ENGLISH TEXTS years . The most obvious , and the one whose long term effects are still uncertain , is the rise of super books of mares for the most popular stallions , in every price range . At the same time there has been a shift in the relative importance of the three major European breeding countries , German , in terms of numbers if not in quality , is only a footnote these days . For about thirty years from the beginning of the 1980 ’ s stallions based in France where of little interest and no importance to the wider European market , dominated at this period by sires in Ireland and Britain . The terms of trade have been transformed and although still the smallest of the three France has had several important sires in recent years and has invested in its future stallion stock too , while , not helped by the disadvantages of Brexit , the stallion market in Britain is in decline . This is particularly true in numbers , and even if the big sires at Juddmonte and Darley are for the time being maintaining the turnover , further decline looks likely in the short run .
Broodmare books increasingly significant Stallions covering large books of mares have been a topic of debate for decades now , but what keeps changing is the definition of big . During the last bloodstock boom at the beginning of the 1980 ’ s the best stallions commanded huge fees in today prices but they covered , by today ’ s standards , tiny books of mares . Mill Reef , a great racehorse and a top sire standing in Britain from 1974 to 1985 produced a total of about 380 foals in twelve years at stud , an average of 30 to 35 foals a year . Sadler ’ s Wells retired to stud in Ireland in 1985 at a fee , in real terms of about 600.000 € and covered what was at the time a big book of mares , his first crop included 52 foals , ( it is a different story but these included six Group 1 winners a success in percentage terms impossible to imagine today ). Galileo , Sadler ’ s Wells ’ son and successor at the pinnacle of European sires produced about 2.600 named foals in his first nineteen years at stud in Ireland , an average 137 foals a year . The next superstar stallion who survives as long at the top will without any doubt , produce many more still .
MILL REEF PRODUCED A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 380 FOALS IN TWELVE YEARS OF HIS CAREER . GALILEO , ON THE OTHER HAND , PRODUCED NEARLY 2,600 FOALS IN 19 YEARS OF HIS CAREER .
The most popular stallions have been covering steadily larger books for decades but this trend has accelerated over recent years . As recently as 2013 no European flat sire covered 200 mares or more , and only 15 covered 150 or more . Move forward to 2022 and these figures had gone to five at 200 + and 42 at 150 + who between them covered a total of more than 11.000 mares . These days the most popular sires have huge numbers of foals , yearlings for sale and runners . Mehmas has 207 named foals of 2022 and of these 153 were catalogued at yearling sales and 159 have already raced . Leaving to one side the long term effect this concentration on a few stallions will have for the thoroughbred , inbreeding is already more or less a necessity rather than a choice , it has already transformed the stallion and breeding business .
A golden era for those owning the best stallions The seventy sires who covered one hundred or more mares in 2022 produced a turnover of around 400 million euros , this is only a guide , reached by multiplying the fee by 80 % of the number covered and obviously doesn ’ t take into account foal shares or mares covered by the stallions ’ owners , but it gives a good idea of the sums involved . The best and most popular sires generate income for their owners of something like 30-40 million euros a year . If there is any justification for the current boom at the top of the market this is , of course , where it lies . This Century has proved to be a golden era for the owners of the best stallions as they have learnt not only is it technically possible to cover 200 or more mares a year while maintaining the same fertility rates , but also that the numbers of mares a stallion covers has little or no influence on the price they can charge for its services . Over the last twenty five years the fees of the top European stallions have increased by 70 % in real terms while the number of mares they cover on average has gone up by 150 %, what is called a win win for any business .
“ IN 2022 , FRANCE ACCOUNTED FOR 19 % OF MARES COVERED AND 11 % OF REVENUES .“
Jocelyn de Moubray
Evolution of the stallion population in Europe As recently as 2013 France was still a backwater in the European stallion business . French based sires covered 13 % of the total number and produced 2 % of the revenue . Move forward to 2022 and it is already a different story with France accounting for 19 % of the mares covered and 11 % of the revenue . Ireland ’ s share of total revenue went in this period from 58 % to 52 % with Britain ’ s falling from 40 % to 37 %, for Britain the fall
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