North American foal figure lowest since 1973

The North American Jockey Club is projecting a 10% decline for its 2011 foal crop.  An estimated figure of 27,000 foals is predicted and that will be the lowest since 1973.

After remaining stable for more than a decade, the number of North American mares bred has declined annually since 2006.   It 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.