By Bill Finley
In its annual Report of Mares Bred (RMBs) released Thursday, The Jockey Club estimates that the 2026 foal crop will be 17,000. That represents a slight decline of 300 from the 2025 crop.
The foal crop projection is computed by using RMBs received to date for the 2025 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by August 1 of each breeding season.
The number of mares bred has fallen every year since 2015, when 34,122 mares were bred. Over that ten-year period, the foal crop has dropped by 28%.
During that same period the number of stallions covering 200 mares or more has increased from four to 10. The high mark was in 2022 when 16 stallions covered 200 or more mares.
Through Sept. 20, 2025, The Jockey Club reports that 740 stallions covered 24,681 mares. It estimated that an additional 2,000 to 3,000 will be reported as bred during the 2025 breeding season.
Of the RMB reports received, 201 mares were part of the Mare Incentive Program, which waives registration fees for certain 2026 foals of mares that meet criteria defined by The Jockey Club. This initiative was announced in December 2024 to stimulate interest in mares that appear to have left production. The report of Mare Incentive Program mares is available to anyone with an Interactive Registration account and is filterable by 12 data elements, including sire, dam sire, age, money earned, and class of race achieved.
Tiz the Law, who stands at Coolmore for a fee of $30,000, led all stallions, having been bred to 274 mares. That was just one more than Arabian Knight, who topped all first-year stallions. Arabian Knight stands at Hill 'n' Dale, also for a fee of $30,000. Tiz the Law was bred to 158 mares in 2024 or 116 fewer than he was bred to this year.
The top ten was rounded out by Practical Joke (263), Justify (244), Charge It (235), Domestic Product (224), Gun Runner (218), Not This Time (214) Vekoma (211), and National Treasure (202). Of the top 10 sires, four (Tiz the Law, Practical Joke, Justify and Domestic Product) stand at Coolmore. Spendthrift had two sires make the list in Vekoma and National Treasure. Gainesway, Hill 'n' Dale, Three Chimneys and Taylor Made each had one sire on the Top Ten list.
As is always the case, Kentucky again led North America in Thoroughbred breeding activity. During 2025, Kentucky's 189 reported stallions covered 16,373 mares, or 66.34% of all mares reported bred in North America. With 1,270 mares bred in California that edged New York (1,122) for second place on the list. Florida was next with 1,066. As recently as 2024, Florida produced 1,432 foals. The decline could be because Florida breeders are being cautious, not knowing the fate of Gulfstream Park.
Standing in New York, Bucchero was the most active stallion outside of Kentucky. He was bred to 192 mares. The leading sire in Florida was Win Win Win, who was bred to 137 mares.
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