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 exception of 2015, when there was a slight uptick in the numbers, the foal crop has declined every year since. Based on the Jockey Club's projections, the foal crop in 2021 will be about half of what it was in 2006.
With the 2020 foal crop estimated at 20,500, the 2021 number equals a decline of 7.3%.
The North American foal crop numbers include horses bred in Puerto Rico and Canada. The Jockey Club did not release a separate number for the U.S. foal crop, which was estimated to be 18,950 in 2020.
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