Mare Cap

The Kentucky legislature has passed a sweeping bill that opens the door to fixed-odds wagering in the state and bars a cap being placed on the number of mares bred to a stallion there. In its final passage Wednesday, the 150-page bill passed out of the state House on a 64-19 vote, with 17 no-votes. It was delivered to Governor Andy Beshear's office on Thursday with a veto-proof majority. HB 904 was introduced into the state legislature by Republican Representatives Matthew Koch and Michael Meredith. Unlike the fluctuating odds that...

A floor amendment has been added to HB 904--a sweeping piece of legislation seeking to legalize fixed-odds wagering in Kentucky--that is designed to essentially ensure no limit can be imposed on the number of mares bred to a stallion in the state. It requires that the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation select and use an entity to act as "a registrar of Thoroughbreds" in the state, meaning it could choose an organization other than The Jockey Club, which is the current breed registry for the U.S., Canada and Puerto...

Star National Hunt sire Doctor Dino (Fr) will stand for an increased fee of €24,000 at Haras du Mesnil in 2025, the Jour de Galop reported on Saturday. He stood for €22,000 this term. It is a record covering fee for a French-based jumping stallion. The 22-year-old has sired numerous Grade 1 winners, among them 2024 Champion Hurdle hero State Man (Fr), Paddy's Rewards Club Chase winner Dinoblue (Fr) and French Grade 1 winner Master Dino (Fr). He is one of the leading stallions in the NH sale sphere, as...

In the face of an end run in the Kentucky legislature, The Jockey Club will rescind its 140 mare cap for stallions, the organization announced in a press release Thursday morning. "The Jockey Club announced today that it is rescinding the following italicized language in Rule 14C of The Jockey Club's Principal Rules and Requirements of the American Studbook that addresses limitations to the total number of mares bred per stallion: The total number of broodmares bred per individual stallion whose year of birth is 2020 or thereafter shall not exceed 140...

Lexington native Frank Penn raised both Thoroughbreds and tobacco for the better part of 50 years at Pennbrook Farm, his 300-acre spread out on Mt. Horeb Pike. Based on that experience, he has some words of caution for the bloodstock industry as it enters a new era of protectionism with The Jockey Club's recent rule change limiting to 140 the number of mares a stallion can cover, starting with foals of 2020. In short, Penn said, the Thoroughbred industry should read Kentucky's now-withered tobacco leaves to glean a lesson in...

The Jockey Club's unilateral decision to regulate the market by imposing a mare cap on the breeding industry during a period of time when the sport of horse racing has been left staggering breathlessly against the ropes following a series of jabs, crosses and uppercuts, intensifies my fears about the future of our industry. That The Jockey Club chose to deliver this edict amid a global health crisis that threatens to bring many small breeders and operators to their knees, delivers a telling body blow. On the topic of the...