Page 4 - ANADOLU KOŞU

PREFACE

TİGEM, our country’s pioneering and educational institution in agriculture, is one of the most well-
established organisations not only in our country but also in the region and the world, thanks to its
agricultural production carried out on its 17 businesses and 3.6 million decares of land. Many of
these businesses existed during the Ottoman period as Çiflikat-ı Hümayun (Imperial Farms), while
some were used to meet the food and horse needs of the palace and the army. While others supplied
food and horses for the palace and the army. With the establishment of the Republic, these
operations were transferred to the state and merged with the State Stud Farms, Dairy Farms, and
State Production Farms to form TİGEM under a single umbrella in 1984.

TİGEM, whose two main activities are breeding livestock and producing certified seeds, leverages
its experience from a history of achievements to produce certified seeds in varieties where there is a
significant shortage in our country, as well as high-quality breeding stock, using state-of-the-art
technology in modern facilities. These products are made available to farmers across the country.
Another important area of activity for TİGEM is the breeding of purebred Arabian horses. Purebred
Arabian horse breeding is carried out at our General Directorate’s facilities in Bursa/Karacabey,
Malatya/Sultansuyu, and Eskişehir/Anadolu.

Thanks to the meticulously implemented breeding programmes and professional approach to horse
breeding activities in these three establishments, this valuable genetic resource has been preserved
without any deterioration in its breed characteristics, while its racing performance has been improved
and further breeding has been achieved. With its meticulously maintained records and pedigrees
dating back to the Ottoman era, TİGEM, one of the most important and oldest institutions in the
world in terms of purebred Arabian horse breeding, fulfils this public duty, enabling our country to
rank among those that preserve and sustain genetic resources in this field.

The horses bred by TİGEM not only constitute a significant portion of the foals competing in Turkish
race tracks but also contribute to the preservation of the genetic characteristics of purebred Arabian
horses with healthy and high-quality pedigrees and excellent racing performance. To this end,
‘Stallion Semen Production Laboratories’ have been established in our three breeding facilities,
thereby introducing a new service to the sector.

The purebred Arabian foals bred at the three facilities mentioned above, which are affiliated with our
General Directorate, are sold annually through an open auction. These sales take place at the
Karacabey Agricultural Facility and the Istanbul Veliefendi Hippodrome.

We hope that this sales catalogue, which introduces the foals we have bred with the expertise of our
specialised staff and carefully selected breeding stock that have achieved championships throughout
their racing careers, will be beneficial and contribute to the promotion and development of purebred
Arabian horse breeding in our country.

Dr. Hasan GEZGİNÇ
Chairman of the Board
General Manager