News

Breeding Season Set To Start

31st Aug 2014

The Australian Thoroughbred breeding season will begin on Monday (Sept 1), with the country's stallions set to generate more than $300 million in income for their services.

In the 2013 breeding season, 637 individual sires across the nation covered some 20,060 mares, with more than 13,500 foals expected to be born this spring (67 percent of those covered).

While the fees for some stallions can start for as little as $1000, Australia's most expensive sire, Coolmore Stud's Fastnet Rock, covered 212 mares at an advertised fee of $275,000 last year.

Although his fee is private for the 2014 season, it is expected he will cover about 200 mares at a cost of around $200,000, generating approximately $40 million for his owners. Fastnet Rock began his career in the breeding shed at a fee of $55,000 but had that increased after fathering a number of champions on the track.

Another stallion based in the NSW Hunter Valley, Arrowfield Stud's Snitzel, covered the most mares in the 2013 season, 226 at a fee of $49,500.

Basil Nolan, the chairman of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, said the size of the fees for stallions demonstrates the breeding industry's importance to the wider economy. "This is a vitally important industry to Australia, especially in rural areas where these stud farms are based," he said.

"The hundreds of millions generated in stallion fees is only one part of the economic input; there's also the thousands of people who work in the breeding industry, the agistment fees paid by breeders and, of course, the money spent on buying the horses."

He added: "We are very fortunate to have one of the strongest breeding industries in the world, with Australian-bred horses recognised across the globe for their speed and toughness."

There are 21 new sires for the 2014 breeding season. The highest priced is Zoustar, a champion sprinter that won at the highest level during Melbourne's spring carnival, who is available to breeders at $44,000 at Widden Stud.

After being bought as a yearling for $140,000 and raced by a group of 12 owners, during which time he won $1.4 million in prizemoney, he was then sold for a reported $18 million for a career at stud.

Other new stallions include Dundeel ($27,500 Arrowfield Stud) which won the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick, Cox Plate winner Shamus Award (Widden Stud, $27,500), English Derby winner Camelot ($22,000, Coolmore), and American sprinter The Factor ($22,000, Newgate Farm).

In Victoria, Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente ($17,600, Eliza Park) will begin his new career after being retired from racing, while in WA local champion Playing God, a horse that earned $1.6 million in prizemoney after being bought for just $27,000, will start covering mares at a fee of $6,600.

Eureka Stud on Queensland's Darling Downs has welcomed home Spirit Of Boom ($11,000), a horse born on the property in 2007, which went on to win $2.4 million in 52 races. Akeed Mofeed ($16,500), a stallion born in the UK which went on to win top level races in Hong Kong, will stand at Goldin Farms in South Australia.

NSW had the most stallions in 2013 (211) as well as the most Thoroughbred mares covered (9,644), followed by Victoria (159) and (5,025) and Queensland (150) and (2,752).

For further information contact: TBA President - Basil Nolan 0407 140 711

Notes:
• To be registered as a Thoroughbred, all foals need to be conceived naturally.
• All foals and breeding stock have to be registered with the Australian Stud book, which has been the official record keeper of the industry since 1878.
• The gestation period for a mare is approximately 11 months.
• There are 7,922 breeders across Australia.
• 4,500 breeders own just one mare.
• The payment of stallion fees varies depending on stud farm. Some seek payment after a mare is scanned in foal after 45 days, while others require fees be paid later or after a foal is born.
• On average 67 percent of mares that are covered produce a live foal.