A program that aims to bolster the value of horses that are both Maryland-bred and Maryland-sired is set to take effect with the current crop of two-year-olds.

Beginning with this year’s juveniles, the bonus paid to breeders of horses who are both Maryland-bred and Maryland-sired and who finish first, second, or third in races contested in Maryland will receive a 40% boost over the normal bonus.

The base bonus in place for Maryland-breds for the first half of 2025 is 22.5% of purse earned. With the boost, juveniles that are both Maryland-bred and -sired will receive a 31% bonus. The first two-year-olds likely will run in April at the earliest.

“The breeding industry everywhere is under duress,” Maryland Horse Breeders Association executive director Cricket Goodall told Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission, adding, “We need to do all that we can to help people recoup their investment.”

According to data from The Jockey Club, there were 304 Maryland-sired foals born in Maryland in 2023 out of 456 total Maryland-sired foals.

That number was down from 395 Maryland-sired foals born in Maryland just two years earlier and continues a local, regional, and national trend of declining foal crops. Nationally the foal crop has dropped from more than 40,000 in 1990 (and more than 32,000 in 2008) to an estimated 17,200 in 2023.

Maryland’s foal crop has been approximately halved in the last 20 years.

“We don’t have data yet, since it’s just starting, but I would imagine that it will be productive and rewarding,” Goodall said of the new bonus structure in an interview.

While the 40% bump over what Maryland-breds by out-of-state sires receive will remain constant in the coming years, the precise amount of the bonuses can vary. That’s because Maryland’s state-bred program is a limited pot of money, and every six months, the Commission’s advisory committee meets to determine if it can maintain, or must adjust, the size of the bonuses it provides.

The discussion of the enhanced bonus was one of many items on a brisk Commission agenda. The Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) also requested, and received approval for, its spring meet at Laurel Park. That meet will including 14 live days from April 1 through May 4.

Racing during the spring meet will take place on a Friday-Sunday schedule with the exception of Easter Sunday, April 20, which is dark.

State Equine Medical Director Dr. Elizabeth Daniel reported to the Commission that Maryland’s fatality figures have been better than national norms in recent years. In each of the last two full years, she said, the state has averaged less than one fatality per 1,000 starters.