The Jockey Club announced Aug. 8 it is projecting a 2016 North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 22,500, up from the 22,000 projection for the 2014 and 2015 foal crops.
"The projection for the 2016 foal crop is based on reports of mares bred received to date, and we estimate that approximately 80% of those reports have been received," Matt Iuliano, the organization's executive vice president and executive director, said in a release.
The North American foal crop—consisting of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico—peaked at 51,296 in 1986 and has fallen nearly 50% from 44,143 in 1990 to the current projections, as the industry went through a recession along with the national economy.
Additional foal crop information is available in The Jockey Club's Online Fact Book and in the online state fact books.
The foal crop projection, traditionally announced in mid-August, is computed by using reports of mares bred (RMBs) received to date for the 2015 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by Aug. 1 of each breeding season.
In a release, The Jockey Club encouraged owners who have not returned their RMBs for the 2015 breeding season to do so as soon as possible. Interactive registration, which enables registered users to perform virtually all registration-related activities over the Internet, is the most efficient means of submitting RMBs and is available at registry.jockeyclub.com, the registry said.
The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms, among others. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com
