us stallion cap
Stallion restrictions
This year’s crop of foals will include future US-based stallions who will have their books capped at 140. Melissa Bauer-Herzog chats to breeders to discover the various positive and negative implications of the US Jockey Club’s new policy
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HEN THE JOCKEY CLUB announced its consideration in September 2019 of a rule to limit all North American stallions’ books to 140 mares, it also invited people to get in contact with suggestions. Eight months later, after hearing the feedback and making their own changes, The Jockey Club officially announced the rule – all colts born in 2020 and later will only be able to breed 140 mares or less. However, any of those born before that year will still have unlimited books. KatieRich Farm’s Mark Hubley is in favour of the cap for multiple reasons, from helping the diversity of the breed to helping breeders in the sales ring, “One is it’ll keep the genetic pool more diverse so we won’t be so concentrated on
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www.internationalthoroughbred.net
US stallions covering key stats 2019 (taken from the US Jockey Club’s statisics) Stallions covered at least one mare >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>1,549 Covered over 200 mares >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 8 Covered 140 mares or more>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>45 Covered less than 50 mares>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>1,380 20-50 mares>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 186
the stallion of the day,” he explains. “Being a seller, when you invest a lot of money into a stud fee, the more mares the stallion is bred to, the more competition you have. “So, if you spend $150,000 or whatever you spend, you want to be the best of 140 opposed to 240. Your risk is compounded by the numbers that are out there.” However, Leah O’Meara of Stonehaven
Steadings believes that the limiting of books should be down to the stallion owner. She believes that the cap will help genetic diversity, but also notes that a lot of farms already limit books. “I appreciate supply and demand and allowing the market and needs of breeders to determine the need to breed to a certain stallion,” she says.
