Report: Dips in Stallion, Mares-Bred Numbers

According to the Report of Mares Bred for the 2016 breeding season released Oct. 21 by The Jockey Club, the number of stallions declined 1.8% from the 1,449 reported at this time in 2015, and the number of mares bred decreased 2.5% from the 34,627 reported at this time last year.

Based on RMBs received through Oct. 15, The Jockey Club reports that 1,423 stallions covered 33,746 mares in North America during 2016. Based upon historical reporting trends, The Jockey Club estimates an additional 2,000 to 3,000 mares will be reported as bred during the 2016 breeding season. 

The number of stallions covering 100 or more mares decreased from 105 in 2015 to 100 in 2016. These stallions account for 40.6% of the total mares reported bred this year versus 41.8% of all mares bred in 2015. RMB statistics for all reported stallions in 2016 are available through the Fact Book section of The Jockey Club's website.

Further book size analysis shows a 5.4% decrease in the number of mares bred to stallions with a book size of 100 or more in 2016 when compared with 2015 as reported at this time last year; a 15.5% increase in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 75 and 99; a 2.6% decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 50 and 74; a 4.4% increase in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 25 and 49; and a 7.8% decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size fewer than 25.

The stallion Uncle Mo   led all stallions with 253 mares bred in 2016. Rounding out the top five by number of RMBs were Into Mischief  , 218; American Pharoah  , 208; Kitten's Joy, 201; and, tied for fifth, Goldencents  , Verrazano  , and Wicked Strong  , 190.

Kentucky traditionally leads North America in Thoroughbred breeding activity. During 2016, Kentucky's 227 reported stallions covered 17,750 mares, or 52.6% of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions increased 1.73% compared with the 17,448 reported at this time last year.

Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred in 2016, Kentucky and Maryland stallions covered more mares in 2016 than in 2015, as reported at this time last year. The following table shows the top 10 states and provinces ranked by number of mares reported bred in 2016:

Note: Each incident in which a mare was bred to more than one stallion and appeared on multiple RMBs is counted separately. As such, mares bred totals listed in the table above may differ slightly from counts of distinct mares bred.