this by many dollars and much more time for every additional genetic change you wish to add.

4. Once you’ve produced genetic change, now you have to wait years to see the foal perform at which point your choice of changes may no longer be the winning combination!

Although we are likely years away from this being a feasible, let alone common, issue, we need to take steps now to understand genetics and devise a reasonable path forward. Preventing the misuse of gene editing could be as simple as creating a standardized genetic testing requirement via hair sample in addition to the standard parentage verification. This initial hair sample would serve as a genetic baseline, offering a comparison for those taken at a later date when genetic modifications are suspected. 

By adhering to rigorous standards of ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability, we can harness the full potential of genetic research while safeguarding the welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing.

Conclusion

Genetic research and testing represent a game-changing advancement for the Thoroughbred racing industry. It is a powerful tool for enhancing the quality, health, and performance of racehorses- all of which are required to maintain the sport's integrity. As we increase our understanding of equine genetics and discover new traits applicable to the Thoroughbred, we can produce healthier, more competitive horses, while reducing the historical struggles of inbreeding and breakdown. Although we must be careful to adhere to the ethical code set forth within the industry, by utilizing genetics to build the next generation of improved thoroughbreds, we can take ownership of the technology and usher in a new era of excellence and innovation within the sport.

Sources

Hill, E. W., Stoffel, M. A., McGivney, B. A., MacHugh, D. E., & Pemberton, J. M. (2022). Inbreeding depression and the probability of racing in the Thoroughbred horse. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289(1977). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0487.

Momozawa, Y., Takeuchi, Y., Kusunose, R., Kikusui, T., & Mori, Y. (2005). Association between equine temperament and polymorphisms in dopamine D4 receptor gene. Mammalian genome, 16, 538-544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-005-0021-3

Rooney, M. F., Hill, E. W., Kelly, V. P., & Porter, R. K. (2018). The “speed gene” effect of myostatin arises in Thoroughbred horses due to a promoter proximal SINE insertion. PLoS One, 13(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205664 

Tozaki, T., Ohnuma, A., Nakamura, K., Hano, K., Takasu, M., Takahashi, Y., ... & Nagata, S. I. (2022). Detection of indiscriminate genetic manipulation in Thoroughbred racehorses by targeted resequencing for gene-doping control. Genes, 13(9), 1589. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13091589

Bloodstock Briefing - examining the sire lines which are no longer popular and asking what has caused their demise?

Article by Jordin Rosser

The first breeders of the modern-day thoroughbred had imported 197 Middle Eastern stallions to breed to their English mares in the 17th and 18th centuries, but only three of those stallions’ sire lines are present today – the Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk (1). Of these three foundational sire lines, the Darley Arabian has dominated the bloodstock industry, with both the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk sire lines having dwindled in number. Even with the abundance of the Darley Arabian line, there are branches in this foundational sire’s line which have been lost or are endangered.

To discover why these sire lines are disappearing, we must look at the thoroughbred breed on a global stage. We have gathered pedigree analysts and breeders from Europe, United States, and Australia to examine the less popular sire lines and what factors caused their demise. Suzi Prichard-Jones (the author of Byerley, The Thoroughbred’s Ticking Time Bomb and founder of The Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation Project) and Alan Porter (a pedigree analyst for Pedigree Consultants LLC and co-creator of TrueNicks) are pedigree experts from Ireland/United States and United States, respectively. John Messara (the founder and owner of Arrowfield Stud in NSW, Australia), David O’Farrell (the operations manager of Ocala Stud in Florida, USA), and Kirsten Rausing (the owner and operator of Lanwades Stud in Newmarket, England) are breeders whose high profile, highly successful, stud farms are shaping the landscape of the thoroughbred breed. 

Q: Why do you believe the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk sire lines have become less prevalent? 

The pedigree analyst panelists weighed in with a history of these three foundational sires, explaining how the first champion progeny sires, born in the mid-1700s, are a coordinated blend: Herod (Byerley Turk sire line – Darley Arabian mare), Matchem (Godolphin Arabian sire line – Byerley Turk mare), and Eclipse (Darley Arabian sire line – Godolphin Arabian mare). 

These champion sire lines dominated the breed utterly until the 20th century.  The beginning of the fall of the Godolphin Arabian line in America, most recognizable as the Man O’ War line, occurred around World War II when a tremendous number of horses were being imported from Europe. 

Alan Porter mentions, “at that point, European horses were just better – dirt, turf, any surface. They swept aside the North American sire lines”. Furthermore, Porter mentions “for a 36-year period (from 1939 – 1974), with the exception of 5 times, a European stallion or son of a European stallion was the leading sire in America”- giving scale to the domination of the European imports in American pedigrees. 

During this period, Northern Dancer dominated the global bloodstock due to the mixture of American pedigree and European (specifically Darley Arabian) sire lines. Suzi Prichard-Jones believes the Byerley Turk and Godolphin Arabian lines dwindled for a different reason: Temperament. The Byerley Turk horses are very intelligent and high-spirited where the Godolphin Arabian horses are tough, hardy, and determined. These characteristics, Prichard-Jones explains, require a lot of time and patience which often leads to gelding the colts, thereby ending their chance to continue the sire line. 

Q: Given the dominance of some Darley Arabian sire lines over others and the shrinking of the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk sire lines, what impacts on the breed do you expect if these sire lines disappear? 

One of the pedigree analyst panelists, Suzi Prichard-Jones, spoke extensively on this topic. She theorizes the Thoroughbred breed’s success relies on the “balance” between the three foundational sire lines. Due to at least one other foundational sire line being found within the first six generations of every modern Thoroughbred, she believes the traits of the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk are maintaining the breed to be “fit for purpose”. 

Prichard-Jones speculates if these two sire lines disappear, Thoroughbreds will be “fast but heartless horses” due to the spirit, temperament, toughness, and hard-headedness characteristics the two sire lines bring. However, we truly do not know what impacts the narrowing sire lines will have as there has been insufficient genetic research available to produce future breed projections. 

Q: Does the bloodstock industry place more importance on results in the sales ring or results on the racetrack – particularly involving selection of sires or predicting future success of sires? 

Many panelists agreed: most of the market will select only sires whose progeny there will be a market for. Alan Porter mentions, “other than a few very high net worth individuals, a higher proportion of breeders, particularly in the US, are breeding with the expectation of selling” – dictating the change in the bloodstock industry from mostly “breed to race” operations to breeders providing a sustainable sales model. 

The panelists concur that the market believes when selecting stallions for breeding mares, the stallion’s own results on the racetrack matter first, then the narrative changes to the sire’s progeny performance after the first few crops. 

John Messara follows this approach and states he “is more interested in athletic performance and believes results in the sales ring will follow racetrack success”. He also mentions that Japan’s current model of breeding, by breeding the high performers with other high performers, has brought significant success on the track across the globe – giving much credibility to their methodology. 

However, there are also instances of the opposite, as there are a few examples where “stallions can give progeny better than themselves”, as mentioned by Kirsten Rausing, in reference to stallions such as Danzig, who raced only 3 times in his career and is a sire of champions.  This phenomenon is rare however, as the success rate of Danzig’s progeny provide a counterpoint to the conventional wisdom.

Q: How do we attempt to preserve unpopular sire lines or prevent narrowing the genetic pool of the breed? 

Fortunately, there are a few tactics to help: global shutting of stallions and importing stallions to allow for outcrossing. Outcrossing, a practice that brings in “new blood” to the region’s bloodstock, typically crosses stallions who are progeny of successful stallions in other geographical regions and/or stallions that do not have any inbreeding within four generations with a chosen mare. 

David O’Farrell of Ocala Stud says he is “a big believer of the outcross and not afraid to breed to certain sire lines that may not be as fashionable”. Ocala Stud is known for having stallions intended for outcrossing to local mares – many of their success stories include Girvin, Kantharos and the up-and-coming Win Win Win. Similarly, Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud has had success in “offering breeders and broodmare owners something outside of the ordinary” and a stallion who will “complement the mare population of Europe” including their current stallions Study of Man and Bobby’s Kitten. 

Over the years, the industry has seen how the importing of stallions has strengthened the breed to perform well on the racetrack and in modern times, particularly in Australia and Europe, the practice of shuttling of stallions is proving to have similar results. 

Through all these discussions, some panelists mentioned a glimmer of hope for the Byerley Turk, Godolphin Arabian and endangered Darley Arabian sire lines. There are multiple examples of sire lines coming back from the brink of extinction – a few favorites from the panelists include Fappiano’s Cryptoclearance line reemerging with Candy Ride (ARG), Nasrullah’s Caro line resurging with Uncle Mo, and the most successful story: Storm Bird’s Storm Cat line with 5-time American leading general sire Into Mischief. Each of these resurgences occurred after the use of the outcross technique, leading to future successful stallions and breathing new life into their sire lines. 

Prichard-Jones, Suzi. “The Thoroughbred’s Genetic Cocktail”. Chart. Suzi Prichard-Jones: The Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation Project. Suzi Prichard-Jones, 2021. https://suziprichard-jones.com/the-byerley-turk-godolphin-conservation-project/, 04/01/2024.

State Breeding Incentives for 2024 - on a state by state basis

Article by Ken Snyder

Nineteenth century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli gets credit for coining the phrase “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

Jockey club statistics showing the 2022 foal crop to be 18,200 in the U.S.—down from 19,200 in 2021--might come under the heading of “damned lie.” (Numbers for 2023 aren’t in yet.) 

The phrase is a caveat or admonition to not jump to conclusions with questionable deductions and pronouncements to what, in truth, are damned lies. First, the industry isn’t going over a cliff with foal counts. It operates in a free-market economy. There are gains and losses, “bubbles” when artificially high prices exceed real value, and “corrections” when prices drop to what they should be. 

With foal count, horse population, and racing in general, there are positive, remarkable achievements. In Pennsylvania, the state has experienced increases in foal count and anticipates more. Okay, it’s one state, but it belies that belief that the sky is falling.

Here are the numbers for PA in registered foals: 2017-549; 2018-606; 2019-623; 691 in 2020. Yes, there was a dip in numbers when a former governor attempted to raid the Racehorse Development Trust Fund (2021-593; 413-2022). But, said Brian Sanfrantello, executive secretary of the PA Horse Breeding Association, the foal count has bottomed out and the breeding industry should return to increasing foal numbers with a new governor. Further, five new stallions have come to the state for breeding in 2024.

A Stallion Series is a crown jewel of a breeding program that makes Pennsylvania breeding and racing literally worthwhile. Launched in 2022 it offered $600,000 in purses for stakes races for PA-bred two-year-old colts and fillies over two days of racing. On the first race day, colts and fillies raced for $100,000-dollar purses each. On the second day, they ran for $200,000. The Series attacked one problem for PA breeders and appealed to those out of state. 

“It’s costing forty thousand to fifty thousand dollars from the time you breed the mare to the time the horse races,” said Sanfrantello. “We’re trying to get the money back to the breeder as fast as possible.” 

The means this year, in addition to this Series, are eight two-year-old stakes races, four of which are for PA breds. For non-Series and other races, breeder awards are 40% for PA-sired horses (compared to 20% for non-PA-breds). “If it’s a fifty-thousand-dollar race, the winner would get sixty percent of the purse or thirty-thousand dollars. Plus, if it’s an open race not restricted, there is a forty percent owner bonus added to the purse or twelve-thousand dollars for total earnings of forty-two-thousand dollars for owners. A breeder-owner would get an additional sixteen-thousand eight-hundred dollars. The total? Fifty-eight thousand, eight hundred dollars.

The stunner is what breeder awards have totaled. The most striking example? Uptowncharlybrown won two of thirteen starts  and $125,000 in his career but he has earned in breeder and stallion awards $869,080.

Virginia, with twenty-seven race dates in 2023 at the Commonwealth’s lone racetrack, Colonial Downs, is obviously at the other end of the spectrum from year-round racing in Pennsylvania and other states. However, the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, of which Debbie Easter is executive director, is outdistancing any other state in how fast they are growing their racing industry.

We said, ‘What the heck, we may not be the biggest breeding state any longer, but what we can do and what we do have are farms and the training centers to raise horses.”

Starting basically from scratch when Colonial Downs re-opened in 2019 after closing in 2013, the foal crops had gotten down to a rock bottom, one hundred. This year Easter projects the crop will be 160, a 60% increase. Small potatoes in the general scheme of things but not the only means of building racing. 

“Starting this year, we’re paying for first, second and third anywhere in North America if you’re a breeder and bred a horse in Virginia,” said Easter. “By us paying win, place and show in North America all year long, that makes our program year-round. That’s a big advantage, we think, over other breeding programs. You don’t have to race in our state to get our money.” The award is 34% of the earnings added to the purse. Historical Horse Racing (HHR) generates the award money, which has increased the breeding fund from $500,000 to $2 million dollars in five years. 

Virginia has also initiated a “Certified Program” which covers a horse registered by The Jockey Club and conceived and foaled outside of Virginia, but residing in the state for at least a six-month consecutive period prior to December 31st of its two-year-old year.

“Our Certified guys are averaging about eight months or so a year here. We’re bringing in almost nine hundred horses in a year. We’ve grown the population of Thoroughbred horses in the last five years faster than we could ever have done it breeding horses. It absolutely saved our farms and training centers and the infrastructure that supports those farms.,” said Easter.

The big development with New York is state-bred, 2024 foals will run for the same purse amounts as open-company races. This year at Saratoga, maiden races restricted to two-year-old New York breds ran for $88,000 compared to $105,000 for two-year-olds in open company maiden races. ”It’s something that breeders in NY and horsemen who compete with NY breds have been advocating for a long time,” said Najja Thompson, executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders.

Thompson added that this year there are also increases for New York breds whether sired by state sires or sired outside the state. For 2024, breeder awards are 40% for first place, 20% for second place, and 10% for third place, with a $40,000 cap award. Last year’s awards were 30% for first place and 15% for place and show finishes. A cap per award remains at $40,000.

Maryland’s biggest innovation this year is a two-tiered system, one tier for Maryland-sired and Maryland bred horses, and a second tier for Maryland-breds only. The system will begin with 2025 foals. “We are going to have a two-tiered system to try and reward MD sires as they do in Pennsylvania and other states,” said Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association.

Maryland’s best days will be when the $385 million Pimlico project is completed to rebuild the track from the ground up and also add a training center, according to Goodall.

“I think that you have to have a look to the future to be competitive,” said Goodall. She compares the project, which is projected for completion In what Goodall projects as “four to five years” to New York’s investment in Belmont Park. “Maryland is looking to be one of the states that is investing in racing and breeding.

Meanwhile, Goodall said Maryland is one of the states where stallion books have gone up this year.

Kentucky, of course, is the kingpin of American Thoroughbred breeding. While foal crops nationally have declined, Kentucky, from 2012 to 2021 increased in registered foals by just under 10%. Of the five top states for registered foals—Kentucky, Florida, California, New York, and Louisiana—Kentucky was the only one without a decrease in those years.

Strangely, the number of yearlings sold in North America in 2023—8,303, increased from 8,061 in 2013. That doesn’t correspond to decreasing foal crops. 

The principal reason for the overall decline in foals is increasing expenses, according to Duncan Taylor, senior Thoroughbred consultant and co-owner with three brothers of Taylor Made Farm just outside Lexington, Kentucky. “Costs just keep increasing, and they increase for all horses the same. I’m talking about daily board rate in Kentucky. The last eight years, probably, it has gone from thirty-five thousand to forty-five thousand dollars.” 

Vet care has gone up as well. “I had a mare that had to have a C-section. My bill was twenty-two thousand dollars,” he added.

“People can’t stomach these expenses on a less expensive horse. You got a million-dollar horse, you think ‘I’ve got a shot at getting it back because I could sell a five-hundred thousand, six-hundred-thousand-dollar yearling out of that horse.’”

The upshot is competition for the better horses offered in sales--what Taylor calls “more supply of a higher quality.” But what that also means, he said, is “It pushes the people in the lower part of the market out.” Hence, fewer breeders and foals.

Kentucky is awash in cash, which Taylor believes could stem the trend toward continuing foal crop decreases nationally. “All the purse money that is available to race for now, if it stays as good as it is, I don’t think we’ll continue to decline.”

Societal and cultural issues—challenges beyond, perhaps, the reach of horse racing as a sport and industry—are also factors in foal crops. Times have changed.

“At one time in this country, most of the large racing stables were owned by the kings of industry, with the horses coming from their own farms,” said Kent Barnes, former stallion manager at Shadwell’s Nashwan Farm in Lexington who currently directs the stallion division of Spy Coast Farm also in Lexington. “Unfortunately, in many cases, successive generations have either not shared in the passion, or had the wealth to carry on with these large operations, and most of these stables have been either dismantled or severely diminished.“

Duncan Taylor echoes Barnes’ observation. “The underlying condition is not enough people are in love that much with horses to where they want to have a big farm and raise them and then sell them. The condition is less breeders and that goes along with the declining foal crop.”

Ideas abound, some feasible, some not, some fantasy for getting foal crops back up. 

Evan Ferraro, director of marketing for Fasig Tipton, sees a breeding counterpart to racing syndicates as a potential answer. Racing syndicates both large entities and small, are popular. If there’s a way to encourage breeding syndicates that spread risk, they could be appealing.

Breeding to sell rather than race could be incentivized, according to Barnes. “I believe financial obligations are the primary barrier preventing more breeders from racing their own product.  A few years ago, several stallion owners came up with novel approaches to help the breeder decrease their risk going into the sales. Perhaps this same approach could be extended to allow breeders who choose not to sell to mitigate some of their risk going into racing. Stud fees could be deducted from race earnings. To make it more attractive to the stallion owners, there could be a sliding scale where they earn a higher percentage based on the horse’s performance.”

No matter the challenges, there are obviously bright, experienced, and energetic people at the controls of parts of the racing industry—people like Evan Ferraro, Debbie Easter, Brian Sanfrantello, Kent Barnes, Duncan Taylor and many more.

There is another phrase that may have application from someone who quoted Disraeli‘s phrase about statistics: Mark Twain. He said famously, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Racing is not dying. It is changing. And in everything, change is inevitable.

Where do we go from here?

The strange, but positive thing encountered in examining the declining foal crop and reasons for it, is that everyone interviewed had a different response to this question: What is the first thing you would do if put in charge of the industry? There were no limits put on the responses; the answers ranged from the completely improbable to things right under the industry’s nose. Even better, they span most aspects of racing from fan development to breeding.

First things first: fans. Empty grandstands on race days are par for the course and maddeningly accepted. To drive on-track attendance, Evan Ferraro, offered a simple, but great idea for weekends. “Open up the infields. Let people come in there. Let them bring their own stuff.” Add musical entertainment and things like face-painting for children or pony rides, and …voila, a family event for Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Stack that up against a $15 beer, $10-dollar hot dog, and $10 parking for a major league baseball game. Throw in a premium—cap, cups, etc.--and a free afternoon picnicking at the racetrack looks like a great day out. For racetrack management resting on laurels and reluctant to loosen purse strings fattened by off-track wagering and purses funded from casinos or Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines, they could find a sponsor to add their logo to the racetrack’s giveaways. 

Ferraro added a familiar lament to his idea: “I don’t think we market our sport well anymore.

“I don’t think you can promote ‘our safety numbers are better.’ You gotta sell the races. That’s what has to drive everything to me. Create some familiarity and give customers a good experience.”

Add to all these things a focus on the “stars.” As recently as the 1970s and 1980s National Basketball Association playoff games were tape delayed. The sport, quite simply, was “meh”… until Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came along. This past year Cody’s Wish provided the public a truly moving story both on the track and more important, off the track in the horse’s relationship with the late Cody Dorman. “There was never a story by the major networks about Cody’s Wish,” said Ferraro. Thoroughbred racing has been silent since “Go Baby Go” was seen and heard on televisions more than twenty years ago. “Public relations,” anyone? 

Kent Barnes, sees a connection between attracting fans and foal crops: “The only way we could ever consider increasing our foal crop is if we can somehow get more end-users involved in the racing game. There is more and more competition out there every year for the public’s entertainment dollar and somehow, we have to attract back the fans, which increases the handle, thereby increasing purses and attracting owners.”

On another subject, the failure of a 140-mare cap for stallions in the U.S. frustrated Barnes, a respected and published researcher on the demise of sire lines and resultant inbreeding. He said, “I was disappointed in their reversal of the cap decision because I feel that if we limit the number of mares bred to each stallion, this ensures that the top stallions are getting the very best mares and also allows second-tier stallions to prove themselves by getting an increased number of mares.  

“There is no doubt stallions that failed to make their mark could have done so with enough mares of quality to prove themselves.”

Bloodstock agent Clark Shepherd pointed out the obvious without a 140-cap limit: “We’re limiting the gene pool. I get handed these mares that are fantastic on the racetrack, and they [clients] want me to do a mating for them. But when I sit down and do a mating, the mare’s bred like a stallion. So now what? It limits my choices.”

Here’s where foal crop numbers really might be, as British Prime Minister Disraeli said about numbers and statistics, “damned lies,” at least according to Shepherd. “I don’t know that a declining foal supply is a bad thing just because of supply and demand,” he said. “For the last three years, I’ve been waiting on the shoe to drop, and we keep going on this upward trend. 

“To me, it’s supply and demand.”

One factor in decline in foal numbers is, Shepherd said, “mom-and-pop” breeders leaving the business unable to afford stud fees for what he called “ultra-stallions.” “They don’t have the mares good enough to get into first-year stallions.”

Whether good or bad, Shepherd points to what he believes is an issue and factor in foal declines. “There’s a lot of mares, even stallions, that don’t need to be in production. If it’s a resulting decline in foal crop because of that realization, I’m okay with it. We’re striving to breed better horses and there’s less of them, and that creates more demand. It could be a good thing.”

On the issue of racehorse ownership Debbie Easter identified what she said is both the problem and a solution: “The problem is the owners don’t own the racetracks. Owners own the talent, but we don’t own the most important part of it:  the HHR or the things that fuel the whole game.”

The solution, in her opinion, is the Japanese model: “Owners are able to pay for their daily expenses with bigger purses earned over there.

“You have the cost of the horse and then there’s the daily cost of racing. I’ve always said, I think the guys would forgive the cost of the horse if they could just pay the daily cost…if they didn’t have to take it out of their pocket. I think we could grow ownership.” 

She wonders if there is too much racing. Contraction of the racing industry could possibly be the ultimate answer.

“Everywhere where racing is successful in this country—Saratoga, Del Mar, Keeneland—what do they all have in common? They don’t run year-round. And they’re in destinations where people want to come.” They also have capacity crowds.

Duncan Taylor, added a novel and, in truth, a not-to-be idea for horse owners. If he were commissioner and it was feasible “I would start purely an owners’ organization and it would be only owners with racehorses while they were running.

“I think they have the most to lose and the most to gain in an entrepreneurial way for improving the sport and not the mediocre management of the racetracks. I would try to get that group of people [owners] to actually buy the tracks.”

Answers? Solutions? Some are immediately viable from this story. Some are unlikely. And some are in a “perfect world” that won’t exist. 

There is, however, one thing on which everyone can agree: racing needs ideas.

State Incentives Tables 2024

What incentives are available in each state / province across North America

**NEW** for 2024 - Bloodstock Briefing - Asking pinhookers if the shift in the 2yo sales season (to later dates) has influenced the type of horses they consign for sale

Article by Jordin Rosser

Even though term pinhooking came from the tobacco industry in Kentucky, it is widely used in the Thoroughbred racing industry as a concept where horses are bought at one stage of life and sold at another stage of development in the hopes of a profit based on the breaking, training and maturing process of these animals. 

We have gathered a panel of pinhook sellers of both yearling to two-year-olds, weanling to yearlings, and breeders to discuss their thoughts on selection at sales and their view of the business. Our panelists include: Richard Budge, the general manager of Margaux Farm who oversees the breeding and training of yearlings and two-year-olds; Eddie Woods, a well-established two-year-old consignor and yearling pinhooker; Marshall Taylor, a thoroughbred advisor at Taylor Made – known for yearling consignments; Niall Brennan, a respected two-year-old consignor and yearling pinhooker. 

Q: When selecting yearlings for pinhooking to the two-year-old sales or weanlings for the yearling sales, which qualities do you look for? 

Many of the panelists concur on the primary qualities necessary for a prospective successful pinhook being conformation, pedigree, and clean vetting – but generally, wanting “quality”. Such traits include an early maturing body, muscle, good conformation, and pedigree for yearling pinhooks to two-year-olds. Some consignors weigh some of the main qualities with different weights, for example, Eddie Woods looks at the conformation of the prospect before the pedigree but will analyze sire lines and sire statistics to assist him in his selections. In contrast, Richard Budge starts with the pedigree then evaluates the conformation and analyzes the whole picture. For weanling to yearling pinhooks, the primary attributes to consider are pedigree, conformation, good movement, and early foaling dates. Marshall Taylor further discussed wanting to find a good-sized body, longer neck, laid back shoulders and good strides when walking. At the end of the day, “quality is a perception” as stated by Niall Brennan – these qualities are statistically likely to sell well in both the yearling sales and the two-year-old sales from the seller’s perspective.  

Q: Given the two-year-old sales have decreased in number and have moved to later months, do you believe it has incentivized yearling selection and/or breeders to favor later maturing horses?  

A resounding “no” came from the panelists. Looking back into the history of two-year-old sales gave a clearer picture as to why the sentiment has not changed. The main two-year-old sales currently are the OBS March, April and June sales in Ocala, Florida as well as the Fasig Tipton May and June sales in Timonium, Maryland. However, there used to be OBS February, Calder and Adena Springs sales, Fasig Tipton’s Gulfstream sale, and Barretts’ (a company whose final auction was in 2018) March and May sales in Pomona, California. 

Niall Brennan commented that when the earlier sales were going on, the horses would “breeze within themselves easily” instead of breezing for the clock as is evident in today’s sales. Due to this emphasis, pinhookers noticed some horses needed more time to mature to run quicker times and with the horsemanship shown throughout the industry – all the panelists indicated that “the horse will tell you which sale it belongs in”. With the two-year-olds’ sales model having changed many variables, one variable that stayed the same is the horse attributes needed to be successful in these sales. Which leads to the conclusion being the same and sentiment remaining steady despite changes in the industry.

Q:  Hypothetically, if the two-year-old sales changed from breezing to galloping with technological devices to provide metrics to analyze, do you think the market or breeders would change their strategies? 

Most of the panelists believed this hypothetical would not work well for the two-year-old sales model. Some of the panelists discussed the Barretts sales model having horses gallop untimed instead of breezing or breezing with times in the 100ths. Niall Brennan commented that the granularization of the breeze times “caused more speculation from the buyers” and changed their perspective on the individual horses based on fractions of a second. The juxtaposition of sales with only untimed gallops and sales with timed breezes caused many buyers to “compare apples to oranges” – leading to a perceived dismissal of the idea. 

In the current market and with the technology available today, this may not be possible, but Marshall Taylor believes “any information you have is good information” and “moving forward with technology is a positive”. In the future and with significant technological advancements, this hypothetical could be real. In the words of Niall Brennan, “the time will come when we aren’t worried about time [during breezing]”. 

Q: In terms of breeding, what trends do you currently see and what trends do you want to see benefiting the pinhooking market? 

The consensus from the panelists indicated breeding speed and quick maturing horses is the current trend in the pinhooking market. Richard Budge stated “precociousness is valued highly into the making of a stallion” in America. Marshall Taylor mentioned technology is used in making breeding decisions, particularly Nick reports. These use the daily updating percentage of stakes winner indexes to determine if sire and dam lines are compatible for the desired outcome culminating in a high performing racehorse. 

Based on many of the responses in what type of weanlings or yearlings are selected at the beginning of the pinhooking process, the need for precocious and well-bred horses is no surprise. Richard Budge, believes that turf racing has become more popular and believes the growth of this segment in thoroughbred racing should encourage pinhooks to look for turf in their prospect’s pedigrees. However, the bloodlines will need to support this idea and the American breeders will need to include more English, French and South American bloodlines to adjust for these factors. 

Q:  Where do you see the pinhooking market right now? 

The panelists all agree on this point: the buyer market is focused on quality over quantity and concentration of the buyer market. These trends encourage pinhookers to purchase weanlings or yearlings that tick all their boxes to produce quality prospects leading to increased prices as a function of competition. According to many panelists, the market is focused on what is perceived to be the “top end” – by pedigree, conformation, vetting, and/or under tack time. Based on the rising costs of ownership, Marshall Taylor mentioned “partnerships are becoming more popular” amongst the buyers, allowing owners to offset these increased costs. 

———-

Throughout these interviews, it is apparent pinhookers have a keen ability to read the horses and determine how to bring their best on “NFL combine” day in the case of the two-year-olds. Niall Brennan and Richard Budge gave credit and appreciation to all the pinhookers who actively prepare these athletes and show their horsemanship through breaking, training, consigning, and breeding of these animals. 

We see all the hard work that goes into preparing these athletes for race day through their accomplishments. To produce this feat on demand and to make money in the process is what pinhooking thoroughbreds is all about. 

Dangers of inbreeding and the necessity to preserve sire lines in the thoroughbred breed

Words - Dr Bernard Stoffel, DVM

Inbreeding is the proportion of the genome identically inherited from both parents.

Inbreeding coefficients can be estimated from pedigrees, but pedigree underestimates the true level of inbreeding. Genomics can measure the true level of inbreeding by examining the extent of homozygosity (identical state) in the DNA of a horse. A mechanism to examine genomic inbreeding for breeding purposes has yet to be developed to be used by all breeders but once available, it must be considered as a tool for breeders.

Breeding of potential champion racehorses is a global multi-billion sterling or dollar business, but there is no systematic industry-mediated genetic population management.

Inbreeding in the modern thoroughbred

The thoroughbred horse has low genetic diversity relative to most other horse breeds, with a small effective population size and a trend of increasing inbreeding.

A trend in increased inbreeding in the global thoroughbred population has been reported during the last five decades, which is unlikely to be halted due to current breeding practices.

Ninety-seven percent of pedigrees of the horses included in a recent study feature the ancestral sire, Northern Dancer (1961); and 35% and 55% of pedigrees in EUR and ANZ contain Sadler’s Wells (1981) and Danehill (1986), respectively.

Inbreeding can expose harmful recessive mutations that are otherwise masked by ‘normal’ versions of the gene. This results in mutational load in populations that may negatively impact on population viability.

Genomics measured inbreeding is negatively associated with racing in Europe and Australia. The science indicates that increasing inbreeding in the population could further reduce viability to race.

In North America, it has been demonstrated that higher inbreeding is associated with lower number of races. In the North American thoroughbred, horses with higher levels of inbreeding are less durable than animals with lower levels of inbreeding. Considering the rising trend of inbreeding in the population, these results indicate that there may also be a parallel trajectory towards breeding less robust animals.

Note that breeding practices that promote inbreeding have not resulted in a population of faster horses. The results of studies, generated for the first time using a large cohort of globally representative genotypes, corroborate this.

Health and disease genes

It is both interesting and worrisome to consider also that many of the performance-limiting genetic diseases in the thoroughbred do not generally negatively impact on suitability for breeding; some diseases, with known heritable components, are successfully managed by surgery (osteochondrosis dessicans, recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, for example), nutritional and exercise management (recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis), and medication (exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage). This unfortunately facilitates retention of risk alleles in the population and enhances the potential for rapid proliferation of risk alleles if they are carried by successful stallions.

Types of inbreeding

Not all inbreeding is bad. Breeders have made selections for beneficial genes/traits over the generations, resulting in some inbreeding signals being favored as they likely contain beneficial genes for racing. Importantly, examination of a pedigree cannot determine precisely the extent of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ inbreeding. This can only be determined from DNA analysis.

Historic inbreeding (arising from distant pedigree duplicates) results in short stretches of DNA identically inherited from sire and dam. 

• This may be considered ‘good’ inbreeding.

• It has no negative effect on racing.

• The horse may be carrying beneficial mutations that have been maintained from distant ancestors through breeders’ selection.

Recent inbreeding (arising from close pedigree duplicates) results in long stretches of DNA identically inherited from sire and dam. 

• This may be considered ‘bad’ inbreeding.

• It is negatively associated with racing.

• The horse may be carrying harmful mutations that have not yet been ‘purged’ from the population.

Obviously, in terms of breeding, it’s always possible to find examples and counterexamples of remarkable individuals; but the science of genetics is based on statistics and not on individual cases.

Sire lines

Analysis of the Y chromosome is the best-established way to reconstruct paternal family history in humans and animal species. The paternally inherited Y chromosome displays the population genetic history of males. While modern domestic horses (Equus caballus) exhibit abundant diversity within maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, until recently, only limited Y-chromosomal sequence diversity has been detected.

Early studies in the horse indicated that the nucleotide variability of the modern horse Y chromosome is extremely low, resulting in six haplotypes (HT).4.5 However, this view has changed with the identification of new genetic markers, showing that there is considerably more genetic diversity on the horse Y chromosome than originally thought. Unfortunately, in thoroughbreds, the male gene pool is restricted, with only three paternal lines remaining.

The Institute of Animal breeding and genetics of the Veterinary Medicine School at Vienna applied fine-scaled Y-chromosomal haplotyping in horses and demonstrated the potential of this approach to address the ancestry of sire lines. They were able to show the microcosmos of the Tb-clade in the thoroughbred sire lines.

It is interesting to note that more than half of the domestic horses in the dataset (76 of 130) have a Y chromosome with a thoroughbred ‘signature’. These includes thoroughbreds, standardbreds, many thoroughbred-influenced breeds (warmbloods, American quarter horses, Franches-Montagnes), a Lipizzan stallion, and the Akhal-Tekes.)

The General Stud Book shows that thoroughbred sire lines trace back to three founding stallions that were imported to England at the end of the 17th century. Now, the heritage of the thoroughbred sire lines can be better understood using Y chromosome information. It is now possible to clearly distinguish sublines of Darley Arabian, born in 1700 (Tb-d) and Godolphin Arabian, born in 1724 (formerly Tb-g, now Tb-oB3b). The third founder, Byerley Turk, born in 1680, was characterized by the Tb-oB1 clade. According to pedigree information, only few of the tested males trace back paternally to Byerley Turk, which are nearly extinct.

There are now 10 different Y chromosome sub-types known in the thoroughbred. Two come from the Godolphin Arabian, five come from Byerley Turk, and three come from Darley Arabian.

Even if genetic analysis shows that there was an error in the stud book recording of St Simon’s parentage and that horses descending from St Simon should be attributed to the Byerley Turk lineage, probably 90% of the current stallions are from the Darley Arabian male line. So, there is a true risk that we could lose a major part of the Y chromosome diversity.

Conclusions and solutions

We should do everything we can to ensure that thoroughbreds are being sustainably bred and managed for future generations. With the breeding goal to produce viable racehorses, we need to ask ourselves, are we on track as breeders? 

If inbreeding is negatively affecting the chances of racing and resulting in less durable racehorses, will this continue to affect foal crops in the future? How can we avert the threat of breeding horses that are less able to race? If the ability to race is in jeopardy, then is the existence of the thoroughbred breed at risk? 

International breeding authorities are studying the situation and thinking about general measures allowing the sustainability of the breed.

Breeders

What can individual breeders do to produce attractive foals that are safe from genetic threats? How do you avoid the risk of breeding horses that are less fit to race? 

There is no miracle recipe, and each breeder legitimately has his preferences.

An increasingly important criteria for the choice of a stallion is his physical resistance and his vitality, as well as those of his family. It is often preferable to avoid using individuals who have shown constitutive weaknesses, or who seem to transmit them.

The use of stallions from different male lines can make it possible to sublimate a strain and better manage the following generations. The study of pedigrees must exceed the three generations of catalog pages.

In the future, genomics—the science that studies all the genetic material of an individual or a species, encoded in its DNA—will certainly be able to provide predictive tools to breeders. This is a track to follow.

Trainers

Trainers should be aware of the danger of ‘diminishing returns,’ where excessive inbreeding occurs. Today, when animal welfare and the fight against doping are essential parameters, it is obvious that trainers must be aware of the genetic risks incurred by horses possibly carrying genetic defects.

Together with bloodstock agents, trainers are the advisers for the owners when buying a horse. Trainers already know some special traits of different families or stallions, but genomic tools might become essential for them too.

Sources

1. Genomic inbreeding trends, influential sire lines and selection in the global Thoroughbred horse population Beatrice A. McGivney 1, Haige Han1,2, Leanne R. Corduff1, Lisa M. Katz3, Teruaki Tozaki 4, David E. MacHugh2,5 & Emmeline W. Hill ; 2020. Scientific Reports | (2020) 10:466 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-57389-5

2. Inbreeding depression and durability in the North American Thoroughbred horse Emmeline W. Hill, Beatrice A. McGivney, David E. MacHugh; 2022. Animal Genetics. 2023;00:1–4. _wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/age

3. Founder-specific inbreeding depression affects racing performance in Thoroughbred Horses. Evelyn T. Todd, Simon Y. W. Ho, Peter C. Thomson, Rachel A. Ang, Brandon D. Velie & Natasha A. Hamilton; 2017. Scientific Reports | (2018) 8:6167 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-24663-x

4. The horse Y chromosome as an informative marker for tracing sire lines Sabine Felkel, Claus Vogl , Doris Rigler, Viktoria Dobretsberger, Bhanu P. Chowdhary, Ottmar Distl , Ruedi Fries , Vidhya Jagannathan, Jan E. Janečka, Tosso Leeb , Gabriella Lindgren, Molly McCue, Julia Metzger , Markus Neuditschko, Thomas Rattei , Terje Raudsepp, Stefan Rieder, Carl-Johan Rubin, Robert Schaefer, Christian Schlötterer, Georg Thaller, Jens Tetens, Brandon Velie, Gottfried Brem & Barbara Wallner; 2018. Scientific Reports | (2019) 9:6095 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42640-w

5. Identification of Genetic Variation on the Horse Y Chromosome and the Tracing of Male Founder Lineages in Modern Breeds Barbara Wallner, Claus Vogl, Priyank Shukla, Joerg P. Burgstaller, Thomas Druml, Gottfried Brem

Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Depart. 2012. PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org  April 2013, Volume 8, Issue 4, e60015

6. New genetic evidence proves that the recorded pedigrees of the influential leading sires Bend Or and St. Simon were incorrect. Alan Porter; ITB 2021

7. Eight Belle’s breakdown: a predictable tragedy William Nack; ESPN.com 2008.

8. Suzi Prichard-Jones: Founder of "The Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation Project".

Special thanks to Emmeline Hill for her help in the completion of this article

Celebrating breeders - Howie Walton

Article by Bill Heller

Howie Walton has spent his life in Toronto loving horses, riding, racing and breeding them.

“He absolutely loves his horses,” one of his trainers, John Mattine, said. “When someone has that passion for the game, you want to do well for him and succeed.”

Walton succeeded beyond his wildest imagination in business, starting his own plastics company, Norseman Plastics, and selling it for millions. That allowed him to follow his heart and make good on a promise to himself. “As a kid, I always loved horses. I said if I ever did well, I’d buy a horse.”

He bought a riding horse, Lakeview Noel, who lived to be 31 years old. Then Howie bought Quarter Horses, doing quite well with them, and switched to Thoroughbreds—making an enormous impact on Canadian racing.

“He’s great for the sport,” another one of his trainers, Jamie Attard, said. “He really is. He’s a breeder’s breeder and an owner’s owner. He’s been supporting Ontario racing for so many years.”

There are rewards for doing so, specifically for Ontario-breds and its rich supplement program. “The bonuses for Ontario-breds are fairly high,” said Walton. “I’ve always raced at Woodbine. I’ve been there a long time.”

Along the way, his concern for his horses has never wavered. “We had a horse,” recalls Attard. “His name was Buongiorno Johnny. He broke his maiden in a stakes race (winning the $150,000 restricted Vandal Stakes July 31, 2011), then he had an issue down the line. We lost the horse for $32,000 (on June 25, 2014). Three years later, he was in some bottom-level claimer (a $4,000 claimer at Thistledown). Howie paid them double the claiming price and retired him on his farm. He always lets you do what is right. If it’s the little thing, he’ll send him to the farm for some time off. He retired a six-year-old we had and gave it to my girlfriend. The horse always comes first. His heart is as big as the grandstand.”

Jamie Attard’s father, Canadian Hall of Famer Sid, also trains for Walton and echoes his son’s opinion: “If a horse is not right, he doesn’t want to run him. If I call up saying his horse has a problem, he’ll say, `Scratch him.’”

Howie Walton (blue jacket) receives the 2022 Recognition of Excellence Award at the recent 39th Annual CTHS Awards from CTHS Ontario President & National Director Peter Berringer.

There are worse calls ro receive. Sid and Howie know first-hand. Their two-year-old home-bred filly, A Touch of Red, a daughter of Howie’s top horse and now leading stallion Signature Red, won her debut by five lengths at Woodbine in a maiden $40,000 claimer last September 19. On October 10, she won the $100,000 South Ocean Stakes for Ontario-breds by a neck as the even-money favorite.

“She was breezing seven days before her next race,” Sid said. “She worked by herself that day. She’s going five-eighths. Good bug boy on her. He noticed something wrong. He pulled her up. She started shaking. She died. Looked like a heart attack. She was such a nice, nice filly. Beautiful. Big. Strong. I was never so shocked in my life.”

Sid called Howie and told him the tragic news. “I said, `Howie, I’m very, very sorry.’”

Walton replied, “Sid, don’t worry about nothing. It’s nobody’s fault.” 

He and Sid have another talented filly who just turned three, another home-bred daughter of Signature Red, Ancient Spirit. She won a maiden $40,000 claimer by four lengths, the $100,000 Victoria Queen Stakes by 2 ½ and concluded her two-year-old season with a second by a neck in the South Ocean Stakes to her stable-mate, A Touch of Red. The torch has been passed on.

A couple months after A Touch of Red’s death, Walton said, “In this game, you have good-luck and bad-luck horses. She won a stakes race and had a heart attack and died.”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Howie then endured the removal of his gallbladder. ”It wasn’t fun,” he said. He leaned on his family, his wife of 47 years Marilyn, their adult sons Benjamin, who is 43, works for his dad with his apartment building investments; and 42-year-old Michael, who is in the plastics business. The Waltons have four grandchildren and a standard poodle named Riley. “A house isn’t a home unless you have a dog in it,” Howie said. “Poodles are as smart as hell.”

So is his owner. “I was a pretty smart guy; I went to the University of Toronto, and I was a chemical engineer. I did well with plastics.”

He did incredibly well with the company he started. “I had it for 30, 40 years,” Walton said. “It got pretty big. It was quite an operation. I had 500, 600 people under me. We had plants around the states. I had big clients: Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola, all the milk companies—you name them. It turned out to be a $230 million company. I started at zip.”

How did he do it the first time? “I worked like hell; I wasn’t married. We used to run 24 hours, seven days a week. I don’t know if I could do it again.”

Marilyn isn’t surprised that her husband succeeded. “When he does something, he puts 150 percent into it. He makes up his mind, and he’s very focused. He was a born salesman. He knows how to talk to people, how to treat people.”

She also knows how resourceful Howie can be.

Marilyn and Howie lived near each other but hadn’t met. “We used to pass each other going to work on the same day. Then one day he wrote down my license plate. In those days, you could do that and look a person up.

“We met. We were engaged in three months and married three months after that; and we’ve been married 47 years.”

Marilyn was impressed with Howie’s horsemanship. “It started with the Quarter Horses. What I really loved about it was he was not the person who goes to the races and just watches. He went to the barn and used to clean their feet after the race. He really cares for animals. He is a true animal lover. He loves dogs. Same thing with Thoroughbreds. He truly, truly loves them. He always had a passion for them.”

Signature Red (rail side) wins the 2011 Highlander Stakes.

The horse Howie Walton is most passionate about is Signature Red. “John Mattine’s dad, Tony, picked out Signature Red," recalled Howie. (Red is Howie’s favorite color.)

John said, “My father trained for him. He was basically his first trainer. My dad bought everything for him before. Most of the good broodmares he has trace back to my dad.”
          Racing from the age of three until he was six, Signature Red, a son of Bernstein out of Irish and Foxy by Irish Open, won six of 27 starts, including two consecutive runnings of the Gr. 2 Highlander Turf Stakes in 2010 and 2011, and earned $630,232.

Buongiorno Johnny before his 2011 Vandal Stakes win.

He stands at Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs in Aurora, Ontario, for C$5,000 this year and has now sired the winners of 168 races through the end of 2022. His progeny has earned more than C$6.2 million.

“I think he’s the best value stud in Canada,” says Walton. Accordingly, he has continually sent his best mares to Signature Red. “I believe in him.”

He also believes in the value of Signature Red’s offspring. That’s why at last year’s CTHS Ontario Premier Yearling Sale, he bought back three Signature Red yearlings as well as a filly by Red Explosion, a son of Signature Red, for a combined total of C$290,000. “Not really a hard decision,” said Walton. “My stock is very high quality. I believe in my stock. I believe in my stud.”

Howie has become friends with Adena’s farm manager Sean Smullen and farm owner Frank Stronach. “In 2002, he started putting some horses in here—layups. We developed a good relationship over the years. The man—he loves his animals. No matter what’s wrong, he’ll do it to save the animal. There’s no expense too big to care for his horse. He wants to give it a quality of life. He’s very loyal,” says Smullen.

Walton cherishes his friendship with Frank Stronach. “I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a dynamic guy. Anyone building an electric car plant at the age of 90 … there aren’t many guys like him. As a businessman, I admire that. I told him that. He said, `I guess I’ve made a few billion in my life.’ He’s quite a guy. I hope he lives to be 200. When he’s gone, I don’t know who’s going to run his operation. When he had his tiff with his daughter, he told me, `Howie, it’s only money. I’ll make more.’”

One of Walton’s home-breds made quite a bit of money out of just six starts before being sold. Maritimer, trained by Sid Attard, won his maiden debut by a head and then finished second by a head to his stable-mate Buongiorno Johnny in that 2011 Vandal Stakes. Maritimer then finished second in an allowance race, a late-tiring fourth in the Gr. 3 Summer Stakes and first in two stakes: the $250,000 Coronation Futurity by 2 ½ lengths then the $175,000 Display by 5 ½ lengths. After being sold, he went winless in four starts, including fifth in the Gr. 2 Autumn Stakes at Woodbine. He failed to hit the board in three starts in Dubai, including an 11th in the Gr. 2 U.A.E. Derby.

Though he concentrates on Thoroughbreds, Walton still has Quarter Horses. “What attracted me was the horse. They were big. They were strong. They were smart and beautiful. Not as edgy as a Thoroughbred. I still have a few.”

He treats them the same way he treats Thoroughbreds. And the same way he treats people: love, loyalty and a laser-like focus. “I am a loyal guy,” he said. “If I don’t like you, I’ll tell you.”

Marilyn put it this way: “What you see is what you get.”

Howie Walton and trainer Sid Attard with Generous Touch and jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva.

State Incentives 2023

Article by Annie Lambert

The bad news is, North American inflation has substantially increased expenses in Thoroughbred racing. The good news is, U.S. purses in 2022 were up nearly 11% from 2021. Also, states and farms are working to provide owners and breeders an opportunity to counter those growing costs with healthy incentive opportunities. 

State Pluses

U.S. inflation rose to a shuttering 9.1% last year, but it has dropped to the current 6.5%. Canada’s most recent number was 6.8%. Both numbers, although improved, still leave horsemen pushing higher outlays across the board. Breeders, owners and trainers can help buffer inflated costs with readily available incentive programs.

Mary Ellen Locke, registrar and incentive program manager for the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, cited there are no changes to that state’s programs for the current year. As one of the most successful state organizations, the CTBA has seldom tried to fix what is not broken.

“I think [our program] has helped sustain our numbers through Covid and the economy being down,” Locke pointed out. “The numbers of Thoroughbred foals are down all over, but we are holding our own in California.”

The association’s definition of a Cal-bred is one thing helping California retain those foal numbers. Cal-breds are those foals dropped in the state after being conceived there by a California stallion. Or, “any Thoroughbred foal dropped by a mare in California if the mare remains in California to be next bred to a Thoroughbred stallion standing in the state” will be classified as Cal-bred. If the mare cannot be bred for two consecutive seasons, but remains in California during that period, her foal will still be considered a Cal-bred.

The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association is offering a new race series for two-year-olds in 2023, according to Brian Sanfratello, the group’s executive secretary. The Pennsylvania-bred series offers three stakes for fillies and three for colts.

“The first two races will feature purses of $100,000 to be run during Pennsylvania Day at the Races at Parx Racing,” Sanfratello offered. “The second set will have purses of $150,000 and will also be held at Parx the day of the Pennsylvania Derby; and the third in the series will feature $200,000 purses at a track to be determined.”

Trainers of the top three earning horses will be rewarded with bonuses of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000.

In addition, Penn National has increased their owner bonus to 30%. The racetracks in that state pay for owner bonuses. 

Virginia has been on a roll since passing their historical horse racing legislation in 2019. Last year, according to Debbie Easter, executive director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA), Colonial Downs averaged $612,000 in daily purse monies.

The Virginia Racing Commission approved an additional nine days of racing for the current year. Colonial Downs, the only live racing venue in the state, will run Thursday through Saturday from July 13 to September 9.

“Thanks to Historic Horse Racing (HHR) machines in Virginia, breeding, raising and racing Thoroughbreds has never been better,” according to Easter. “In 2023, the Virginia Breeders fund should double to over $2 million thanks to funds received from HHR.

Virginia breeders currently earn bonuses when Virginia-bred horses win a race anywhere in North America. If pending legislation passes the Virginia General Assembly, breeders will have an update for 2023. They will earn awards for horses placing first through third in North America.

“Because of budget constraints that limit the Virginia-Certified program to $4 million in both 2023 and 2024, we have made changes to our very successful program that pays 25% bonuses to the developers of Virginia-Certified horses that win at Mid-Atlantic region racetracks, which includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia in addition to Virginia,” Easter added. “The plan is to increase funding for the program once Colonial Downs adds more HHR locations and machines, hopefully in 2024 and 2025.”

Iowa and New Mexico may not produce the largest annual foal crops in North America, but they each had Breeders’ Cup contenders last year. 

Tyler’s Tribe (Sharp Azteca) headed to Keeneland undefeated in five starts in his home state of Iowa to contest the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Unfortunately, the then two-year-old gelding was eased into the stretch after bleeding. He did regroup to finish third at Oaklawn Park just a month later in the Advent Stakes.

After challenging the inside speed during the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), New Mexico-bred Slammed (Marking) finished out of the money. Although the now five-year-old mare has not run since, her previous earnings of $557,030 (13 starts, 9-1-0) give her credibility as a broodmare prospect.

With the majority of Breeders’ Cup contenders raised on Kentucky bluegrass, mare owners may want to start watching for options in Iowa and New Mexico.

Bonus Bucks

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners launched in the fall of 2011. Their ability to acquire, manage and develop runners and put together partnerships is quantified by their gross earnings of $42,561,789.

Eclipse President, Aron Wellman, sees the value of state-bred incentives and makes use of them, although his first order of business is finding the right horses.

“We are going to buy a horse because we like the horse,” Wellman confirmed. “If we buy something eligible for regional programs, we take advantage of them.”

The group’s Chief Financial Officer, Bill Victor, notices incentive earnings on his bottom line. “Breeder incentive programs are important to any stable.”

Spendthrift Farm continues to enjoy their fruitful and much copied programs. This year, Safe Bet will feature Coal Front (Stay Thirsty) standing at $5,000. If Coal Front does not produce at least one graded or group stakes winner by December 31, from his first two-year-old crop the mare owner will owe no stud fee. If he produces a stakes winner, the normal fee will be owed.  

Share the Upside features Greatest Honour (Tapit) for 2023. The breeder sends a mare to this stallion, has a live foal and pays the $10,000 fee. That foal entitles the mare owner to a lifetime breeding to Greatest Honour, an annual breeding share, with no added costs. Greatest Honour is, however, sold out for this year.

Both these Spendthrift programs minimize risks and offer great value, especially to smaller breeders.

Canada continues its successful Ontario Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) with a current budget of $800,000. 

The province’s Mare Purchase Program (MPP) provides breeder incentives to invest in and ship mare power into Ontario. Foal mares—purchased for a minimum of $10,000 (USD), with no maximum price, at a recognized auction outside of Ontario, but produce 2023 foals in the providence— are eligible for a rebate. The rebate is for 50% of the purchase price up to $25,000 (CAD) with a limit of $75,000 (CAD) per ownership group. Mares bred back to a registered Ontario Sire in the 2023 breeding season are also eligible for a $2,500 (CAD) bonus.

The Mare Recruitment Program (MRP) incentivizes mare owners who bring an in-foal mare to Ontario to foal in 2024. Owners will receive a $5,000 (CAD) incentive for each in-foal mare brought to Ontario. The mare must not have foaled in Ontario in 2022 or 2023. MRP is for mares purchased at an Ontario Racing accredited sale in 2023 and must have a minimum purchase price of $5,000 (USD).

Breeders of record are eligible for additional bonuses through TIP. Specific details on the MPP and MRP programs criteria are outlined in the applicable criteria book.

The Struggle Is Real

Minnesota’s only Thoroughbred racetrack suffered a low blow recently when their 10-year marketing agreement with the nearby Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community expired without renewal. The track will be racing fewer days this year to keep purse amounts competitive without the additional funds.

The former agreement forbad Canterbury from supporting additional gaming legislation in the state; they are now free to push for sports wagering and slots of historical horse racing machines. 

Canterbury Park’s Thoroughbred 2023 stakes schedule will feature twenty-four races totaling $1.65 million in purses.

Texas Thoroughbred has one of the most innovative breed associations in the United States, especially for a state that has suffered setbacks over the decades. Their plan to promote Texas racing through public relations was a great success last year and will continue through this year.

“A series of events are conducted at Sam Houston Race Park, Lone Star Park and in connection with the Texas Two-Year-Old in Training Sale and the Texas Summer Yearling Sale,” said Texas Thoroughbred Association Executive Director Mary Ruyle. “Last year, this initiative resulted in forty-two new, first-time Texas Thoroughbred racehorse owners, equating to slightly more than $300,000 through participation in the Texas Thoroughbred Racing Club and private purchase connections set-ups.” 

Due to Texas’ stance on the Horseracing and Integrity Act (HISA), the Texas Racing Commission does not send out their racing signal unless it is out of the United States. When HISA was enacted July 1, 2022, they only had 14 days of the meet remaining. This year it has hindered their purse structure and the Accredited Thoroughbred Awards, according to Ruyle.

To resolve the problem, they have begun running races earlier in the day, rather than in the evenings, to draw more spectators and handle. They also made a deal with Woodbine to export their signal to Canada.

“At this moment, the purses are essentially the same,” Ruyle said. “As we get into the meet, we’ll see if we are able to sustain that.”

All Thoroughbred racing states within the United States, along with provinces in Canada, have some deals to incentivize breeders. Researching states of interest can provide the means to fend off these inflationary times in North America.

Go Canada - innovations to support breeders and buyers in Ontario

Words - Ken Snyder

With apologies to patriotic Canadians everywhere, the “O” that begins the nation’s stirring and beautiful national anthem might be adopted and altered by the Ontario horse industry to “Go Canada.” A reason?  Divide 173 race days (133 at Woodbine, 40 at Fort Erie) by approximately $65 million CAD in purse money. Go Canada indeed.

“If you have a good horse, there is an opportunity to make significant money here in Ontario,” said Peter Berringer, president of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society and also someone with “skin in the game,” as they say.

He is a trainer with both a small string stabled at Woodbine and broodmares and stallions at his farm, Aurora Meadows in Rockwood Ontario, west of Toronto. He, like other Canadian trainers, is in the hunt for purse money that might surprise those in the horse industry. Statistics for 2021 from The Jockey Club (TJC) show that 1,853 Ontario starters earned $43,612,419 USD ($56,790,117.87 CAD) or $23,536 ($30,646.39 CAD)  in earnings per runner last year. The figure beats the same statistics for California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.  

Earnings, however, are only a part of the story. Financial incentives to breeders in Ontario through a Mare Purchase Program (MPP) and Mare Recruitment Program (MRP)* make investments in Ontario racing worthwhile both for the present and in the future in breeding and racing. The MPP provides Ontario buyers of in-foal mares at select U.S. horse sales 50% of the purchase price up to $25,000 CAD.  Sales include Wannamaker’s Online Sale; Fasig-Tipton November Breeding Stock, MidAtlantic Winter Mixed, and Kentucky Winter Mixed sales; the OBS Winter Mixed Sale; and Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and January Horses of All Ages Sale. Additionally, there is a $2,500 CAD incentive for every mare bred back to a registered Ontario sire.

With Ontario horse sales under the recruitment program, mare owners bringing an in-foal mare into the province can receive $5,000 CAD through a Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP). The incentive applies to up to five in-foal mares per owner or entity. The $2,500 CAD incentive for breeding back to a registered Ontario sire applies also as with mare purchasing. 

Berringer said a few new stallions annually come into the province but that “the issue is we don’t have a large number of resident mares. 

“Mare Recruitment is trying to help us build Ontario-bred numbers,” said Berringer. “People will foal here and hopefully, with the incentives, people will breed back here. Then, when they have their horses, they’re probably going to benefit the most financially by racing in Ontario because you’re running for 40-percent bonuses if you’re running an Ontario-sired, Ontario-bred horse.” He added that the goal is twofold: to drive the Ontario horse population and increase the quality of the stock running in the province.

PETER BERRINGER

Funding for both the MPP and the MRP is through the TIP and comes from a pari mutuel tax returned by the government to the horse industry. Breeding programs total over $7 million CAD from the TIP, according to Berringer.

Ontario-breds are more than just important to racing in the province, according to Berringer. “It’s pivotal to racing. A strong breeding development program relates directly to our local horse sales and the racing product. We need a strong breeding program to have sustainable racing.”

Government statistics estimate that 45,000 people in Ontario depend on or benefit from horse breeding and racing, but Berringer thinks the figure might be low. “You have to be able to sustain all those farms and spinoff jobs on the farm and farm-related, which are imperative to the economic sustainability of rural communities.”

Berringer, as a farm owner, is sensitive to the impact of breeding and racing on operations and individuals not directly related to horse racing. His introduction to Thoroughbreds was working as a teenager at an uncle’s farm. “It was a multifaceted Thoroughbred farm with usually 60 to 120 horses at capacity in the winter. There were stallions and broodmares, yearlings and racehorses. I was lucky to have exposure to handling stallions, breeding and reproductive exposure, foaling, yearling sales prep, yearling sales, and breaking and training,” he said.

Transitioning to training came in his late 20’s when he was, at that time, the farm’s general manager/trainer. “I started to focus on training and racing because of the action and reducing my farm business to outside clients and a successful horse quarantine operation that I was operating for international horses.” On the farm, he met and worked with successful trainers and owners, and had exposure to top-tier Canadian champions.

Increased responsibilities on the farm along with obtaining a university degree while still working on the farm in the 1980s fed a burgeoning passion not just for the horses but the business.

This passion puts him on the tip of the spear for challenges not just facing his own racing and farm operations, but all Canadian horsemen and horsewomen. Canada’s tax structure for the horse industry is, according to Berringer, “the biggest detriment to our racing program.” It calls for a write-off of $17,600 [CAD] per entity per owner, a pittance compared to the U.S. tax structure that this year allows a 100% deduction of the purchase price of a horse. Lobbying efforts to improve the tax structure in Canada have been ongoing for some time but without much, if any, progress.  

In addition to incentives, there are also efforts on the racetrack to benefit Ontario horsemen and horsewomen. The Heritage Series of eight races for three-year-old Ontario-sired horses—four for fillies and four for colts—is in its second year divided between six races at Woodbine and two at Fort Erie between July and September. The Series provides an obvious boon to Ontario-sired horses to run in restricted stakes races. Last year, the first for the Series, purses for the eight races totaled $750,000. This year purses will increase from $80,000 to $100,000 per race. Horses accumulate points over multiple races with the points leader among fillies and colts earning a $20,000 bonus. Second- and third-place finishers in points earn bonuses of $10,000 and $5,000.

Lastly, if not most importantly, Ontario’s annual Premier yearling sale, this year at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion on August 31, generates interest and sales for Ontario-breds and not just within the province.  Berringer said many American owners with Canadian trainers as well as American trainers who race in Canada shop the Premier sales. “If you’re racing up here, it’s good to have an Ontario-bred horse because it gives you eligibility to a substantial and lucrative incentive program and bonuses as well as a possible place in the Queen’s Plate with a million-dollar purse as well as other stakes races.” 

Probably surprising to U.S. buyers are Canadian exports to U.S. sales. “There are 100 to 150 yearlings that sell every year down in Kentucky that are Ontario-bred,” said Berringer.

If Ontario racing is highly aggressive among racing jurisdictions in its breeding programs and incentives, it is, quite frankly, because it has to be. The COVID pandemic provides a prime example. “COVID really knocked the industry down when there were no spectators. At least in the U.S., spectators were allowed and business went on. We didn’t have any of that.” Adding to empty grandstands, Ontario racing, which usually begins in April, was pushed back to a June start in both 2020 and 2021. American racing, for the most part, continued the same meet schedules in the COVID restrictions.

Of course, Ontario racing right now experiences the same issues facing other racing jurisdictions in the U.S. All have horse shortages. Ontario may be complimented, though, for creating a means to minimize the effect on field sizes and typically producing fields larger than that in the U.S. Berringer points to racing secretaries at Woodbine both adding conditions and combining them to draw more entries into races. A recent Saturday at Woodbine and Santa Anita showed 84 starters for 10 races at Woodbine (8.4 per race) and only 68 starters for the same number of races at Santa Anita (6.8).  

Another issue shared by Ontario with the U.S. is a chronic labor shortage. The situation may be more acute in Canada than in the U.S. with a smaller immigrant base from which to draw. “A lot of the people that come to Canada are from Barbados and Jamaica to work on the backstretch, and it’s getting more and more difficult to obtain work permits. It’s increased over COVID,” said Berringer. The U.S., by contrast, has Central and South American countries with larger populations that have traditionally supplied their horse industry. The impact can be seen, said Berringer, by some U.S. stables who formerly came to Ontario to race, no longer coming north.

Home-grown efforts are underway to address labor shortages. Berringer points to a new program that the Ontario government started this year, which trains people for the horse industry and then provides financial assistance for the continuation of training. He takes a wait-and-see attitude toward the impact it may have. “It’s hard to find people to do this work early in the morning.” That goes for both Ontario and the U.S. 

The one major difference between Canadian racing and American, and where Canadian racing is most lacking in comparison is with new owners. There is just not the population base or large enough body of families historically involved in racing in Canada as in the U.S. “Racing struggles with this everywhere and probably the creation of a large fractional owner syndicate, and introducing people to the sport and excitement of it all, hopefully, will encourage new participants and they’ll purchase more and invest more in the industry once they get a taste for it; but it’s a struggle to find new breeders and owners,” said Berringer. 

He noted that leading Canadian trainer Josie Carroll, along with other top trainers in the U.S., receives horses bought by MyRacehorse, a syndicate offering “micro shares” that has been successful both in terms of business and on the racetrack. MyRacehorse, still in relative infancy, was part owner of the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic.

Canada’s horse industry, not surprisingly, is dependent on its larger neighbor to the south, with a much larger selection of stallions. “It used to be a couple of years ago; it was 70 percent local horses produced [in Ontario],” said Berringer. “Now, it’s a fifty-fifty split.” He added that it is a trend more attributable to a decrease in Ontario of local breeding participants than an increase in U.S. stallions. 

Quantity, however, does not necessarily dictate quality. Bigger purses divided by a smaller pool of horses, as cited in the opening of this story, improve the odds for earnings with Ontario horsemen and horsewomen. “You’ve got to put it in perspective. In Ontario, we’re probably producing just over 750 foals a year. Statistically, there’s a lot more money for our foals than a lot of other jurisdictions.”

A point of pride with Berringer and other Canadians in the horse industry is the success of Ontario-breds. Say the Word, Channel Maker, and Count Again, who recently won a Gr. 1 race in California are only three of many Ontario-breds succeeding on the racetrack. Recently retired Pink Lloyd, sired by Old Forester, is, perhaps, the biggest star of Ontario-breds. Career earnings totaled $2,455,430 and included five Sovereign Awards for Champion Male Springer and the 2017 Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year. Incredibly, his wins were in 26 stakes races. Let it not be forgotten as well that the dam of this year’s Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is Gold Strike, Canada’s Sovereign Award Champion 3YO Filly in 2005.

The issue for Ontario racing isn’t good horses, apparently; it is just the need for more of them. With breeding programs, added racing for Ontario-breds, and the Premier sales, it won’t be for lack of trying. That especially holds true for Berringer, who is quick with a quip: “I still love horses and horse racing and still enjoy going home to the farm every day--ok most days--to work.  

Go Canada.

*Applications for the MPP and MRP by Ontario horsemen and horsewomen are available at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s website, cthsont.com, under “Breed” and then “Incentives.”

Diversification of the Thoroughbred Sire Lines

By Nancy Sexton

From the time the breeding of racehorses became a more commercial pursuit, bloodlines have ebbed and flowed freely across differing racing jurisdictions. The export of various high-profile horses out of Britain to North America during the first half of the 20th century added weight to the development of the American Thoroughbred, giving it a foundation from which to flourish. And when more American-breds came to be imported back into Europe, the British and Irish Thoroughbreds benefitted as well.

All the while, it stands to reason that some sire lines will strengthen and some will die out. Some of those that lose their vigor in one nation might thrive in another. Others will merely be overwhelmed by a more dominant line, as was the case with game-changer Northern Dancer.

A glance at the leading North American sires’ list from 1972 reveals quite how much the Thoroughbred has changed in 50 years. Round Table, Claiborne Farm’s brilliant son of Princequillo, sat at the top with approximately $2 million in earnings ahead of Hamburg Place’s T V Lark, a son of the Nasrullah stallion Indian Hemp. Princequillo and Nasrullah, both of whom stood under Claiborne management, were dominant influences of their day but interestingly each of the top five stallions that year—Herbager, Beau Gar and Count Fleet completed the quintet—represented different sire lines.

Is today’s Thoroughbred a melting pot of fewer viable lines? The 2021 North American champion sires’ table would suggest that might be the case—its top ten containing four male line descendants of Northern Dancer (Into Mischief, Ghostzapper, Paynter and Hard Spun) and four belonging to Mr Prospector (Curlin, Speightstown, Munnings and Twirling Candy). 

Of course, given how each surviving branch of Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector has evolved over time erodes the importance of comparing different representatives; Into Mischief, as a great-grandson of Storm Cat via Harlan’s Holiday, is a very different beast to Awesome Again’s son Ghostzapper as is Curlin to Speightstown and his son Munnings.

Conspicuous by its absence, though, is representation from the once vibrant Hail To Reason line, its most high-profile representative being the veteran More Than Ready in 26th place. Caro’s line is prominent via the deeds of top ten stallion Uncle Mo, although whether that horse can be classed as a typical representative of that line is a moot point. The In Reality sire line, which traces back to Man O’War, remains relevant primarily through Tiznow. However, it doesn’t take too much imagination to envisage it petering out in the near future, much like that belonging to Princequillo, Ribot, Buckpasser and Bull Lea before it.

In Europe, the situation is much the same, dominated by Northern Dancer influences descending from Sadler’s Wells, in particular Galileo, and Danzig, who is at his strongest via Danehill and Green Desert. The outlier at the top end of the market is Mr. Prospector’s great-grandson Dubawi. 

Sadly, those lines descending from the likes of Mill Reef, the last British-based champion sire prior to Frankel, Blushing Groom and Sharpen Up today hang by a thread. Others, such as Dante and Habitat, have more or less died out across Europe.

Fiona Craig (right) with Molyglare Stud’s Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner.

“It has definitely changed,” says Fiona Craig, advisor to the Irish-based Moyglare Stud Farm. “Success breeds success, so to some degree the situation is maybe better because of the dominance of the more successful bloodlines. However, as a result, we may well all lose some of the genetic variation that is so vital for the vigor of a bloodline. It is difficult to fully evaluate at this point as it may take another 50 years to see the effect of the current concentration of bloodlines.”

Duncan Taylor of Taylor Made Sales goes far back into the 20th century, pointing to the success of the Phalaris sire line, and its subsequent concentration, as a catalyst for the current situation.

“From 1956, the leading sire by earnings for each year since tells the story of the Thoroughbred breed and its evolution,” he says. “Speed has been the centerpiece of the story. During this 65-year period, the leading sire list has been topped on only eight occasions by stallions from sire lines other than the Phalaris paternal line. Princequillo (1957 and 1958), Ambiorix (1961), Round Table (1972), Dr. Fager (1977), Nodouble (1980), His Majesty (1982) and Broad Brush (1994) are those eight sires.

“Every other time it has been led by a Phalaris line stallion—Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Bold Ruler and Hail To Reason. If you look back at the leading sires list by earnings for 2021, you see that all bar one of the top 50 stallions traces back to Phalaris: 19 of the 50 trace through Mr. Prospector, 16 through Northern Dancer, 11 through Bold Ruler, two through Hail To Reason and one through Caro. Only the In Reality line, represented through Tiznow [in 45th], does not trace back to Phalaris.”

Taylor adds: “Phalaris was a modest racehorse at stamina distance. As a four-year-old, his trainer [George Lambton] turned to sprint races where he won seven of nine starts and was ultimately crowned England’s Champion Sprinter. As a five-year-old, he became known for his ability to carry more weight than his competitors, doing so with brilliant speed. He went on to become a leading sire of two-year-olds in 1925, 1926 and 1927. He was Champion sire in England in 1925 and 1928.

Duncan Taylor

“What I see in Phalaris and what I have learned about the customers that create the “bullseye market” for buying a yearling in America are very similar. Our horse-buying customers want early two-year-old performers with speed, and they like it when the horse can go on and race at three.  They would love for that fast two-year-old to be able to go on and win up to a mile-and-a-quarter at three. Phalaris and his offspring have delivered the speed necessary to put most of the other sire lines out of business. You will still see these other sire lines in pedigrees, but not as the paternal sire line.”

Globalization

Whatever way you look at it, globalization of the business has also been a driving force. On the one hand, it has allowed international breeders access to different bloodlines. On the other hand, it has been a major factor in the commercialism of the industry; once breeding racehorses became big business, fashion gained a new importance.

“The pendulum swings back and forth,” says Dermot Carty, director of sales at Adena Springs in Canada. “For example, one of the biggest influences during the 1930s and 40s was Hyperion. His son Khaled came to America and with success; another son Star Kingdom was successful in Australia; and then Aristophanes stood in South America where he sired Forli, who then came back to stand in Kentucky.

“With the international economics of the 1940s, 50s, 60s, there was a huge movement of horses, mostly back into North America. Then it went the other way—the Sangster group and the Maktoum family were driving forces into sending those bloodlines back to Europe. And all the while, Japan has been importing a lot of bloodlines and with great success—that was obviously how they came to have Sunday Silence.”

Headley Bell of Mill Ridge Farm in Kentucky concurs.

Headley Bell of Mill Ridge Farm, Kentucky

“My grandfather [Hal Price Headley] imported Order out of England and from him bred [champion] Ornament,” he says. “Then he bought Pharamond from Lord Derby and imported him to stand in Kentucky, where he sired champion Menow [sire of champion Tom Fool, in turn the sire of Buckpasser].

“We go through these different phases, and we get these cycles. You look at what John Gaines did at Gainesway, Leslie Combs at Spendthrift and before that Bull Hancock at Claiborne. They tapped into the British Stud Book and reaped the rewards—and that was a long time ago.” 

Such cycles have underpinned the development of the breed, initially allowing for more variety. When Never Say Die won the 1954 Epsom Derby under Lester Piggott, he became the first American-bred winner of the race since Iroquois in 1881. 

Columnist Frank Jennings, writing at the time in the Thoroughbred Record, noted that: “Never Say Die did a great deal toward changing this thought [that an American-bred would not be able to win the Epsom Derby] and at the same time provided a fine example of the fact that American bloodlines, when properly blended with those of foreign lands, can hold their own in the top company of the world.”

Just over 40 years later, the race boasted a further 11 American-bred winners as well another, Nijinsky, who had been bred in Canada.

“Properly blended” is a key phrase in Jennings’ text, with the industry’s global nature allowing for differing lines to blend in elsewhere to the point that it's not uncommon nowadays for a horse’s background to host European, North American, Japanese and/or Australian-bred names.

“It is important not to underestimate just how much the mare population matters to a stallion,” says Bell, “and how he might blend. We stood Diesis at Mill Ridge Farm—he was a champion two-year-old in Britain by Sharpen Up; and when he came here, he was provided with those American speed mares. And it clicked; it worked for him.” 

As Carty notes, Adena Springs’ stalwart Silent Name is another fine advertisement for a Thoroughbred melting pot. One of the first sons of Japanese supersire Sunday Silence to stand outside Japan, the Gr. 2 winner is a proven Gr. 1 stallion and sits perennially among the leading Canadian sires.

“Silent Name was bred in Japan by the Wertheimer brothers from an European pedigree that had heavy doses of North American influences,” he says. “He’s out of a mare by Danehill, and his second dam is by Blushing Groom. You’ve got Raja Baba, a son of Bold Ruler, in there, too. So it’s a really international pedigree. 

“To build this kind of family requires the ability to think long term, and it’s a long process. Credit to the Wertheimer brothers as they had the vision and sight to send mares to Japan and tap into these different bloodlines. Credit to the Wildenstein family and Maria Niarchos for doing the same as well.”

Contraction

Are we closing in on a situation where the breed might be contracting too much?

“Any answer will be determined on what you are trying to breed,” says Craig. “A sound racehorse with a turn of foot or successful sales horse? Do you prefer to out-cross bloodlines, or are you happy to concentrate on currently successful bloodlines to meet market fashion and sell well?  

“For me, primarily trying to breed racehorses, I find it increasingly restrictive simply because so many of the broodmares are by or out of the current stallions. That is an increasing problem, and I see the same in yearlings at sales. 

“We can make statistics to say anything, but what they do show is that speed is essential for a racehorse. But class speed. Sadly we are now in a world where cheap speed sells, and class stamina is overlooked or not wanted at the sales.”

The power of the commercial market is certainly a factor.

As Bell notes, most breeders are in the position of having “to play the commercial card.”

“The reduction of the foal crop is also something that’s at play here,” he says. “When you’re going down from 35,000 foals to 19,000, you’re going to get limitations. So we’re playing with the cards that we’re dealt.”

Away from commercial dictations, the shift can also be attributed to the overwhelming influence of Northern Dancer, a great-great-grandson of Phalaris.

Bred by E.P. Taylor, it is part of racing folklore how the late May-foaled Northern Dancer was shunned by buyers on account of his size as a yearling yet went on to win the Kentucky Derby in record time several weeks short of his actual third birthday. 

Northern Dancer was sired by a horse, Nearctic, whose female family had been imported by Taylor out of Britain in the early 1950s. At stud, he wasted little time in transcending the gap between North America and Europe, with the deeds of his second-crop son, 1970 Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, prompting a heightened interest in the stallion that was subsequently justified through the likes of Sadler’s Wells, El Gran Senor, The Minstrel, Secreto, Lyphard and Nureyev.

Today, the breed is awash with Northern Dancer, particularly in Europe.

“You look at the role that Northern Dancer played,” says Bell. “He’s by far the most significant. And we’re now seeing Northern Dancer on Northern Dancer work. Delving further in, Danzig on Danzig is more prevalent and can work. Sadler’s Wells on Sadler’s Wells can also work, as we saw with Enable [who was inbred 3x2 to the stallion].”

The idea of major breeders experimenting by doubling up on bloodlines is nothing new. 

Ultimus, an unraced but successful sire bred in 1906 by James Keene, was inbred 2x2 to Domino. In Europe, the breeding empire belonging to Marcel Boussac rested primarily upon the influences of his stallions Asterus, Teddy, Pharis and Tourbillon. Indeed, his 1949 Arc heroine Coronation was inbred 2x2 to Tourbillon. 

More recently in Australasia, Danehill has become so powerful that in some cases it is hard to get away from his influence. To date, there are no fewer than 15,400 foals inbred to Danehill worldwide—310 of whom are stakes winners. While the list contains various Australian heavyweights such as Verry Elleegant, Farnan, Alizee and Bivouac, it is also interesting to note the number of Australasian farms who market their stallions as being free of Danehill blood when the opportunities arise.

Yet while history tells us that some people will never hold back from multiplying on lines, surely the concentration of today’s sirelines poses some quandaries for breeders.

While Round Table was the North American champion sire of 1972, his place was taken 10 years later by His Majesty, a son of Ribot. By 1992, Northern Dancer was changing the landscape; Danzig was champion in America while in Europe, Sadler’s Wells was in the midst of a championship run that would come to consist of a record 14 sires’ titles. Sadler’s Wells’ own son El Prado broke through with his own American sires’ championship in 2002, and remains a firm influence today via Kitten’s Joy and Medaglia d’Oro. 

At the same time, the faster and more precocious Storm Cat, a grandson of Northern Dancer via Storm Bird, was gaining traction on both sides of the Atlantic that would come to be reflected in the successes of Into Mischief, Giant’s Causeway and Scat Daddy—all of whom remain extremely powerful and commercial forces in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Mr. Prospector sire line flourished, whether it be through the likes of Gone West (sire of Elusive Quality, Zafonic, Speightstown and Mr. Greeley), Forty Niner (sire of Distorted Humor and End Sweep), Smart Strike (sire of Curlin) or Fappiano, who has become an increasingly powerful force via Unbridled and Candy Ride.

The Seattle Slew line has consolidated its place as one of America’s best, notably through A.P. Indy and his son Pulpit, who has been so ably represented in recent years by Tapit.

However, all this has come at the expense of other sire lines. Granted, not all of them possessed the vigor to remain relevant. But others were popular and successful options of their time and merely fell foul of commercial desires. 

For instance, would Sunday Silence have been so successful had he stood in Kentucky? As it was, Arthur Hancock of Stone Farm attempted to stand his Kentucky Derby winner but support for the horse—one who had been unsold at $17,000 as a yearling and in possession of a light female pedigree—was underwhelming; and he was sold to Japan, where he became an incredible success. While his blood today saturates the breed in Japan, Kentucky options belonging to his sire Halo are limited.

Other causes include a combination of geography, value and circumstances, says Craig.

Ribot at Darby Dan Farm, 1960

“Horses were at one time mainly bred to be raced by their breeders,” she says. “The public sales market was to dispose of those that were not wanted. Mares also often visited stallions that were local and then with time and travel, they went further afield; and a center such as Newmarket began to develop for breeding as much as racing. 

“Walter Haefner [Moyglare Stud Farm founder] was one of the first breeders to ship mares by air to Kentucky. He was very wealthy and loved U.S. racing. He sent two mares from Ireland in 1968, primarily to breed to Sea Bird and Ribot. Irish Lass produced Irish Bird, the dam of Assert and Bikala, to Sea Bird. Another mare, White Paper, produced Gp. 1 winner Carwhite to Caro.”

Craig touches upon the wealth of European runners available in America at that time, with Nureyev, Lyphard, Riverman, Irish River, Blushing Groom, The Minstrel, El Gran Senor, Storm Bird, Sir Ivor and Vaguely Noble, among those to leave a lasting impact alongside Sea Bird, Ribot and Caro.

“Many of the top European stallion prospects were abruptly sent to the U.S. in the 1970s due to fear of equine abortion [prompted by the contagious equine metritis (CEM) outbreak in 1977],” she says.

“Comparing stud fees and yearling values in the 1950s and 60s to those at the end of the 1970s and onward shows a vast change, maybe originating in the U.S. as a result of CEM and the flight of leading stallions from Europe, [which] then migrated quickly back to Europe. 

“I will always remember attending a Matchmaker seasons and shares auction in the old Radisson in downtown Kentucky in the late 1980s and watching a Northern Dancer season make $1 million. Big business arrived into breeding and as a result into sales, and as we all know, much of this current industry is dictated by fashion. Traditional owner/breeders continued but increasingly found the associated stud fee and broodmare costs limiting.

“Commercial breeders are guided by fashion, and so stallions have to fit the commercial parameters in order to get enough mares; and currently early success and speed are everything. Proven, fast, good looking and recognizable—that doesn't leave many spots for the tough old stallions doing it the hard way. Would Persian Bold have made a stallion now? Would Broad Brush? Both were more than able to get a higher percentage of top performers than the speedy two-year-old performer that gets three times the number of mares.

“And with increased commerciality and 'fashion' came numbers. Fashion and commercial aspects meant that everyone [wanted] to breed their mares to the same sire or sire line, and others were ignored.”

She adds: “Yes, we need the class stamina lines of Roberto, we need Halo, we need Princequillo and Ribot. But they are not flashy or speedy, and sadly not fashionable. Hence the demand is poor, and so those sire lines fade into history.”

Craig laments the contraction of the Grey Sovereign line: “There was a brilliance to those, also temperament, but they worked on all surfaces and in different countries.” Similarly, she is disappointed to witness the contraction of that belonging to Never Bend, a “line of class and brilliance” that supplied Mill Reef and Riverman. 

For Headley Bell, use of the Roberto sire line has yielded great rewards.

“Hail To Reason and his son Roberto is such a powerful line,” he says. “I’ve played Roberto and I used Dynaformer a lot with success—our client Lael Stable bred [Kentucky Derby winner] Barbaro by him. I played Halo, more recently through his grandson Hat Trick, the sire of Win Win Win [a Gr. 1-winning homebred for Live Oak Plantation]. 

“I was also a big Stop The Music player back in the day, although he was different to most Hail To Reasons; he was typey with more speed.”

Of course, the subject of bloodlines isn’t as cut and dry as favoring one sire line over the next. Each stallion represents a blend of influences and as such, opportunities are there to be tapped into.

“Ribot and Roberto remain influential,” says Bell. “In Reality, Relaunch, Fappiano—they are all common threads as well. The Rough N’ Tumble line has been hugely influential—we see him today playing an important role through his son Dr. Fager, the damsire of Fappiano. And that pays tribute to John Nerud and those Tartan Farm families. They bred all those good horses: In Reality, Dr. Fager, Unbridled, Quiet American; and they remain relevant today.”

Independently, Craig was also quick to pay tribute to the impact left by Nerud.

“Tapit is the Bold Ruler - Seattle Slew line, but maybe his real success is due to those tough old Tartan Farm bloodlines,” she says, alluding to the fact that Tapit’s dam, Tap Your Heels, is a daughter of Unbridled (bred on the Fappiano - Dr. Fager cross) and also inbred twice to In Reality.

There is an argument to think that the health of the Thoroughbred is not going to benefit from the current situation. Sure, North America is home to an array of accomplished sires, but at the same time, the variety of several decades ago—an era when some would argue that the breed was sounder and more durable—is lacking. 

While Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector cast a shadow over the top echelons of the 2021 champion sires’ list, there is also a similarity to the next big names, among them runaway champion first-crop sire Gun Runner who represents a fusion of Fappiano, to whom he is inbred, and Storm Cat. Another successful freshman, Practical Joke, represents Into Mischief over Distorted Humor and therefore broadly speaking, Storm Cat over Mr. Prospector.

“It is both a luxury and expensive to be an owner/breeder now,” says Craig. "Most breeding is trial and error. For sure, you can afford to take a few chances—breed to Saxon Warrior or Study Of Man [both sons of Deep Impact based in Europe], keep a few mares in the U.S. or Australia to try to use more of a variety of sire lines, but it is a challenge. There are limited options, and I think we are breeding a lot of slower horses as a result. We are moving inwards not outwards.”

State Incentives 2022

by Annie Lambert

North American Thoroughbred market breeders saw record sales in 2021, while breeding to race looks equally enticing in 2022. Even a pandemic has not stopped the racing industry from rewarding breeders and owners from producing, purchasing and racing quality horses.

Farm Futures

Spendthrift Farm, Lexington, Kentucky, are continuing with their trendsetting programs – Share The Upside and Safe Bet – following the death of Spendthrift founder and owner B. Wayne Hughes last August. Both programs have been directly copied or modified by other farms due to their obvious significance to breeders.

The Spendthrift Farm 2022 Stallion Roster consists of 25 sires, including newly added Basin (Liam’s Map), Known Agenda (Curlin), Yaupon (Uncle Mo) and By My Standards (Goldencents).

Safe Bet minimizes risk for mare owners by ensuring that the stallion they chose from the program will sire at least one graded/group stakes winner by December 31, 2022 from its first two-year-old crop, or the mare owner will owe no breeding fee. If the stallion does produce at least one black-type winner, the listed stallion fee would be due.

Spendthrift stallions in the program for 2022 include Cloud Computing, Free Drop Billy and Mor Spirit, all standing for a $5,000 fee.

“Safe Bet will continue this year with Free Drop Bill, Mor Spirit and Cloud Computing,” verified Spendthrift Stallion Sales Manager Mark Toothaker. “If they do not have a graded stakes winner in North America in 2022, then all of those contracts done under the program will be free. If they have a graded stakes winner, [breeders] are thrilled to death to pay $5,000. If it doesn’t work out, at least it doesn’t cost them anything, as far as a stud fee.”

Share The Upside has proved stunningly successful for breeders, while remaining a simple concept. Breed a mare to a program stallion, have a live foal and pay the stallion fee when due. That foal entitles the mare owner to a lifetime breeding to the stallion, an annual breeding share, with no added costs.

Program stallions for 2022 include: Basin, By My Standards, Known Agenda and Rock Your World (Candy Ride (ARG)), the latter two being already sold out.

“We have two different forms of Share the Upside,” Toothaker said. “Rock Your World and Known Agenda are both on two year programs with fees of $12,500 this and next year. Basin and By My Standards are both on one-year deals with a second year breed back for free. They are both standing at $8,500 one time and then in 2023 you breed a mare for free and you will have filled your commitment to have a lifetime breeding right.”

According to Toothaker, some stallions offer a pay-out-of-sale proceeds type offer this year. It is not a forgiveness of the stud fee, but it is a deferment arrangement.

“There are certain stallions that we will allow a breeder to defer paying the stallion fee, temporarily,” Toothaker said. “They can sell the mare in foal or sell the resulting weanling or yearling. We don’t usually want to carry it past a yearling season.”

Because the quality stallions can be very expensive to acquire, farms must try and turn each season into monetary income if at all possible. Various programs enable stallions to be marketed for the benefit of the stallion business and mare owners.

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) has increased purses within the state and has shown significant growth. Keeneland Race Course, for example, will award a record $7.7 million for 19 stakes to be run during their April 2022 spring meet. 

Spendthrift’s 2022 ‘Share the upside’ program stallions include Rock your world, known agenda, Basin & By my standards (pictured)

The KTDF will contribute $1.5 million to the stakes purses, pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. KTDF funds come from one-percent of money wagered on live Kentucky Thoroughbred and historical racing. In addition, two-percent of all money wagered on Thoroughbred races via inter-track wagering and whole card simulcasting.

Only Kentucky-sired and Kentucky-foaled horses that are registered with the KTDF are eligible for these purse supplements. Each racetrack, pending approval by the KTDF advisory board, decides the purse payment structure. Payment is distributed to the owner of record.

State Lures

The California Breeder’s Association continues to have one of the most respected, and often copied, programs in North America. According to Mary Ellen Locke, Registrar and Incentive Program Manager, there have been no structural changes to their lucrative program from recent years.

California mare owners can breed to out-of-state stallions and still have a Cal-bred, providing the mare foals in the Golden State and is bred back to a California stallion. 

“We have no new changes for 2022,” Locke confirmed of the CTBA incentives. “There have not been as many inquiries from other states regarding our program recently. When most were starting out, they’d ask how our program worked. I think a lot of the states that want an incentive program have one.” 

Little Red Feather Racing Club is an established racing partnership group, which purchases prospects to race across North America. Founder and managing partner, Billy Koch, made it clear they are not in the breeding business, but definitely keep owner incentives in mind for his runners.

“We race everywhere in the country, so we look at the horses [bred in any state],” Koch explained. “Whatever racing jurisdiction you are running in, the incentives should be noted. When it comes to California, as they say, ‘It pays to own a Cal-bred.’”

Texas has been making big improvements for breeders to take advantage of in recent years, according to Mary Ruyle, Texas Thoroughbred Association Executive Director. Texas state legislatures passed a bill in 2019, which provides for $25 million annually to help the equine industry – seventy percent is set aside for purses. The monies are collected via a tax on equine goods and products. 

The TTA is actively promoting the Texas-bred Thoroughbred in 2022.

“What we are doing is going to each of the Texas Class One tracks and inviting new people to learn more about the process of becoming a breeder or a racehorse owner,” Ruyle said. “We’re also having an event in connection with our two-year-old training sale.”

Berdette Felipe, Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association, reported there were no major changes to their program, but that business was going well for breeders and owners.

“Turf Paradise has added money into the purses, the purses are bigger,” she said. “And, Turf Paradise does pay a breeder and owner award at the end of the meet.”

Mare owners in Arizona are able to breed to out-of-state stallions, similar to California, and still have an Arizona-bred foal. “As long as the mare foals here and the baby stays in Arizona for six months of its first year,” Felipe explained.

When Virginia passed their Historical Horse Racing legislation in 2019 Debbie Easter, Executive Director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA), predicted good things for Colonial Downs. Last year, Easter began to see the numbers climbing in spite of no year around racing in Virginia.

Colonial Downs enjoyed a record setting Thoroughbred season in 2021 with purse monies of $522,000. That number is expected to grow to $600,000 this year. The Virginia Racing Commission also granted the 2022 meet an additional nine days of racing.

The VTA continues to provide incentives to their breeders, encouraging them to set up shop and grow in their state.

Even though the state of Minnesota has challenges for breeders and owners, those directly involved continue to stride forward with help from the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association and the Minnesota Breeders’ Fund [MBF].

The MBF, which is overseen by the Minnesota Racing Commission (MRC), awarded over $600,000 to breeders last year. Monetary awards are paid to Minnesota-bred horses that are registered with the MRC. There are ongoing attempts to promote state-bred horses.

 “Members of the commission have agreed recently to support an incentive whereby anyone who buys a share in a Minnesota Thoroughbred Association stallion auction will be rewarded,” Bob Schiewe, Deputy Director of the MBF, explained. “If you bring your mare to use the breeding and bring the mare back to Minnesota to foal, the Breeders’ Fund will pay a $1,000 incentive.

“It’s not a lot in the bigger picture, but it is something. We are hoping that it might result in 15 to 30 mares foaling in Minnesota that otherwise may not have.”

Minnesota not only suffers from severe winter weather. Lower purses at Canterbury Park, the only Thoroughbred track, are stressing the racing structure. 

“Canterbury Park, where we have had Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing since the 1980s, has a marketing agreement with the nearby Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community, which owns/operates the Mystic Ways Casino,” Schiewe said. “The casino is very successful and has supplemented purses at Canterbury Park by about $7.5 million annually for 10 years. It basically doubled our purse account.”

But, much to Schiewe’s dismay, the decade long agreement with the casino to provide the added funding is expiring and the Native American community seems prepared not to negotiate a new contract.

“Unfortunately for horse racing in Minnesota,” Schiewe acknowledged, “it seems to be in very serious jeopardy of going away.” “You can do the math; we’ll be losing half of our purse account in this day and age.” 

Mr Monomoy

Independent Initiatives

Sean Feld is Managing Director of Climax Stallions, which he runs from Lexington, Kentucky. Sean’s father, Bob Feld of Bobfeld Bloodstock is the company’s Director of Stallion Acquisitions.

Climax Stallions now offer seven sires, most of which reside in varied regions of the United States, with one currently standing in Ireland. The concept of treating each stallion separately allows the company to find proper exposure for each horse.

“When we acquire a stallion we’ll make phone calls to various farms in various locations where we think the horse fits best and where we think he will get the best reception,” Sean explained. “Curlin To Mischief [a half-brother to Into Mischief and Beholder by Curlin] is in California because it was helpful that Into Mischief and Beholder did their running out there. That familiarity definitely helps.”

Son Of Thunder, a full-brother to the late Laoban, stands in New York, St Patrick’s Day, by Pioneerof The Nile, resides in Florida and Mr. Monomoy, by Palace Malice, is in New York. Editorial, a half-brother to Uncle Mo by War Front, and Fortune Ticket, a full-brother to Gun Runner, are both in Maryland. The only stallion standing outside of North America is Bullet Train by Sadler’s Wells.

“We have Bullet Train leased to a national hunt farm in Ireland,” Sean said. “He’s going to be a steeplechase stallion. His first foals in Ireland are three, so they’ll start running soon.”

Climax Stallions are placed with consideration of breeder and owner awards offered as well. Mr. Monomoy, with his dirt pedigree fit well in New York considering the amount of money in the Stallion Stakes races as well as winter races in Aqueduct being run solely on dirt.

State-bred programs like California, Florida, New York and Maryland all have outstanding incentive programs overall, according to Sean. And, Sean appreciates mare owner programs like those offered by Spendthrift.

“We offer a Share the Upside type program for all our freshman sires,” he pointed out. “In the regional market it is a lot harder to compete than the Kentucky market. You have to be creative to get as many good mares as you can. There are leading breeders in every state and you try to get as many mares from leading breeders as possible.” 

“Our tagline is, ‘We bring Kentucky to you,’” he added. “We have Kentucky quality pedigrees in the regional market; we try to help the regional-bred horses as much as possible in the pedigree department.”

Ontario, Canada’s province most entwined in Thoroughbred racing, sports a range of incentives to promote Thoroughbred breeding in the province. 

There are monetary bonuses allotted through the Mare Purchase Program that applies to in-foal mares with progeny of 2022 when purchased at an Ontario Racing recognized public auction. Through the Mare Recruitment Program, a breeder who brings an in-foal mare to Ontario to foal in 2022 is eligible for incentive funds, with some stipulations.

A breeder of record is eligible for several bonuses through the Thoroughbred Improvement Program, including out-of-province breeders awards. Ontario sired purse bonuses are also paid out. There are many angles to beef up breeder awards in Canada.

It would quite possibly take the entire magazine to explain each and every North American opportunity for mare owners to enhance their bottom lines. The more you dig, the more opportunities are found. And, with competition growing, there are certainly deals to be made. You won’t know until you ask. 

Are homebreds a dying breed?

Stellar Run in 2021 Classics, but the pool of owner-breeders has grown thin

By Jeff Lowe

When Charlotte Weber settled into Ocala, Fla., in 1968 to launch a breeding establishment to fuel her fledgling racing stable, the blueprint was well-established across the major players of the game. In that era when names like Phipps, Rokeby and Whitney were synonymous with racing success, homebreds were the ticket to the winner’s circle. 

Weber put a different spin on her Live Oak Stud operation with the location in central Florida, which at that point was just beginning to creep into the racing landscape. Over the last 53 years, Live Oak has been a beacon in Ocala's expansion into a self-proclaimed perch as the "Horse Capital of the World"—in some ways as a sharp contrast to the two-year-old hub that has grown up around her now 4,500-acre property. Weber has maintained her focus on a breed-to-race model and built up a rich history of success, now with key bloodlines that have been cultivated over the course of several decades. Meanwhile, around the corner, across town and at places in between, a commercial marketplace has sprung up in Ocala and reshaped much of the racing world. 

Weber and her cousin, George Strawbridge—both heirs of the Campbell Soup Co.—have charted similar courses with their individual stables. Weber's Live Oak Plantation has laid claim to more than 30 graded stakes winners; and Strawbridge's Augustin Stable has accounted for three champions, a long list of top horses in Flat racing and the sole position as the all-time leading owner in the National Steeplechase Association. 

Breeding to race has been the standard for Weber and Strawbridge. With few exceptions, they are mostly alone in pursuing that model in 2021, even if homebreds have been on a tremendous kick in American racing this season. 

"It's like a lot of things in life today: I think people in racing are chasing lightning in a bottle," Weber said. "I can't really blame them. If you can buy a horse and get to the races quickly and are lucky enough to find some success, it makes a lot of sense. I can tell you that the economics are a whole lot different than when I got started in racing; it's very expensive, and I say that as someone who is fortunate to have a cushion but tries to be sensible. 

"For me, a homebred is closer to the heart because I've watched them since they have been born—seen them as they have grown up. I have more of an understanding of the horse than if I were to go buy a yearling or a two-year-old. And with some of these families I've had for so long, that lineage becomes something special. Like Win Approval [the dam of two Breeders' Cup Mile winners, Miesque's Approval and World Approval], she sits in a paddock out by my house, and I get to watch her all the time. That's just special." 

Ironically the biggest breed-to-race operation in America these days is not that long removed from a nearly ubiquitous presence in the commercial market as a leading buyer. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has shifted much more to the breeding game in America over the last 15 years. With the banner of his Godolphin Racing stable flying high at the moment thanks to Essential Quality, the champion two-year-old male of 2020 has kept firing as a three-year-old including a classic victory in the Belmont Stakes, a few hours after the Godolphin homebred Althiqa captured the Gr. 1 Just a Game Stakes on the same card at Belmont. 

Michael Banahan with Delightful Quality - dam of Essential Quality

"That doesn't happen very often; I don't care who you are," said Michael Banahan, the director of farm operations for Godolphin USA. "For us in the states, it had been a long while since we had a classic win—going back to Bernardini in the Preakness [2006]. They don't run many classics, and they sure are hard to win. But it's funny—depending on what happens with the Kentucky Derby with the drug positive—if Mandaloun ends up being the winner, you'll have a sweep for the homebreds with Mandaloun, Rombauer in the Preakness and Essential Quality, not to mention Malathaat winning the Kentucky Oaks. Who knows when the last time that has happened?" 

Essential Quality is a legacy horse for the Jonabell Farm wing of Godolphin's breeding footprint in the U.S. Back in 2005, when U.S. Thoroughbred auctions were regularly seeing epic bidding duels between Sheikh Mohammed and the Coolmore associates, Sheikh Mohammed's representative acquired Essential Quality's second dam, Contrive, for $3 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale.

"It was a bit of a slow burner," said Banahan, who has worked for Sheikh Mohammed's breeding entities in Europe and America for nearly 30 years. "Contrive was a Storm Cat mare—couldn't do much better than that back then—and she was the dam of Folklore, who had just won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. It's a family that we've liked and developed over time at Jonabell, but it was several years before we got a proper graded stakes winner out of it with Essential Quality. You have to play the long game with those. A lot of times you don't get instant gratification."

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