Declining foal crop numbers: two British breeders have their say on where the industry is heading

The dire prognosis for the future size of Britain's breeding and racing industry carried in the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association projections for the 2025 and 2026 foal crops is no surprise to two leading voices among breeders. 

Colin Bryce, whose Laundry Cottage Stud bred Wootton Bassett, said most small and even medium-sized breeders are "one bad sale away from oblivion", while Whatton Manor Stud's Ed Player described a scenario in which even conventionally rich people are being pushed to the edge by the economics of the sport in Britain. 

On Monday, TBA chair Philip Newton shared modelling with the Racing Post which forecast as big as a 25 per cent decline in the size of Britain's foal crop between 2022 and 2026, and warned of the knock-on effect this would have on the size of the race programme and the viability of racecourses.