The Jockey Club has announced that 22,000 Thoroughbred foals are expected in 2014, continuing a recent decline. Also, the 2012 and 2013 foal crops were even smaller than predicted.
The 2012 crop is officially 23,500, and the 2013 crop is even smaller, 23,000, the group said Sunday; both crops had been projected at 24,700.
The 2012 crop was originally thought to be the smallest since 1971; with the new figures, the two years were the smallest since 1968.
The new projection of 22,000 for 2014 is 4.3 percent lower than 2013. The foal crop projection is based on Reports of Mares Bred Received by The Jockey Club, the breed's registry, by Aug. 1 of each breeding season.
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"The revisions to the 2012 and 2013 foal crops are the result of receiving fewer reports after the Aug. 1 reporting deadline of mares being bred," said Matt Iuliano, Jockey Club executive vice president and executive director.
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