Racehorses Stud season

[tali1]

I read Shergar owners received an incredible 80k for each mare serviced.So my question is are all racehorses descended from other racehorses?
Stud season - does this mean the horse is only stud active for certain times of the year- and at what age are they put to stud?
And really does it actually mean 80k for prime pedigree horse semen in a tube ?

[lankeela]

All thoroughbred racehorses descent from just three stallions, the Darley Arabian, the Byerley Turk and the Godolphin Arabian.

In this country thoroughbreds (which is the 'breed' of horse used for racing rather than just the fact that it is 'purebred')
are only allowed to breed by live coverage of a mare, AI is not permitted because of the possibility of fraud/mistaken identity.
This also prevents popular sires being over used, although they can sire dozens even hundreds of foals in a season. Most foals are born in spring, but all racehorses in this country have have a date of birth counted as 1st January whereas all other horses have their birthday on 1st May.

Stud fees are much higher now for top class horses than they were when Shergar won the Derby.

[lankeela]

"Shergar produced 35 foals from his single season at stud, the best turning out to be the 1986 Irish St. Leger winner Authaal, but only one had been born by the time of the kidnap. The syndicate was able to charge a stud fee of �50,000 - �80,000 for Shergar and if his offspring did well on the track that fee would have doubled."

[fredpuli47]

1) All thoroughbred racehorses are descended from three 'Oriental', really Arabian, stallions : the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerly Turk, in the C18

2) Stud season. The gestation of a mare is c 340 days. A racehorse is deemed to have been foaled on January 1st of the year in which it is foaled. The aim is, ideally, to have a foal born early in the year. Horses are not fully grown, not fully mature adults, until they are 5. The Classic races (1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, Derby, Oaks and St Leger) are for three year olds, ( a sort of horse equivalent of teenagers or undeveloped youngsters! ) Breeders try to get the mating done so as to achieve as early a foaling as practicable, within reason, so their 2 year olds (the youngest that can be raced) and 3 year olds are as advanced as possible.

3) A male is a colt and a female a filly until 5 years . Then they are horses and mares respectively. Formerly it was not the practice to put a colt to stud until he was a horse. In recent times the practice has grown up of putting a colt that has won a Classic straight to stud, sometimes not racing him again, sometimes giving him a crack at other top races for 3 year olds and 'retiring' him then. Other colts may be kept racing for further seasons (there are big races for horses and older colts e.g the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe.. ) Not all great stallions have been great racehorses (and vice versa, in fact few of the latter are really great stallions with big winning progeny !)

4) Yes it is (and the rest!) but the owner is not selling semen just in a tube. The insemination has to be natural.The rules demand it. No artificial insemination is permitted (with good reason: people like to see what they are paying for!)

[blackcat77]

The stallion will only cover a certain amount of mares in a year - often the figure is put at 40 nominations at ��� each,(a nomination is the price for the mare to be covered)although when the mare is with the stallion she may be covered two or three times to be as sure as possible that she is in foal if she is receptive. Some stallions may do more, some less according to their libido. The mare will only go to the stallion when she is in season. That is why a Derby winner is worth so much money, it's not the prize money, it's what he can earn after. If you think that a Derby Winner is 3 years old you can see how much earning potential he has. There have been many great horses who have carried on breeding well into their teens. It is also an advantage for a foal to be born as near to the 1st of January as possible because as Lankeela has said all thoroughbreds have their birthdays on the !st so have an advantage over the younger foals.

[Mr Veritas]

Most of us are hard pressed to trace our family tree beyond our great grandparents, so it's astonishing to realise the direct bloodline of a thoroughbred horse can be followed back through tens of generations.

There are over 5,000 Thoroughbred foals born in Great Britain every year, and over 110,000 born worldwide. Each one can trace their ancestry back through the father�s line to one of three horses - the Godolphin Arabian, the Byerley Turk or the Darley Arabian.

When did it all start?

It is impossible to say exactly when the Thoroughbred developed but in the late 17th and early 18th centuries British breeders began crossing their native mares with imported stallions from North Africa and the Middle East. Those which were mated with the Godolphin Arabian, Byerley Turk or the Darley Arabian ultimately produced the modern Thoroughbred.

The three founding fathers of the turf

Following the family tree of the Godolphin Arabian, the Byerley Turk and the Darley Arabian is rather like compiling a �who�s who� of racing champions!


The Godolphin Arabian

Foaled about 1724
Probably exported from Yemen via Syria to the stud of the Bey of Tunis
Initially given to Louis XV of France in 1730, he was then imported to Britain
Sired the best racehorse of the day, called Lath
The Godolphin Arabian�s line hasn�t won the Derby since Santa Claus in 1964, and has recently been overshadowed by the Darley Arabian�s descendants
The Byerley Turk

Foaled about 1680
His line includes Herod, foaled in 1758, who was leading sire eight times
Descendent Highflyer and his sons were champion stallions 23 times in 25 years
The Byerley Turk�s line now has much less influence than that of the Darley Arabian
The Darley Arabian

Foaled about 1700
Amongst others, he sired Bartlett�

[fredpuli47]

And for the 'faithful' (LOL) the Godolphin Arabian is buried under the arch of the old stable block at Wandlebury Country Park, about 2 miles south of Cambridge.His grave is under a marked stone, with a chain fence around it. Worth a 'pilgrimage' (it's a very plaasant park too). Just don't curse him for all the money you lost on his descendants ! His owner had a house at Wandlebury, mainly as somewhere pleasant to keep horses. The racing organisation and stud called Godolphin took its name from the illustrious stallion.

[blackcat77]

We must have been posting at the same time fredpuli and with similar thoughts!