The Jockey Club, the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds, recently released the Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for 2008 that show a continued decline in North American Thoroughbred breeding activity. Based on RMBs received through Oct. 10, 2008, 2,643 Thoroughbred stallions covered 52,410 mares in North America during 2008.

The statistics represent approximately 92 percent of the mares that eventually will be reported as bred in 2008. The number of stallions declined 5.9 percent from the 2,808 reported at the same time in 2007, while the number of mares bred fell 7.7 percent from the 56,796 reported by Oct. 10, 2007.

“The 2008 RMB statistics indicate a further reduction of Thoroughbred breeding activity across North America,” said Matt Iuliano, the Jockey Club’s vice president of registration services. “Stallions with a book size of less than 25 accounted for 78 percent of the decline in the number of stallions and 30 percent of the drop in mares bred.”

Lion Heart led all stallions in 2008 with 214 mares bred, 20 more than Chapel Royal with194. Rounding out the top five were Giant’s Causeway (190), Hard Spun (181) and Street Cry (178).

Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky traditionally paces North America. During 2008, Kentucky’s 318 stallions covered 21,317 mares or 40.7 percent of all of the mares reported as bred. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions declined 1.9 percent.

Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred through Oct. 10, 2008, only Ontario and Pennsylvania stallions covered more mares in 2008 than in 2007, as reported at this time last year. The top 10 states and provinces, ranked by number of mares reported bred through Oct. 10, 2008, are: