The Jockey Club Report of Mares Bred to Indiana Stallions Available

Effective July 1, 2013, the Indiana Legislature placed a new reporting requirement upon the Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) with a change to 'IC 4-31-3-8 Duties.' As part of the IHRC's annual report, there is now a requirement to provide, "the competitive status of the Indiana horse racing industry as compared to the horse racing industries of other states and measured by purse, handle, and any other factors determined by the commission." Indiana Breeder & Owner Protection, Inc. (IBOP) is eagerly awaiting the IHRC's 2013 Annual Report to see what the IHRC considers to be "other factors" worthy of noting in their review of the competitiveness of the thoroughbred racing industry. The spin that will be required to put a positive on certain aspects of the thoroughbred breeding industry will be worth the read. While the breeding industry is part of Indiana's "horse racing industry," some statistics may not even see the light of day in the IHRC's Annual Report.

One "other factor" that we believe will require some major spin, if included in the IHRC's 2013 Annual Report, will be the number of mares bred to Indiana stallions in 2013. According to numbers released by The Jockey Club on March 14th, the number of mares bred to Indiana stallions dropped to 639 mares from 975 mares in 2012 which is a decrease of 34%. While the trend nationally of mares being bred is down 5% year-over-year, the decline in breeding mares to Indiana stallions is quite significant. This is especially true when comparing the 2013 figures to the all-time high of 1,154 mares bred to Indiana stallions just four years ago in 2010. This is a 45% decline from the peak to the results from 2013.

To 'spin' these numbers into a positive will require some creativity if not outright misdirection. The easy spin will be to suggest that competition from other states is the reason, especially where Ohio and their slot machines are concerned. While that would be easy to assume, the numbers don't suggest that Indiana's loss is Ohio's gain. According to The Jockey Club numbers, mares bred to Ohio stallions in 2013 increased by only 69 over their 2012 result (174 to 243) versus the year-over-year loss of 336 mares being bred to Indiana stallions. To put Indiana's losses in perspective, West Virginia had more mares being bred to West Virginia stallions (653) in 2013 than the numbers being bred to Indiana stallions (639). West Virginia's year-over-year decrease in mares being bred to their resident stallions from 2012 to 2013 was only 45.

The Jockey Club data also point out that there is a significant decline in the number of active thoroughbred stallions in Indiana. For the 2013 breeding season, the number of active Indiana stallions reported was 72 which is a decline from 94 active stallions in 2012. The peak for active stallions in Indiana was 122 in 2010. The 2013 results for active stallions is a drop of 41% from the peak, but also the lowest number of active stallions in Indiana since the 70 in 1998!

On an individual basis, only 21 Indiana stallions bred 10 or more mares in 2013 with the top five being; Pass Rush (37), Sangaree (32), Spanish Steps (28), Rock Pulpit and Quite A Handful (26). What doesn't bode well for the thoroughbred sired program is that the only two stallions ever to stand in Indiana that have sired a Breeders' Cup winner, Spanish Steps and Zavata, have both left the state for stallion duty in Saudi Arabia. Not only has there been a significant decline in the quantity of mares being bred to Indiana stallions, given the number of stallion losses over the last few years, it could also be argued that the overall quality of Indiana's stallions has declined as well. There are still a number of quality stallions with decent pedigrees, but just not enough of them. The 'spin' on these declines will be interesting reading assuming that the IHRC considers them to be a significant enough factor to be reported.

The Jockey Club numbers of mares bred and active Indiana stallions can be found at:
http://www.thejockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=FB&area=3. All mares bred numbers and active stallions are current as of March 13, 2014. Any individual stallion's numbers are as of Reports of Mares Bred on file at The Jockey Club by February 6, 2014 which can be found at: http://www.thejockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=Resources&area=12.