Stallion Cap Litigation Ends
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Mares and foals in the field at a Kentucky farm
A federal court dispute over a Thoroughbred stallion cover cap imposed by The Jockey Club was officially ended on March 31 with an order of dismissal after The Jockey Club dropped the rule.
The Jockey Club, with support from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, decided it was in the best interests of the breed to limit to 140 the number of mares a stallion could cover in a year, starting with stallions foaled in 2020.
The rule, enacted in May 2020, was challenged in a suit filed in February 2021 by three of Kentucky's largest stud farms: Spendthrift Stallions, Ashford Stud, and Three Chimneys Farm. The Jockey Club moved to dismiss the case, and by October 2021 it was under submission to U. S. District Judge Joseph H. Hood in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
On Feb. 14 the industry landscape changed when House Bill 496, co-sponsored by Kentucky Speaker of the House David Osborne, was filed with a provision "to prohibit a Thoroughbred registrar from restricting the number of mares bred to a stallion or refusing to register a foal based on the number of mares bred to the foal's stallion."
On Feb. 17, The Jockey Club withdrew the rule, and on Feb. 28 Hood was notified that the parties wanted to terminate the case. On March 31, Hood approved an agreement dismissing the case "without prejudice," meaning issues raised in the case can be relitigated in the future.