The US Jockey Club board of stewards has announced that it has adopted a final rule limiting the annual breeding of individual stallions.
The rule reflects The Jockey Club’s goal to preserve the health of the Thoroughbred breed for the long term and will apply prospectively to stallions born in 2020 or later.
Effective immediately, The Jockey Club’s Principal Rules and Requirements of the American Studbook are amended by adding the following italicized language to the text of Rule 14C:
C. Based on the information on a completed Report of Mares Bred form, The Jockey Club will forward to the stallion owner, lessee or authorized agent a preprinted Service Certificate for each broodmare bred, including the name of the stallion, the name of the broodmare, the name of the dam of the broodmare, and the date of the last cover.
The total number of broodmares bred per individual stallion whose year of birth is 2020 or thereafter shall not exceed 140 per calendar year in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The Jockey Club shall limit the number of Stallion Service Certificates for such stallions to a maximum of 140 per calendar year.
When the stallion owner, lessee or authorized agent receives the preprinted Service Certificate, it should be examined for accuracy, signed by the stallion owner, lessee or authorised agent and forwarded to the breeder of the foal or submitted to The Jockey Club through Interactive Registration™ at www.registry.jockeyclub.com. The Service Certificate is required to register a foal. Service Certificates will not be issued unless a completed Report of Mares Bred form is on file at The Jockey Club and until genetic or re-DNA typing of the stallion has been completed (see Rule 5).
In an effort to illustrate the operation of the new rule, The Jockey Club offers the following examples of how it will be applied:
(1) For stallions born in 2019 and earlier, there will be no limit to the number of mares reported bred in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Jockey Club will issue stallion certificates for all mares bred by such stallions within the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico during a calendar year.
(2) For stallions born in 2020 and later, the maximum number of mares covered within the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico in a calendar year will be 140. It would be a violation of Rule 14C for such a stallion to cover more than 140 mares within the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico during a calendar year. The aforementioned limit will apply to all mares bred during a calendar year regardless of when The Jockey Club receives a Report of Mares bred (or any amendments or supplements thereto).
The Jockey Club will modify its Report of Mares Bred form and other related forms in recognition of the amendment to Rule 14. Stallion Service Certificates will be issued on the basis of first cover date in the order of mares listed on the Report of Mares Bred.
The Jockey Club is grateful for the many thoughtful comments in response to its September rule proposal. The stewards carefully considered those comments in formulating a rule that will promote diversity of the Thoroughbred gene pool and protect the long-term health of the breed.
The number of stallions used to produce last year’s Thoroughbred foals in the United States fell 8.3 percent, according to the Jockey Club.
There were only four New Zealand-based stallions to cover in excess of 140 mares last breeding season, headed by champion sire Savabeel (172).
Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor (160), Waikato Stud’s Ocean Park (153) and Valachi Downs’ US Navy Flag (150) were the other three stallions in New Zealand covering more than the future cap in North America. Meanwhile, 35 stallions in Australia covered more than 140 mares last season, headed by Rubick (262) and Deep Field (256).
