ENGLISH TEXTS
BREEDING
BY JOCELYN DE MOUBRAY
At the end of the day a stalThere may be different problems facing racing and breeding industries across the globe but the one which each and every country has to face up to is the decline in the number of thoroughbred foals. Winfried Engelbrecht Bresges, the CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, put it at the Asian Racing Conference held this February in Riyadh saying there is‘ concern as an industry that we are not growing.’ The International Stud Book Committee has shown that between 2005 and 2022 the global foal crop fell by 30 % from 123,000 to only 86,000. The fall in numbers has been particularly dramatic in North AmÉrica with the USA’ s foal crop going from 35,000 to 18,000 and Canada’ s from 2,800 to 1,800. The numbers fell between 20-40 % during this period in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, Brazil, and India, with only major breeding countries seeing growth Japan and France. The French foal crop peaked in 2021 at 5,700 but it has fallen since and is projected to be 4,800 in 2025, the same as in 2005 and down by 16 % from its highest point. In the United States racing and breeding are going through a period of crisis with the authority and competence of both the Jockey Club and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety
Authority being called into question, and not only by billionaires squabbling on social media. The decline in numbers has led inevitably to closures of racetracks and several high profile ones are currently fighting for survival. If the commercial market has been sustained by favorable tax policies, it has been highlighted elsewhere that if the future depends upon the whim of a seventy nine year old it cannot be called secure. In Europe, the Italian racing business’ decline seems to be accelerating with its pattern races being cut from year to year and now German racing and breeding is poised dangerously on the brink with the foal crop projected to fall below 600. At this level you have to wonder for how long Germany will be able to sustain its already greatly reduced racing program and more course closures and cutbacks seem sure to come. Meanwhile British racing is locked in a dispute about governance as Lord Allen, the new chairman of the British Horseracing Authority, has so far been unable to push through his demand for independent board rather than the current one made up of representatives of the different factions which has proved unable to push through reforms widely believed to be necessary. Philip Newton, the Chairman of the British Breeders Association has been one of the most prominent voices expressing concern about falling numbers of foals in Britain with the crop declin- ing by 25 % over the five years to 2025. However, for the time being disputes between the racecourses and other stake holders over raceday data rights have paralyzed the whole decision making process. In this global context France is still in a relatively strong position, even if France Galop’ s President Guillaume de Saint-Seine has described the financial situation as‘ violent, very violent.’ The PMU’ s contribution to racing is declining and fast, but at least France Galop is in a position to react. France Galop has made both poor and good decisions in the past, it could in all probability have done more to invest for the future during the years of plenty, but at least France Galop is in a position to make decisions when in so many other places from Britain, to Germany and the United Staes there is no authority able to take decisive action. France Galop does not have to negotiate with different stakeholders, the owners of racecourses and data rights, as it holds them all itself. In Riyadh Engelbrecht Bresges outlined what he sees as the way forward for the global business with international cooperation to create superstars and competition as well as new digital onsite and online experiences. For him, any path forward must include a fierce combat with illegal betting, which threatens every racing jurisdiction, and the use of every available technology to avoid
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