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MEETING TIME
TOWN HALL MEETING
The issue of the state’s declining foal crops was prominently discussed during the New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association’s “Town Hall”-style meeting.
The New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association held a “Town Hall”-style meeting during Zia Festival weekend, August 6-7, at Ruidoso Downs.
Several issues were discussed during the meeting, including New Mexico’s declining Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foal crops. Ralph Vincent, a racehorse breeder and past NMHBA president, presented to attendees a chart that illustrated the decline.
For example, in 2000 -- just a few years after the New Mexico legislature voted
to allow the state’s tracks to operate slot machines to enhance purses and racehorse owner and breeder awards -- there were 853 New Mexico-bred racehorses registered, 480 Quarter Horses and 373 Thoroughbreds.
This number rose to a peak of 1,788 registrations (944 Quarter Horses and 844 Thoroughbreds) in 2007.
However, the number of registrations
has declined noticeably during the ensuing
15 years. In 2012, there were 1,223 registrations (625 Quarter Horses and 598 Thoroughbreds), representing a drop of 32 percent from five years earlier. The number of Quarter Horses registered declined 34 percent (from 944 to 625) during this period, while the number of Thoroughbreds registered dropped 29 percent (from 844 to 598).
Fast forward to last year, when the NMHBA registered a total of 959 racehorses, 477 Quarter Horses and 482 Thoroughbreds.
“Something needs to be done (to stem this decline),” said Mr. Vincent. “We’ve been talking about this drop for years, but nothing has changed. The numbers continue to go down. This is not a good business model.”
“There are some people who think this is good because it means less competition, but this is a short-sighted view,” he added.
Mr. Vincent cited as an example the Sierra Starlet Stakes (R) for New Mexico-bred 3-year- old Thoroughbred fillies, a staple of Ruidoso Downs’ Zia Festival races. The $50,000 stakes was canceled due to lack of sufficient entries.
NMHBA president Tom Goncharoff
noted that there were only 60 Thoroughbreds consigned to this year’s New Mexico-Bred Sale, which was held August 19-20 at the Ruidoso Horse Sales Pavilion.
“The sale catalog is getting skinnier, and the quality has declined,” Mr. Goncharoff said. “The Thoroughbred foal crop has also been declining nationally, but what separates New Mexico from a lot of the rest of the country is that we have a lot of (purse) money to run at.”
A sign-up sheet was passed around the meeting to form a task force to seek solutions to the issue.
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