Mares in foal – a gear change or not?

Tom Walter - Monday October 16

The idea of racemares improving once in foal is probably destined to remain unanswered but should it be denoted as an official 'gear change'?

Advertisement

Around this time every year a selection of mares will be served and put back into training up until 120 days of the gestation period.

The rules of racing in Australia currently require trainers to notify stewards once a mare has tested positive – information that is usually disclosed to the public via a steward's report before the mare's next race start.

But when reading the formguide there is currently no indication of when a mare is in foal.

If we accept that gelding a horse is a gear change then there must be consideration given to placing pregnant mares in the same category.

"We started advertising geldings several years ago because there was significant interest in it," Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel said.

"So if it is something punters want to be armed with then we'll probably discuss it at the next national chairman of stewards conference."

Many studies have been conducted on the 'mares in foal' theory but nothing conclusive has come of it – partly because of the practical issues with accurately determining when a mare has fallen pregnant and when a possible miscarriage has occurred.

But in our search for robust statistics to vindicate anecdotal evidence, we might be overlooking the simple fact that any given mare has the potential to improve her racetrack performances once in foal.

Temperamental mares, or ones particularly sensitive to the oestrous cycle, can benefit from being in foal due to the associated physiological and hormonal changes – specifically a spike in the calming hormone progesterone.

A mare's 'fight or flight' instinct can also be heightened when pregnant which lends strength to the notion that mares run faster to protect the young they are carrying.

Scientifics aside, we live in an age where too much information is never enough. Technology has facilitated punters in ways that could never have been predicted.

If the experience of the customer/punter is indeed priority then should information regarding mares in foal be made easily accessible by denoting in form guides?

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Tuesday October 21
Here is the full list of 15 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
TBA Mourn Passing of So You Think
Thoroughbred Breeders Australia (TBA) and Aushorse join the wider industry in mourning the passing of So You Think, one of the modern greats of the Australian turf and a truly elite sire.
2025 G1 Spring Champion – Pedigree Preview
A lot of attention is paid to the sprinting three year-old division and much less so to the stayers, but with $2million in prizemoney the Group I ATC Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on Saturday has attracted a full field of 14 and all of them are on trial at the trip.
Henry Longfellow Pedigree Gets an Update
Group I winning Dubawi stallion Henry Longfellow (IRE) is covering his first Australian book of mares at Rosemont Stud this spring and overnight in Ireland his two year-old sister-in-blood landed her first Group race win.
Tarzino Stayer Wins G3 Geelong Cup
Trainer Paul Preusker will get another tilt at a Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) after Torranzino ran out a strong winner of the Gr.3 Geelong Cup (2400m) on Thursday.
End Of An Era - 2025 G1 Cox Plate
“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still” - Franklin D Roosevelt.
Pier Headed to Melbourne
Following his pleasing third placing in last Saturday’s A$5 million Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m) at Randwick, trainers Darryn and Briar Weatherley have decided to head south with Pier to test his talent in Melbourne.
Sires With Winners - Wednesday October 22
Here is the full list of 37 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
$400,000 Invincible Filly a Grand Investment
A three-quarter sister-in-blood to dual Group I winning mare Charm Stone, stakes-placed I Am Invincible filly Naifah always looked well bought at the 2025 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $400,000.
One To Watch – Belmont
We look far and wide to highlight Breednet’s ‘One To Watch’ and today’s winner of the first race at Belmont, 3yo D’Argento filly Ladies Pro, won in the manner of a horse with a nice future and in the process shone a spotlight on her sire who recorded his ninth winner so far this month.