HAVING A MARE - Encouraging More Fillies And Mares Into Racing

Seeing women jockeys in racing is becoming a much more familiar sight, though it is still a male-dominated sport. But did you know the same can also be said for racehorse too? In both flat and jumps, there is a higher percentage of males than females, though it is much more prominent in jumps racing. In flat racing, the split is generally 60/40 but in National Hunt only about 20% of runners are mares.

But why is this? It’s not necessarily because they perform worse. In sport, men are 11% faster than women, but colts are only around 1% faster than fillies. Factor in that fillies/mares get a weight allowance in open company and this minute advantage shouldn’t make much of a difference. Interestingly, the only thing that mares seem to do worse on is all-weather tracks; the majority prefer turf for some reason. There are some fine examples of very successful female racehorses but generally the reality is that fillies and mares don’t earn as much as their male counterparts. Consequently, the most likely reason for the lack of mares in racing is that they are more valuable as a broodmare than a racer. A mare can only give birth to one foal a year whilst a stallion could potentially sire over a hundred per year.

Both the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association have been making steps to change this and give more incentives for racing mares. They have increased the number of Black Type mares-only races by over seven times since 2005, boosted the prize money available and provide subsidised or even free coverings for proven mares though the Elite Mares’ Scheme. There are also opportunities to earn extra prize money. What was originally called the NH Mare Owners’ Prize Scheme (NHMOPS), now changed to the Great British Bonus (GBB), is estimated to pay out £4.5 million in bonuses in 2024 to eligible mares and fillies. One horse can earn an up to an extra £20,000 in just one race, which is distributed between the breeders, owners, jockeys and stable staff.

But have any of these incentives been effective? From 2015-2024, the number of mares is training has increased from 19.7% to 23.9%, the number of mares in races has increased from 19.5% to 23.5% and the number of higher rated mares (140+) has increased from 3.9% to 9.1%. So the answer is yes, it seems to be working, but quite slowly. Which is understandable, it’s not as if industry-wide change is going to happen overnight.

Encouraging more mares into racing is not just a question of equality. It increases competitiveness but is also imperative to breeding. A mare that is a proven racer is less likely to have any abnormalities that increase the chance of injury for example, this means her progeny is also less likely to suffer from such defects. The offspring of such a successful mare would also be worth more in sales, so it’s a win for both the horses and connections involved. Although, if she were to give birth to a colt as opposed to a filly, he would most probably sell for a higher price, so maybe there is a way to go before there is true gender equality for the racehorse.

written by Gabrielle Murray