Members of the International Thoroughbred Breeders' Federation unanimously voted against the use of artificial breeding methods in Thoroughbreds at the General Meeting of the 2018 ITBF Conference Nov. 1 in Lexington. The agreement reaffirms the federation's long held stance against such processes including (but not restricted to), artificial insemination, embryo transfer, cloning, sexing of sperm, genetic engineering/manipulation. The meeting, attended by representatives of 16 ITBF member countries on five continents, was part of a wider program of events hosted by the Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder Association.
Delegates discussed global trends in the Thoroughbred breeding industry, particularly the polarization of the market at sales, the aging demographic of breeders, race prize money levels and racehorse ownership numbers. The 'middle market' was discussed by a panel of leading industry figures; Geoffrey Russell (Keeneland), Terence Collier (Fasig-Tipton), Brian Graves (Gainesway), and Pete Bradley (Bradley Thoroughbreds), whilst the success of the Retired Racehorse Project in the U.S. was shared in a presentation by Jen Roytz. A similar presentation was made by the French delegates, who introduced Au delà des Pistes, their official charity for the promotion of retraining racehorses. There was also a full-day veterinary session featuring discussions on equine infectious diseases, the importance of biosecurity measures, EHV vaccine development and genomics research.
“The 2018 ITBF Conference was a distinct success,” ITBF Chairman Kirsten Rausing commented. “We have built on the developments from the last conference in South Africa and continue to be united in our passion for the long term health of the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry around the world.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
