Presentation to the Darley Flying Start Conference at Keeneland, Kentucky
July 2007
Andrew Birch vs Brandon Rice
Debate:
January 1st and the date of first cover - we need to follow the Australian example
The argument for: Andrew Birch
People of the Northern Hemisphere, I come in peace. My name is Andrew Birch and I hail from the speck on the world map called New Zealand.
My task today is to convince you that your rules regarding foaling dates are antiquated and enable wide spread cheating and that you should be following the Australian example, which was quickly adopted by New Zealand and South Africa, whereby the focus on dates revolves around the date of cover - and the date of foaling has a wider margin catering for premature foals, creating a level playing field for all.
This man in the picture I am showing you is John Digby and he is a hero. He is the immediate past Keeper of the Australian Stud Book. John Digby is a man of integrity. Unlike his peers at Weatherbys in England or the Jockey Club in the U.S, he was no longer willing to sit back and allow blatant cheating when it came to foaling dates and he recognised that Australia had a problem.
First Some Background to the Issue
In the Southern Hemisphere Breeding Centres of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, horses celebrate their Birthday on August 1, akin to the Northern Hemisphere equivalent of January 1. The Racing Season coincided with the horse’s official birthday, commencing on August 1 and concluding on July 31 st of the following year.
Traditionally, mares in Australia were not covered before 15 September (Feb 15 equivalent). By the late 1990’s it was increasingly apparent that mares were being covered earlier and earlier in the season. Mares were being covered in late August and Australian Stud Book statistics showed that in effect, the whole foaling season had shifted forward a month.
This was a result of new technology (the use of lights to make mares cycle earlier, and modern reproductive drugs), together with improved pastures and a new approach to stallion management. Statistical analyses of breeding records showed significant evidence that the commencement date of 1 August for the foaling season was under threat. The breeders had denied they were hiding early foals and the Australian Stud Book knew from its statistical records and detailed analysis of the foaling patterns that there was every possibility they were not being told the truth.
John Digby and his crew plotted out the gestation lengths of over 100 000 foalings which essentially fell into a bell curve with the exception of some turbulent activity at the 310-320 day mark. They then produced charts which plotted the number of foals born each day from 1 July to 30 December in the form of a curve. With a couple of years data behind them, what Digby noticed was a pattern where 2 or 3 foals were born in the last week in July and declared by honest breeders and about 100 foals were born in the first two days of August with births decreasing down to about 4 per day by August 10 then rising steadily and evenly to a peak, then dropping away again in the shape of a normal curve when plotted out. This shocked racing administrators and Breeders Associations throughout Australia as they were of the view there was no problem prior to the compelling data.
Discussions within Australia’s racing industry and with racing authorities in South Africa and New Zealand meant that any attempt to bring the racing and breeding and foaling season forward by one month to 1 July, and therefore into line with the major South American breeding countries, would fail.
The Australians then came up with the very simple concept of separating the foaling season from the racing season. The proposal was that:-
(a) the racing season would remain as it was (1 August to 31 July);
(b) the horse’s official birthday would remain at 1 August;
(c) the foaling season, now separated from the racing season, would be brought forward one month (and run 1 July to 30 June);
(d) no horse would change its official age during the foaling season in which it was born.
This meant that a foal born in July would not officially become a yearling until August 1 st of the next calendar year after the year it was born in, (at that stage it could be approaching 13 months of age), and thereafter it would increase its official age by one year each 1 August.
However, there was a strong view that the pressure on stallion proprietors to cover earlier and earlier would very quickly threaten the 1 July commencement date to the new foaling season. That such a possibility could occur was confirmed in discussions with industry leaders in Argentina. Therefore Australia defined and introduced an official covering season of nine months’ duration, which ran from 1 September to 31 May and brought in a rule that all coverings of thoroughbred mares breeding to southern hemisphere time must be restricted to the official covering season, otherwise any foal they produce in the following season will be deemed to be officially one year old the day it is born.
The Covering Season was defined as a nine month period extending from 1 September until 31 May next. It commences one month after the start of the racing season and ends two months before the end of the racing season. All coverings of a thoroughbred mare by a stallion must be restricted to the official covering season if the owner wants the foal to be officially one year old on the 1 August which follows one month after the end of the foaling season.
While the concept was simple, explaining the changes and writing them into the Australian Rules of Racing was quite difficult – and the rules appeared complex for the uninitiated. Implemented in 2001, Australian breeders, after initial reservations now openly acknowledge that they believe it is one of the best things the Stud Book has introduced. The authorities in New Zealand and South Africa subsequently adopted their own versions of the Australian initiative on July born foals.
When John Digby announced to his counterparts at an International Stud Book Committee meeting in 2000 that Australia was changing its rules on foaling dates, both Weatherbys and the American Jockey Club went ballistic to the point where they went over Digby’s head, complaining to Australian racing authorities that Mr Digby would bring both the International Stud Book Committee and the Australian Industry undone. Digby to his credit stuck fast and after witnessing his rule acclaimed a roaring success, he retired a couple of years ago with great distinction.
The question then begs, is the problem of non-reported early foalings unique to Australia? And despite the fact Australians in the majority are descendants of English convicts, I dare say the answer to that question is NO.
The following press release from the US Jockey Club illustrates the lip service that US authorities have paid to the problem. Not only does it reveal that until as recently as 2005 Field inspections were not undertaken at farms in late December, but it blatantly acknowledges that they are concerned about rising numbers of thoroughbred foals reported as being born in the first several days of January. And if this wasn’t evidence enough that the issue hardly registers on The Jockey Club’s radar, then the fact that they have all but copied and pasted that press release from the year before should provide no doubt.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
Jockey Club Teams Make Farm Visits
to Inspect Broodmares for Foaling Status
As a follow-up to a rule revision in August 2005 that added provisions for field inspections, The Jockey Club, in late December, once again sent teams of representatives to numerous farms in nine states to inspect broodmares with early 2006 breeding or foaling dates.
The rule change, which appears in Section V of the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book, was implemented by The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards due to the increasing number of Thoroughbred foals reported as being born in the first several days of January and a concern as to whether these foaling dates were being accurately reported.
“Our Registry staff observed a small number of foals that had been born prior to January 1, which will be registered as foals of 2006,” explained Alan Marzelli, president of The Jockey Club. “Those who choose to breed mares early may risk having foals born prior to January 1.”
Marzelli also said that The Jockey Club will continue with the field inspections in 2007.
The Jockey Club recommends that owners and breeders consult the online rules book, which is available at http://www.jockeyclub.com/registry.asp?section=3 to access the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212) 521-5326
Jockey Club Teams Make Farm Visits to Examine Broodmares, Foals
As a follow-up to a rule revision last August that added provisions for field inspections, The Jockey Club, during the last week of December, sent two teams of representatives to several farms in six states to examine broodmares with early 2005 breeding or foaling dates.
The rule change, which appears in Section V of Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book, was implemented by The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards due to the increasing number of Thoroughbred foals reported as being born in the first several days of January and a concern as to whether these foaling dates were being accurately reported. “Those who choose to breed mares early may risk having foals born prior to January 1,” explained Alan Marzelli, the president of The Jockey Club.
Marzelli also said that The Jockey Club will continue with the field inspections in 2006. The Jockey Club recommends that owners and breeders consult the online rules book, which is available at http://www.jockeyclub.com/registry.asp?section=3 to access the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book.
A copy of the August 24, 2005, press release announcing the revised rule regarding inspections can be accessed at http://www.jockeyclub.com/mediaCenter.asp?story=197.
The team at Weathebys in England goes one step further admitting that no organisation in Britain polices for early foals and that they rely on the honesty of Breeders. They claim that they do not have a view one way or the other on the Australian rule, and that it is not a matter for the stud book but rather a matter for racing authorities.
Paul Greeves who is the Weatherbys representative on the International Stud Book Council said that their role is to meet the requirements of breeders and to record the date of birth of foalings. He added that if there was to be a rule change, then the Racing Authorities in the Northern Hemisphere would have to adopt a uniform approach, a process that would take time and as yet there has still be no official approach.
Indeed 7 years on, since John Digby unilaterally made the decision to change the rule in Australia and was widely criticised for not consulting with his international counterparts, the man must be thinking – THANK GOD I DIDN’T.
For waiting for Change in Britain is like waiting for a sunny day there. It could be a while.
Here are two instances where the rule has been highly publicised:
Juddmonte – Endless Summer Case (see report from Thoroughbred Times below)
Magical Romance – World’s most expensive mare foals early
So in summation, I believe Northern Hemisphere breeding and racing authorities need to take a serious look at their foaling date rules. Do they need to follow the Australian Example? It’s a no brainer – the answer is an emphatic yes.
Thank you for listening.
Juddmonte official admits to altering age of Endless Summer
Philip Mitchell, general manager of Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, has offered to resign his position after admitting to falsifying the foaling date of 2000 Richmond Stakes (Eng-G2) winner Endless Summer (GB) in order to register the son of Zafonic as a foal of 1998 instead of '97. Mitchell told English Jockey Club officials on Wednesday that Endless Summer was born in England in late December 1997 and registered with a January 2, 1998, foaling date.
The admission came after a former Juddmonte employee had reportedly planned to reveal Endless Summer's actual age at an employment tribunal [attempts to resolve employer/employees disputes on employment rights] on Monday. The case was never heard, but the information was passed on to the Jockey Club on Wednesday.
As a registered two-year-old, Endless Summer won the Richmond and finished second in the Middle Park Stakes (Eng-G1) at Newmarket and Prix Morny (Fr-G1) at Deauville. If the age falsification is confirmed, then Endless Summer would face disqualification from all his starts as a juvenile.
"It is a serious allegation which warrants an investigation to try and establish the facts," Jockey Club spokesman John Maxse told Racing Post. "[Juddmonte Farms] have promised full cooperation with our inquiry into the matter. The rules of racing allow for retrospective action in the event of a horse being found to have been the subject of fraudulent practice."
Mitchell said he has offered his resignation to Abdullah. Asked whether Abdullah accepted the offer, Mitchell said, "He has asked me to think about it."
Farm employees allegedly nicknamed Endless Summer the "secret squirrel" following his birth and kept him out of sight of visitors.
After not racing in 2001, Endless Summer made two starts the next year at Hollywood Park for trainer Bobby Frankel, finishing third in a pair of allowance/optional claiming races for three-year-olds and older. According to the Equibase charts for both races, he was a four-year-old.
Juddmonte then sold Endless Summer to Terry Holdcroft for stud duty at Bearstone Stud near Shropshire, England, but he proved infertile and returned to training in England after being purchased by a partnership. In his most recent start, he finished sixth in a handicap at Warwick on June 27 and is now winless in 15 starts since his juvenile campaign.
The argument against: Brandon Rice
We should not change to this date of first cover system. The reasons not to follow the Australian example boil down to this:
1 – It’s impossible to enforce the rules of that system
2 - You can no longer strategically breed your mare
3 - You hinder the Stallion’s covering season
4 - This must be a universal change in the Northern Hemisphere. We cannot risk alienating our US marketplace
The rules that we have in place concerning covering and foaling mares exist so that we keep an even playing field in the business and sport of racing. The rules that are in place must fit the industry and environments needs, and it is pertinent that they are enforceable.
I understand the philosophy of the rules in the Southern Hemisphere breeding market. In very basic terms, they have decided to regulate when mares can first be covered in the breeding season as opposed to the Northern Hemisphere’s plan of regulating when mares are allowed to foal and still be declared foals of that spring.
Two disadvantages are always highlighted in the Northern Hemisphere’s policies:
Disadvantage 1: There are cases every year where a foal is born before January 1 st and it must be registered as a foal of the previous spring. In other words the foal is penalized by being considered a yearling despite the fact that it is only a few days old.
Disadvantage 2: It is an extremely difficult task to inspect enough breeding farms and mares in the days prior to January 1 st to make sure everyone is being truthful about early foals. Last year in the US our foal crop size was 37,500. The Jockey Club has organized inspection teams since December 2005 to inspect a dozen farms just prior to January. With this many mares in the US, the Jockey Club can still expect to miss cases where a foal is born before January 1 st.
The question is; why shouldn’t we change to the new policies that Australia is currently using?
1st Defense
My first defense for our current policies in the US hits on the issue of: How are we going to enforce the Australian system if we accept it? As I mentioned before we have 37,500 mares in our country; and the Jockey Club must document the covering and foaling for all the mares. We are not able to inspect every mare in our nation before January 1 st with our current rules. Currently The Jockey Club inspects farms with specific mares that have been covered early in the season as well as farms at random to check for early foals. The teams sent by the Jockey Club will visit farms simply to see if there are any foals on the ground yet. It’s a relatively easy task that has clear evidence.
If we converted to Australia’s rules; our Jockey Club would need to make sure no stallions covered mares before February 15 th. Last year there were 3,428 stallions standing in the US. To put it lightly; the task of keeping track of each stallion’s activities in the months prior to February 15 th is impractical. To be more accurate, it’s impossible.
If you were to send these same inspectors to where all these stallions were stabled, the only way in my mind to make sure he hasn’t covered any mares is to scan all the mares on the property and see if there is an impregnated follicle. This would be an extremely long, unpleasant, and in my opinion ridiculous way of keeping your eye on the general breeding population. For clear evidence of someone not obeying the rules you would basically need to catch that stallion in the act of covering the mare.
Most stallion owners and managers have private bands of broodmares. There is no feasible way to make sure these farms aren’t slipping one of their mares into their stallions 2, 10, or 20 days early. By changing to the Australian rules we would create a completely different loop hole in our breeding rules and create a job for our inspection teams that is virtually impossible.
2nd Defense
By mandating that no mare will be bred before September 1 st or our unofficial starting date of February 15 th you will be consequently removing the breeders freedom to breed when the broodmare manager feels is the best time. Broodmare managers begin to recognize that particular mares always have a long gestation period and others will tend to have a short gestation each year. By having the freedom to breed at any time, you can form a strategy for trying to have as early foals as possible during January. We all know January foals are an advantage because they will tend to be further developed for the yearling sales and for their two-year old racing careers. A great example of a mare that consistently gestated 2 to 4 weeks longer than 11 months is Urban Sea. She is the dam of multiple graded stakes winners including Galileo and My Typhoon.
Of course there is a large consequence for mares that foal before January 1 st and the foals are named yearlings despite the fact that they are only a few days old. Fortunately this doesn’t happen very often; in 2005 there were 11 instances of this, in ’04 there were 9, and in ’03 there were 4. And remember we are talking about 37,500 foals. When it does happen, all the parties involved understand the rules. They were given the choice to breed at any time they wanted to during the previous spring.
An example of an unfortunate case that is less avoidable is when a party purchases a mare that is in foal, and then that mare foals before January 1 st. In this case the purchaser would be aware of that mare’s present cover date because that is public information before sale, but they wouldn’t necessarily have an idea of the length of her typical gestation period. These cases always have the sympathy of the public, especially when the mare costs 4.6 million guineas, but the public should be aware that this business has many risks such as this.
In a little different and more common situation you would have seen a different reaction from the mare owner and general public. In a case where the purchaser of the mare has a foal after January 1 st, but the foal dies for whatever natural reason, everyone would recognize this as just a risk within the business. The fact is we see so few foals born before January 1 st that we tend to think our rules are unjust and cruel when we actually need to enforce them.
3rd Defense
A benefit from not mandating a first cover date of February 15 th for example is that it allows mares to visit stallions early and consequently spread the stallion’s work load over a larger amount of time. With our current system our Stallions can ease their way into the heavy work load of a breeding season. Open mares, long gestating mares, and any mare that is biologically ready at a time prior to February 15 th is allowed to be bred. Large operations such as Darley, Coolmore, Lane’s End, or Juddmonte can breed their own mares in the days prior to opening the doors to the public. If we mandated February 15 th as the set first cover date, the stallions would surely be booked full with many mares on the waiting list and probably many mares that were missed.
In 2006 there were 1265 mares bred before February 15 th, in ’05 there were 1564, and in ’04 there were 1465. That is a lot of business that could be done just prior to the 15 th, and there is no doubt our stallions would feel the effect of 1400 more mares piled amongst the others. Those stallions expecting to cover 150 mares would really have the cards stacked against them. By leaving such a clear and easy way to cheat the system, the Jockey Club as the governing body would basically be giving free rein and a blind eye to anyone who has a private stallion and broodmare band that is going to be bred by their stallion.
4th Defense
My fourth and final defense for staying in our current system is that we can not alienate our market of Thoroughbreds from the other Northern Hemisphere markets. If all of us in this room and our Jockey Club decided the Australian system was better and that we needed to switch, that wouldn’t be enough. If this change were to take place it would need to be an international change enforced by the International Thoroughbred Registration.
We can not change from our rules as hastily as Australia did. In the Northern Hemisphere we share our market place with all of Europe and Japan, and we depend on foreign buyers at our sales. If our country were to make this change alone, we would find our selves tarnishing foreign relationships and possibly having many of our horses not qualified for international races due to their December birth date.
Conclusion
To conclude I wanted to just say; “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but our need is to identify what system best fits our environment and can be practically enforced.
The United States is such a large breeding nation, with so many horses and states to police, that the Northern Hemispheres policies are more practical to enforce. In addition to the rules being more enforceable, our system helps the stallions cover more mares in a larger and more flexible time frame. An important capability of our system here in the North is it allows our breeders to strategically breed their mares at the time of year they feel their mare needs. If a late gestating mare needs a January cover, it is that managers right to breed her and risk the consequences of any early foal.
This debate needs be heard by more than just our community and our Jockey Club. Don’t get me wrong, I feel we have the best system installed already, but if this change were to take place; England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan would be of the many countries converting systems and trying to enforce the mandated first cover date. Let me remind you of why we are considering this change. It’s for .0003% of our breeders. Basically for that one guy; I don’t think we want to trade his problem for the many larger problems that will surface from this change.
Thank you.
Click here for a complete list of July 2007 Keeneland assignments