The Jockey Club

According to The Jockey Club, which released its annual Report of Mares Bred (RMB) Friday, Uncle Mo covered 257 mares this year, the most among any stallion standing in North America. That puts Uncle Mo back on top for the first time since 2016 when he was bred to 253 mares. He was bred to 241 mares in 2019. With the year winding down, it was the latest positive development for the 12-year-old Coolmore sire. His progeny have accounted for 19 graded stakes wins in the U.S. on the year...

New York has lagged other racing states in addressing changes to whip use designed to be more humane to Thoroughbreds. But not being an early adopter of controversial new rules can sometimes be an advantage, because regulators are able to assess what is and isn't working in other jurisdictions before making potentially radical modifications to long-standing practices. That was the tone of discussion during the Oct. 19 teleconference meeting of the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), which conducted what amounted to a 2 1/4-hour opinion-gathering dialogue on whether or...

The Jockey Club (TJC) released breeding statistics Monday, which indicate that the 2020 North American foal crop will be about 20,500, a 3.4% decrease from the prior year. A total of 1,552 North American stallions covered 31,198 mares in 2019. The matings have resulted in 19,677 live foals of 2020, a figure that is 3.4% lower than the one reported at this time last year. Through Sept. 29, the number of live foals reported is estimated to be approximately 85-90% complete. The number of stallions declined 4.8% from the 1,630...

The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) announced Monday the winners of its two non-competition awards for 2020: the T.I.P. Thoroughbred of the Year Award, which recognizes a Thoroughbred that has excelled in a non-competitive career, and the T.I.P. Young Rider of the Year Award, which recognizes riders 18 or younger who own or lease a Thoroughbred for activities such as 4-H or Pony Club. The Thoroughbred of the Year Award goes to Sir Gus (Tammany), a 25-year-old gelding known around the barn as "Gus," who was a six-time winner...

OwnerView's seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference, presented by Breeders' Cup, Bessemer Trust, and Dean Dorton, will be conducted in a virtual format in Lexington, Kentucky, Nov. 3-4. The conference originally planned for July 19-22, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "We are committed to offering the owner conference in a safe format for attendees, so we made the decision to move our event online given the COVID-19 pandemic," said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. "Registrants will be able to watch nine panels on a range of topics relevant to Thoroughbred ownership and...

The Jockey Club is estimating that the 2021 North American Foal crop will be 19,200, which would mark the first time since 1965 that the number has been below 20,000. The Jockey Club released the projections Wednesday, some three weeks later than normal. The delay was to allow farms that have been affected by the coronavirus more time to submit their reports of mares bred. The North American foal crop hit an all-time high in 1986 when 51,296 horses were born. By 2006, it was down to 38,104 and with...

The Jockey Club today has elected five new members: Gatewood Bell, Fred W. Hertrich III, James McIngvale, Dr. Mary Scollay, and John Sikura. As a bloodstock agent, Gatewood Bell, president of Cromwell Bloodstock Agency, selected horses including Mastery and Undrafted. In addition to his work in bloodstock, Bell is a memberof the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and a United States representative for Goffs sales agency. He previously worked for Kiaran McLaughlin and Nicoma Bloodstock and served as a jockey's agent for Fernando Jara. Fred W. Hertrich III is chairman of...

It has been both a good week and a bad week for women in British racing. Hollie Doyle has already featured in this column on several occasions this season but when her achievements make the evening news bulletin on BBC Radio 4, then it's worth revisiting the subject of this fast-rising jockey. When lockdown started, and racecourses in Europe were shuttered for at least two months, it was Doyle's partner Tom Marquand who grabbed the headlines with his Group 1-winning rides in Australia. Marquand is still 10 wins ahead of...

Officials at Kentucky Downs have announced that the track will be promoting support of the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation during its upcoming meet by enabling owners to donate a percentage of prize money or a flat fee per starter to the organization. Owners can direct the horsemen's bookkeeper to allocate funds from their accounts to Grayson through InCompass Solutions' Track Manager system, and paper forms will be available for owners to fill out in the racing office. Kentucky Downs is kicking off donations with a lead gift of $2,500. "Our sponsorship...

Jockey Club Group Chief Executive Delia Bushell, who was appointed to her post last July, has resigned from The Jockey Club, Sporting Life reported on Sunday afternoon. A review found evidence to support allegations of bullying co-workers and racist comments. A report was submitted by an independent barrister to the sub-committee of the board last week. In her place, The Jockey Club has appointed Nevin Truesdale the acting group chief executive. "The board of The Jockey Club announces today that Delia Bushell is to stand down as group chief executive...

Dr. Larry Bramlage and William S. Farish, Jr. have been elected to the board of stewards of The Jockey Club, filling the expired positions of Barbara Banke and Michael O'Farrell, Jr. Bramlage is an internationally recognized equine orthopedic surgeon and a shareholder in Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. Additionally, he is a member of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee. Bramlage was awarded The Jockey Club Medal in 1994 in recognition of his contributions to Thoroughbred racing. He has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2002 Farish...

68th Annual Round Table Conference hosted by The Jockey Club Purses subsidized by gaming revenue and a vastly expanded menu of claiming conditions were initially thought to be positive changes that would be a boon to Thoroughbred racing when racinos changed the North American landscape 30 years ago. Now, decades later, some horse people and industry stakeholders are starting to question whether chasing vastly inflated purses under narrowly defined race conditions is incentivizing a harmful cycle of behavior that over time imperils equine health, creates short fields, cheapens the betting...