Should States set a criteria to qualify stallions and mares to participate in their breeding program

Posted Friday December 4, 2009 8:26:32 PM EDT

Many have written that racing has actually gotten worse as the thoroughbred just doesn't seem to stay sound and most just can't compete against the elite and well bred racehorse. Making matters worse is the penchant for owners of horses, good and not so good, to go to the breeding shed, thinking that the pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow. Great horses being retired early is bad for the sport and kills its fan base. Bad horses being sent to the breeding shed is worse for the sport, at least in my opinion. Now, with all of the State breeding programs offering generous rewards programs for State breds, I can only assume that things will get even worse. Mares with empty pages and stallions with no merit to speak of are becoming the foundation of several State bred programs, and it just seems to keep getting worse.  Should their be a criteria set up by these programs to insure that the horse population doesn't explode with horses that can't earn their keep? Should the State or perhaps even some sort of  national racing and breeding management set parameters to qualify stallions? What do you think?

 

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