Look, we are going to have to agree to disagree because I disagree with everything you typed.
But I want to clarify the part of your post I bolded: I never said AI would cause too much inbreeding. I said we would shrink the gene pool. That might seem like the same thing to you, but it’s not.
That is exactly right. I used to produce Kentucky bred Calbreds and every other year I had to breed back to a California based stallion in order to register the foal on the ground as a Calbred. That rule helped keep California stallions busy.
FWIW I think rules like that would protect the regional sires and money in the form of high stud fees for desirable stallions would normalize the market under AI. There might be an issue with numbers but that could be addressed by the Jockey Club (I know what a pipedream that is.)
The real crux of this dilemma would be the decentralization of TB breeding. Under AI, why does a breeding horse --stallion or mare-- have to be in Kentucky? When you start to think of the economic ramifications of changing this rule, it becomes clear why this rule hasn’t been changed.
That’s a very black and white statement about an industry that’s actually all shades of gray.
There are benefits to centralizing, though. The entire non-breeding horse world has been creeping towards centralization.
Access to horse professions, especially specialists. Cheaper hay, feed, and supplies availability thanks to bulk transport. Competition for services keeps prices in check. Convenience to off farm destinations.
Even global players with seemingly endless wealth benefit from all this.
From a breeding standpoint, it’s a whole hell of a lot easier to drive across town to pick up semen yourself than to trust that FedEx or whatever courier sevice you use won’t screw you over.
I think the logistics of shipping millions of dollars worth of semen are complicated. What insurance company is going to want to touch that one?!?
I’m so glad you were able to do that!!! 
I do agree that some centralization is probably critical for the horse industry. Veterinarians, feed stores, training centers…I have a lot of friends who have horses outside of dense horse population areas, and they are always complaining about the difficulty in getting good veterinarian service. I think it will even get worse. I also have friends breeding Arabians horses with shipped semen, and they have had lower pregnancy rates than with live cover. Semen arrives late, vet cant come on time. I think that AI would simply add another layer to an industry that could use some streamlining, even if it means just picking up semen and taking it cross town.
A whole different discipline, but many western horse industry breeders use AI even if they stand the studs in their own farm.
AI is safer for both stallion and mares, they can keep showing the stallion, that is not tied by needing to be there every minute to service mares, etc.
There is so much more to these debates of what is best.
The big money in TB racing comes from the breeding rights of successful stallions. When someone pays $,$$$,$$$ for a foal it is because of that breeding, with pedigree and performance behind it, on both sides. The whole process is tightly controlled with covering certificates, DNA testing etc. because there are so many plain bay TBs in every cohort. Mistakes do get made, even today, such as mares swapping their goals in the paddock. Other factors such as which farm bred the colt or which nursery it came from will be considered and will also affect the price. The big sales companies are always looking at foals, visiting farms constantly, seeking business. The young horses are constantly handled, measured, fed with milli-metric precision so that the person purchasing their dream is willing to pay the breeder the biggest price. Live cover is a fundamental part of that secure process. Doesn’t have to be anything more modern, convenient or different.
When a new stallion goes to the stud farm, it’s owner spends money marketing the horse, may buy some mares to specifically breed to that stallion, may offer incentives for winning mares, may offer financial incentives for racing offspring. The breeding fee is set at a commercial rate and everyone hopes, for about three or four seasons, that the stallion produces more good horses than duds. Of the few stallions that are good enough to go to stud anywhere, very few get consistent winners. The good ones have a higher percentage strike rate. Frankle, 2023 Champion sire in Europe, Ireland and Great Britain has 12% Group winners to runners and 18% blacktype winners to runners which is a phenomenal performance. Standing a stallion is a nail-biting business.
This debate is focused on “American” Thoroughbreds but the Thoroughbred is a worldwide breed in a global industry. A unilateral decision made by the American Jockey Club to use AI would have global ramifications. Any legal decision made by an American court would be irrelevant under South African or Turkish jurisdiction. But a foreign buyer might not wish to purchase a top-priced foal in KY if AI is involved because who can trust Americans not to cheat - just like they appear to do even when running potential stallions in the Kentucky Derby (Mr Baffert)? Yes harsh, but when testing performance, world wide, consistently, it is crucial for the health of the breeding industry that standards are the same everywhere.
I grew up on a smallish Arabian breeding farm. I spent my youth working at a major arabian breeding farm, not to mention picking up jobs for other breeders, including thoroughbred breeders. I did a breeding internship at one of the foremost warmblood breeding facilities in the US. I worked for years for a smaller warmblood breeder, where I ended up with my own WB cross foal. Then I transitioned entirely into thoroughbreds. I worked at several TB breeding farms in my region. I shifted to the veterinary world where I worked in the NICU of a major regional equine hospital. I started breeding my own thoroughbreds, in a “decentralized” area within driving distance of Lexington.
I come at my opinion as a Jack of all trades, master of none. I’ve dealt with breeding on nearly every level- from the field stallion pasture breeding an entire herd to hand breeding in a barn aisle to shipping frozen semen from Germany to sending mares to Storm Cat in his heyday (not mine, lol).
I don’t think KY will crumble with AI.
I don’t think the Jockey Club will succeed in regulating numbers or implementing any sort of cap.
I think AI will completely homogenize available stallions so that we primarily only have the equivalent of today’s big book sires (there are big book sires at every price point, in case people didn’t realize that).
I think AI will ultimately make it harder, not easier for people breeding TBs for sport as breeders continue to hyper focus on a specific type of racing success that has value to buyers.
I think thoroughbred live cover is superior to AI in the majority of breeding instances, though sure, there are times when AI would be really beneficial. But if I have to choose between shipping semen or sending my horse to a proper thoroughbred breeding shed for live cover, I choose live cover every time.
I think the live cover only rule is completely archaic but has been a blessing in disguise.
And above all, I think the thoroughbred breeding industry is unique in terms of its economics, it’s specialization, and it’s numbers. No other breed churns out so many single purpose horses worth so much money. So trying to extrapolate what will or won’t happen based on breeds like Arabians, warmbloods, quarter horses, or even Standardbreds doesn’t work.
I have to say this is a really interesting discussion.
I have done tours at a bunch of different thoroughbred farms in Kentucky, and it always amazes me to think about the economics involved, and if they are actually coming out ahead with the breeding operations, or if those big places are in existence due to the very wealthy owners who can afford to lose money on them.
Obviously there are some stallions that are very successful with lots of mares covered at a hefty stud fee. But they don’t all fall into that category, and the operating costs at those farms must be astronomical.
Today’s Thoroughbreds all have DNA on file with the Jockey Club. But if someone was inclined to think they could get away with cheating about a horse’s parentage, I don’t understand how it would matter whether the breeding had taken place by live cover or AI?
@LaurieB In practice, AI or live breeding has the same outcome: a foal. What has the impact is whether or not people trust the product and are willing to buy it on an international market.
I have UK friends who no longer buy American youngsters because they don’t trust the racing performance in the pedigrees: “You just don’t know what you’re going to get”.
There is an interesting difference in how stallions are promoted between GB and Eire and the USA. The European horses stress the percentage of group and blacktype winners (as I wrote about Frankle, above) and information such as runners to numbers foaled. If you put a good mare to a particular horse you have reasonable odds of getting winning offspring. I looked at In To Mischief and he is promoted on the amount of money earned by his get. His Group and blacktype winners are not made as obvious. A different focus for a different racing culture.
Edited for typos
It’s Frankel. Not Frankle.
The fact that you have friends who won’t buy American TBs has apparently not impacted the market for U.S. Thoroughbreds across the pond. At no time in recent history has there been so much back-and-forth buying and selling, along with much exchanging of bloodlines.
If you don’t see U. S stallions promoted by their numbers of graded black type winners, then you aren’t reading the prominent TB news sources. Try looking at TDN and the Blood Horse. Or any Top Sire List. The info you seem to think we don’t care about is all there, prominently displayed.
I’m quite familiar with the U.K. racing culture. Yes, there are differences. But not necessarily the ones you perceive.
Into Mischief has been North America’s Leading Sire by Progeny Earnings for several years. It’s a very significant achievement. If I were writing his advertising I would lead with that, too.
Here is current statistical summary:
https://www.equineline.com/extendedcontent/bh.cfm?StallionRef=7436720&rtype=stats&ASCID=1443262
Here is copy from his Blood-Horse Stallion Register page:
FIVE-TIME REIGNING CHAMPION GENERAL SIRE
• No. 1 General Sire in North America 5 years running, and No. 1 again in 2023 in every major category incl. BTH, BTW, GSH, GSW, G1SW & Earnings.
• 18 G1 WINNERS, incl. 6 in 2023: Champion 3YO Filly pro tem PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS, 2yo colt TIMBERLAKE, GINA ROMANTICA, PLAYED
HARD, ATONE & DOPPELGANGER.
• No. 1 Yearling Sire again in North America – $697,855 Avg. (210% ROI on $225,000 bred-on fee) and $500,000 Median from 69 sold in 2023.
• RECORD 15 MILLION-DOLLAR YEARLINGS — surpassing STORM CAT’s 13 sold in 2005.
• 2023 yearlings incl: $3,200,000 (his highest ever), $3,000,000, $2,300,000, $1,800,000, $1,700,000, $1,500,000, $1,400,000, $1,200,000,
$1,200,000, $1,200,000, $1,100,000, $1,100,000, $1,100,000, $1,000,000, $1,000,000.
• 7 Breeders’ Cup Winners: WONDER WHEEL (’22 Juv. Fillies), LIFE IS GOOD (’21 Dirt Mile), AUTHENTIC (‘20 Classic), GAMINE (‘20 F&M Sprint),
COVFEFE (’19 F&M Sprint) & GOLDENCENTS (’13 & ’14 Dirt Mile).
• 4 Eclipse champions – Authentic (’20 HOY & 3YO Male), Gamine (’20 Female Sprinter) & Covfefe (’19 Female Sprinter), Wonder Wheel (’22 2YO
Filly), with likely Pretty Mischievous (’23 3YO Filly) to become the fifth.
• Became the first stallion ever to sire back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners: AUTHENTIC (’20) & MANDALOUN (’21).
Here are the bullet points from Spendthrift’s website (https://www.spendthriftfarm.com/stallions/into-mischief/):
For the third straight year, he shattered his own all-time record in North America for progeny earnings in a single season.
Eclipsed Storm Cat’s record 13 seven-figure yearlings in 2005; Before that, Northern Dancer sired 11 in 1984.
Tied for the most winners in the history of the prestigious championship event, along with Tapit & More Than Ready; the most on dirt with 7.
@ejm, the irony is that no one who’s looking to breed a mare bothers to read all that. Because everyone already knows who Into Mischief is. 
As does anyone with the right mare and deep enough pockets to breed to Frankel. The top stallions sell themselves regardless of advertising and seasons to them are always hard to come by.
P.S. I looked up the actual stallion pages on the stud farm websites. Interesting differences in how they are marketed.
Marketing for thoroughbred stallions is a weird thing.
Once a horse hits a certain point, they basically market themselves.
And a lot of marketing is still done by word of mouth or in person.
I would also think for the many number of mare owners it would up costs. Most mares are already in KY–it would add further vet fees, collection costs–maybe shipping costs–if AI, instead of the live cover, was required. I never thought breeding Warmbloods via AI was ever cheap. $350 collection (average for WB) fee x 17,000 KY mares=about 6 mill in extra costs to the industry (not including transport/shipping fees and extra vet fees to inseminate etc.). in one year. Maybe that is balanced elsewhere?
I agree 1000%.
It’s not that AI is bad, or that LC is cheap or easy. But breeding already is an exercise in lighting money on fire, and those costs really rack up quickly with AI due to the increased need for precision + shipping/container fees.
You can get by with less veterinary intervention much of the time with LC and even if you have to pay vanning fees, they are still less than shipping & container fees. It’s rare for TB farms to charge booking fees, shed fees, etc., although I guess some do. All those extra fees tend to be a lot more common in other breeds.
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