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Breeding Our Next Racehorse -  Stallion Choices for 2023

12/13/2022

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2022 has been a very exciting year for us filled with ups, downs, and pivots. We bought the new farm in Kentucky this summer, Dyana retired from racing, we began the process for establishing Mareworthy Charities as a 501c3 organization, and we added three more mares, two donkeys, and one deaf puppy to the family.

With all the changes in 2022, we are even more excited for the future of Mareworthy and our little farm. Our experience breeding and racing Dyana taught us a lot, and now we get to take the lessons we've learned and build an even more exciting future. We look forward to remaining transparent about our experiences, and we will always keep equine welfare and education at the forefront of every decision we make.

Abraham Lincoln famously said, "The best way to predict your future is to create it," and that is exactly what we intend to do. We are dedicated to fulfilling our mission of ensuring all retired Thoroughbred broodmares and warhorse mares are protected from suffering and cruelty. Sean and I put a lot of research and thought into our decision to breed again next year, and we decided it was the right decision as part of our mission as ambassadors for Thoroughbred mares and the future we are creating for Mareworthy Charities.


How many mares should we breed in 2023?

With the purchase of Abastada and Empress Luciana at the Keeneland November sale and Dyana's retirement from racing, our broodmare options went from a single mare - Lady Macjazz - to four eligible broodmares. That meant the first decision we had to make was whether we are going to breed one or all four.

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Choosing a stallion for Lady Dyanaformer's first foal

10/28/2022

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Some photos of Dyana for consideration of her conformation and how it will pair with a stallion.
Step 1: Should you breed your mare?
I have a mare, so that means I am obligated to breed her, right? HELL NO!!!!

It should come as no surprise that I have decided to breed Lady Dyanaformer in 2023, but before we get too far into this adventure I wanted to give a strongly worded warning about breeding. This is definitely NOT a decision to take lightly, and if you're considering it I highly recommend doing LOTS and LOTS of homework and thinking it over at length - I have experience breeding and have been contemplating this decision and continually educating myself ever since I first decided to breed Dyana's dam, Lady Macjazz back in 2017. The decision to breed your mare will not only be very costly but it also can be very risky, so it should never be taken lightly.

First and most importantly, TALK TO YOUR VET! Then seek out experienced breeders - not ones that have only bred a handful of horses but ones who have a strong professional reputation and a history of breeding foals that become successful athletes. If you're only breeding for temperament, reconsider your decision. You cannot guarantee anything about a foal, but you can confidently assess the temperament of a horse that is already alive and waiting to meet you. While I obviously take temperament into equal consideration with athleticism, I would never breed a horse strictly for her personality. It's important to assess health, conformation, pedigree and temperament equally.

In addition to speaking with your vet and professional breeders, I also recommend taking lots of time to research reliable sources such as this article from TheHorse.com ​​
“Foals are cute and majestic, but foals will cost you $15,000-20,000 before you even know if they’re an athlete,” Espy says. “If you know the foal will be worth more than $15,000, then great. But if you’re looking for a $5,000 trail horse or kid-friendly horse, then you might want to go buy a 7-year-old gelding that has proven he’s got what it takes.”
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Step 2: Goals for the Foal

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What's Next for Lady Dyanaformer? Life After Racing.

10/17/2022

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Follow along as Dyana and I work through my proven 4 C's Training Model: Consideration - Communication - Connection - Confidence​
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Lady Dyanaformer, commonly known as Dyana, is my homebred filly who went on to be my very first racehorse. After working to help transition more than 100 off track Thoroughbreds FROM racing in my career, I decided to transition in the opposite direction of my horses and go INTO racing for several reasons. Primarily, I wanted to share the good I have seen in racing, but I also wanted to be involved firsthand so that I could better understand the language Thoroughbreds learn during their racing careers. I also firmly believe that you can never truly impact change without having personal experience and walking alongside the people (and horses) you want to support or influence to change.

After taking a very slow and thoughtful approach to Dyana's training and care, she ran her first race on June 15, 2021 at Belterra Park in Cincinnati. She won that first race quite impressively, and I was regularly reminded that a horse winning on her first try is the exception more than the rule - let alone a first time breeder who is also a first time owner. We were all very blessed and excited for Dyana's future as a racehorse.

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Horse Racing Profits Revealed

3/11/2022

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Dyana and her fans in the winner's circle after her first race June 15, 2021 at Belterra Park in Cincinnati.
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I often hear that horse racing is unethical because it's all about money and making people rich, so I thought I'd do a fully transparent deep dive into the 2021 finances for Lady Dyanaformer to expose the real profits of horse racing.

For starters, it's important to point out that Dyana ran her first ever races in 2021, so it also was her first chance at making any money. There were obviously expenses in the years since she was born in 2018 that increased when she went into full-time training in June of 2020, but I'm only going to share the expenses from 2021 to show a full calendar year profit and loss.

Additionally, it's important to note that Dyana finished 2021 with a Starts Percentile Ranking (SPR) of 87. Dyana's SPR of 87 means her average earnings per start were greater than 87% of ALL 3-year-old Thoroughbred fillies in North America registered with The Jockey Club who raced in 2021. To calculate a horse's SPR, the horse's average earnings per start are compared to the average earnings per start of like horses (i.e. same sex, age and year(s) record). That means only 13% of 3-year-old female horses in North America earned more per race than Dyana in 2021 with the other 87% earning less per race.

Certainly we got very rich in 2021 having such a talented filly, so, here are the numbers....


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    Author

    Kyle the OTTB Mare Guy loves how mares connect when you take the time to build a relationship. He is dedicated to showing the world why mares are superior and working as an advocate for OTTB warhorse mares and broodmares who need to retire.

    Learn more about Kyle and all his lovely ladies on Facebook at 
    www.facebook.com/ottbguy

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