By The Numbers

The global decline of the thoroughbred foal crop

The number of thoroughbred foals bred globally has dropped nearly 30 per cent in the past 15 years. By The Numbers digs into the downward trend of foal crops across the world. The Jockey Club in the United States recently projected that the 2024 North American foal crop would drop to its lowest level since... Read More

Randwick double makes more history for female jockeys

Saturday’s Randwick feature meeting provided another milestone for the achievements of female jockeys in Australia. By The Numbers looks at how their success in Group 1 races has grown over the past 20 years. When Rachel King willed favourite Just Fine (Sea The Stars) home in Saturday’s Metropolitan (Gr 1, 2400m), it not only represented... Read More

What age do stallions start their breeding careers?

The perception is that Australia’s best young colts more than ever are being rushed off to stud, but do the statistics bear this out? By The Numbers investigates. Of the 17 new Australian-bred additions to Australian stallion rosters in 2023, just four were beginning their breeding careers at four years of age. It’s a number... Read More

International freshmen ready to make a mark

With the first two-year-old stakes races of the season to be contested at Randwick on Saturday, we look at the shuttle sires with their first Australasian runners this season and how their first-crop progeny have fared in the northern hemisphere. Darley’s Blue Point (Shamardal) is yet to have a runner on Australian soil, but the... Read More

Group 1-winning pair create contrasting history

Group 1-winning heroes Alligator Blood and Militarize created history in very different ways with their respective victories at Caulfield and Rosehill on Saturday. Alligator Blood’s (All Too Hard) ‘iron horse’ qualities were well known before Saturday’s Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m), when he became just the fourth Australian horse since 2000 to win a Group... Read More

Best sires on the big stage

As elite racing ramps up, we look at which of the current sires has the best rate of producing Group 1 winners and where their records sit historically. A quick scan of the sires represented in the two Group 1 races at Rosehill and Caulfield on Saturday highlights the achievement and influence of a trio... Read More