From a Jockey Club release with additional reporting by The Racing Biz. All data from The Jockey Club.

The Jockey Club is projecting a North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 17,300 in 2025. This represents 700 fewer foals than the 2024 foal crop estimate of 18,000.

The foal crop projection is computed by using Reports of Mares Bred (RMBs) received to date for the 2024 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by August 1 of each breeding season.

This year, The Jockey Club has published preliminary statistics regarding mares reported bred by state/province through the current date for 2024, 2023, and 2022. These reports are updated daily and can be found here: bit.ly/narmb.

For the RMBs received through September 30, 2024, The Jockey Club reports that 771 stallions covered 25,301 mares in North America during 2024.

The Jockey Club estimates an additional 2,500 to 3,500 mares will be reported as bred during the 2024 breeding season.

The projected national foal crop for 2025 is 3.9% smaller than the 2024 estimated crop. It continues a steady downward trend in foal crop sizes, which have fallen to levels not seen since the mid-1960s.

Of the major Mid-Atlantic breeding states, mares bred reports from Maryland and West Virginia are significantly down, while Pennsylvania held its own.

In Maryland, the report of mares bred indicates that 22 stallions covered 442 mares in 2024. Both figures are down; in 2023 25 stallions covered 566 mares, according to the 2023 report of mares bred. That’s 12% fewer active stallions and 22% fewer mares bred this year than last.

The state’s most active sires this past year were Blofeld, who covered 76 mares, and Engage, who covered 56. All other stallions are under the 50-mare threshold.

West Virginia experienced similar declines. This year 23 stallions covered 283 mares in West Virginia; those numbers were both off by over 20% from last year, when 29 stallions covered 363 mares.

Juba is reported as covering 51 mares, the most in the state.

Pennsylvania’s numbers were a somewhat brighter spot. Twenty-four stallions were reported to have covered 362 mares in the Keystone State. The number of stallions is an increase from 19 a year ago, while the number of mares covered is even with last year’s 363.

New Jersey, with Sea Wizard (20 mares) and Max Player (12 mares) leading the way, saw the reported number of mares bred jump from one to 39. Virginia, on the other hand, saw its mares bred reports dip from 20 to seven.

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