Coronavirus crisis could force industry to finally embrace the digital age

We all know that those who work in bloodstock are not afraid of hard graft; the vast number of stud staff staying up all night on foaling duty at this time of year attest to that. They are also dedicated, highly skilled and co-operative in times of crisis.

If there is one area in which the industry has not always been at the top of its game, though, it is in its technological agility. As we enter the third decade of the new millennium, a catalogue page still contains roughly the same information it did 100 years ago, while many smaller commercial operations do not have websites, and a lot of those that do don't update them very often.

This is not to be interpreted as hectoring those farms that have not yet embraced the digital age. The big investment required to run a bloodstock business, in terms of both time and finance, means there is little of either left over to create an all-singing, all-dancing internet presence.