How to Keep More Mares in Production ???? “Not a new concept” but worth revisiting - I believe States need to work together - create conferences and improve the product and demand. The issue. North America breeds about 60% fewer Thoroughbred mares than it did twenty years ago. Outside Kentucky, the drop is closer to 77%. When a farm closes, local vets, farriers, hay growers, van drivers and racetracks lose work too. Costs keep rising, and breeders have to pay up to keep up. State and local leaders need to see what's at stake. If the industry stays quiet, the decline will continue. THE PROPOSAL A voluntary pilot in the Mid-Atlantic, where states already share horses. Each state keeps its own breeder program and home-state status. State-breds from participating states can enter a limited number of designated races anywhere in the region. Breeders earn a clear, capped award when their horses do well. WHY WORK TOGETHER Right now, most states go it alone. Each state pays its breeders mainly when their horses race in that state. That keeps every program small. Take a Maryland-bred filly. Her best paydays are in Maryland's state-bred races. If Maryland doesn't have a race that fits her, she has few good options. Fewer options make her worth less at the sale, and her breeder is less likely to breed that mare again. Now picture Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Delaware working together. A Maryland-bred could run in designated races in all five states. Maryland would still pay its own breeders, from its own fund, under its own rules. The horse just has more places to run. When states compete, they fight over a shrinking group of horses and breeders. When they work together, the region grows the group. Maryland already does a small version of this. It pays bonuses to Maryland-breds that finish in the top three at Colonial Downs in Virginia and Delaware Park. The pilot makes that idea work in every direction. STATES ALONE vs. STATES TOGETHER Races a state-bred can target: one state vs. five states Value of a foal at the sale: smaller market vs. bigger market Who pays the breeder: home state vs. home state (no change) Stakes races: small ones in each state vs. bigger shared ones Finding new owners: each state alone vs. one regional effort Cost to taxpayers: existing funds vs. existing funds (no change) WHAT A BREEDER GETS - More races to enter and more chances to win. - A foal worth more, because buyers know it has more places to run. - Awards that grow as the horse improves: the base rate for a maiden win, double for an allowance win, five times for a stakes win. - A payment for every live foal, so breeders get paid now instead of waiting three years for a horse to race. HOW IT'S PAID FOR All of it comes from each state's existing breeder fund. No new taxes. BRINGING IN NEW OWNERS Small ownership groups, shared mares, breed-to-race programs and mentors who explain the risks as well as the rewards. Every new owner is a future buyer of foals. HOW WE'LL KNOW IT WORKS - More mares in production. - More new people in the sport. - More regional starts for state-breds. If it works, other regions can join. If it doesn't, adjust it or end it. Either way, it strengthens the network. WHAT'S AT STAKE The American Horse Council values the U.S. horse industry at $177 billion and 2.2 million jobs, up from $122 billion in 2017. Racing alone has a $36.4 billion total economic impact and supports 491,232 jobs. That includes farms, vets, farriers, feed, hay, transport, track jobs, wagering and tourism, much of it in rural communities with few other options. A rough estimate based on 2025 purses puts the Thoroughbred share at $19 to $32 billion a year, supporting more than a quarter million jobs. Every mare kept in production protects part of that. Every farm that closes takes some of it away. Breeders are quitting because it doesn't pay. This makes it pay, with money states already have. @SecRollins