2024 foal crop shows further concentration in Kentucky
The Jockey Club reported Friday that 1,181 stallions covered 28,104 mares in North America during 2023, according to statistics compiled through last Sunday. These breedings have resulted in 17,700 live foals of 2024 being reported to The Jockey Club on live foal reports.
The Jockey Club estimates that the number of live foals reported so far is between 85 and 95 percent complete. The reporting of live foals of 2024 is down 2.4 percent from last year at this time when the Jockey Club received reports for 18,143 live foals of 2023.
In addition to the 17,700 live foals of 2024 reported through October 13, The Jockey Club also received 1,979 no foal reports for the 2024 foaling season. Ultimately, the 2024 registered foal crop is projected to reach 18,000.
The number of stallions declined 5.4 percent from the 1,248 reported for 2022 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred declined 1.6 percent from the 28,548 reported for 2022.
The 2024 breeding statistics are available alphabetically by stallion name through the online fact book on the Jockey Club website.
Kentucky annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding activity. Kentucky-based stallions accounted for 60.7 percent of the mares reported bred in North America in 2023 and 65.6 percent of the live foals reported for 2024.
The 17,056 mares reported bred to 211 Kentucky stallions in 2023 have produced 11,605 live foals, a 0.4 percent increase on the 11,564 Kentucky-sired live foals of 2023 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2023 increased 1.4 percent compared to the 16,827 reported for 2022 at this time last year.
The following table shows those 10 states and provinces with the most mares covered in 2023 sorted by number of state-sired or province-sired live foals of 2024 reported through last Sunday.
| State/province | 2023 mares bred | 2023 live foals | 2024 live foals | % change in live foals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 17,056 | 11,564 | 11,605 | 0.40% |
| California | 1,658 | 1,138 | 1,046 | -8.10% |
| Florida | 1,475 | 829 | 782 | -5.70% |
| New York | 1,088 | 590 | 672 | 13.90% |
| Louisiana | 903 | 564 | 525 | -6.90% |
| Maryland | 572 | 498 | 344 | -30.90% |
| Ontario | 584 | 301 | 316 | 5.00% |
| New Mexico | 461 | 234 | 237 | 1.30% |
| Oklahoma | 413 | 220 | 195 | -11.40% |
| Indiana | 437 | 243 | 178 | -26.70% |
The statistics include 176 foals by stallions standing in North America but foaled abroad, as reported by foreign stud book authorities at the time of publication. The table below shows the location and count of those foals.
| Country | Live foals |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 2 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Chile | 1 |
| Dominican Republic | 2 |
| France | 4 |
| Great Britain | 6 |
| Ireland | 11 |
| Japan | 52 |
| Republic of Korea | 1 |
| Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | 61 |
| Mexico | 14 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Peru | 2 |
| Philippines | 11 |
| Turkey | 3 |
| Uruguay | 1 |
| Venezuela | 3 |