The downturn in the bloodstock market has been reflected in projections for the North American foal crop in 2010.  A registered crop of 30,000 foals has been predicted for next year, the smallest since 1977.

“After remaining stable for more than a decade, the number of mares bred has declined annually since 2006,” said Matt Iuliano, the North American Jockey Club’s vice president of registration services.  “The declines will have an obvious impact on runners at the racetrack in the years ahead.”

The North American crop peaked at 51,296 foals in 1986.  The registrations declined each year from 1987 to 1995 before levelling off at 36,000 in 1999.  The effects of mare reproductive syndrome dropped the 2002 registered crop to 32,985 registered foals and preceded three years of increases before the latest string of declines.