19,000 Irish TB mares
As a result, Ireland produces 11,325 thoroughbred foals per year, more than any other European nation.
The country now has nearly 19,000 thoroughbred mares, compared to only 7,807 mares in 1974.
More than 16,500 people, are employed in the Irish bloodstock industry, many of them by the Irish-based studs of big international bloodstock investors such as Coolmore, the Aga Khan and the Maktoums.
About 400 thoroughbred stallions stand in Ireland, each covering up to 368 mares per year.
The fee for a covering can go as high as an estimated €250,000 for Sadler’s Wells, Europe’s champion thoroughbred sire 14 times.
Aged 24, Sadler’s Wells covered 124 mares in 2005 at John Magnier’s Coolmore Stud near Fethard, Co Tipperary.
