Foal Insurance: ensuring a bright future in a shrinking breeding landscape

Foal Insurance: ensuring a bright future in a shrinking breeding landscape

Foaling season in Australia is now well underway, but this year brings unprecedented challenges. The 2025 Australian foal crop is projected to be the smallest in 50 years, continuing the 20-year decline of nearly 40%.¹ With fewer foals, tighter regulatory oversight, and rising costs, insurance remains a critical tool for protecting your investment and future racing prospects as a breeder.

A shrinking foal crop

The Australian foal crop has dropped significantly over the past 20 years from 18,758 in 2005 to 11,529 in 2024.² This dramatic decrease can be attributed to several factors, rising costs, reduced breeder participation and a shrinking number of stallions at stud – from 967 in 2004 to only 440 in 2023.³

There are also pressing registration issues when foals are born. As many as 1 in 6 foals’ risk being banned from racing for life if the declaration deadline is missed.⁴ One may question why missed registration is a common occurrence. Basil Nolan, President of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, highlighted the challenges of the registration process in a Racing Pulse interview with Michael Felgate, describing it as “very, very time-consuming and archaic.” This complexity contributes to missed deadlines, which can result in foals being banned from racing for life. This then creates welfare concerns for the foals that are left in the paddock. Perhaps now more than ever, welfare is becoming an increasingly important and visible theme in Australian racing. Breeders are finding themselves under increased pressure to be efficient, compliant, and protected. 

Why insurance matters more than ever this season

As the Australian foal crop continues to shrink, each foal carries greater financial and strategic weight. With fewer opportunities to produce future champions, breeders face heightened risk exposure. This ever-evolving landscape can include: 

• Mortality (accident, illness, congenital issues)
• Failed pregnancies
• Weather events (floods, bushfires)
• Biosecurity threats
• Unrecoverable import duties

When are your foals most at risk?

The danger zones for mortality claims after birth 

This table provides an insight into when breeders are most at risk of mortality claims. Making sure you have a tailored insurance solution in place helps you as a breeder, to manage these risks and maintain operational sustainability. 

What are your insurance options?

Standard Foal Cover

• Available from 24 hours of age with a clean VC (vet certificate) and IgG >800 mg/dl.
• Coverage up to 2.5x stallion service fee with underwriter approval for higher values.

Prospective Foal Cover

• Covers in utero foals with policy inception starting up to 30 days before expected foaling date.

Extended Foal Policies

• Can be set from 24 hours of age to expire after specific sales (e.g. MM Jan 2027) or 30 April 2027 to cover all major yearling sales.

Best practices for breeders

• Organise insurance ahead of time – breeders should coordinate with the stud farm and their broker before foaling. This ensures that the farm knows to obtain a Vet Certificate (VC) at 24 hours or as soon as the foal’s health allows. 
• Use breeding registers – breeding registers are available to help navigate this process.
• Extended foal policies are available – policies can be arranged to cover foals right through to the 2027 yearling sales. This allows breeders to take out one policy that lasts until the sale, avoiding the need to renew midstream.
• For insuring multiple foals, you can request monthly endorsement to streamline additions. 
• It’s vital to ensure timely registration (within 30 days) to avoid racing bans or costly fines.

Health documentation requirements 

All foals need a clean VC and this must be within 7 days of examination otherwise it’s obsolete. The VC also needs to note the IgG blood test, and it must show 800 mg/dl (multiple tests can be performed and noted on the VC until the reading is 800+). Sum insured of $200,000 and over (Lloyds) or $150,000 and over (Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance & Swiss Re) and a full blood biochemistry need to be supplied along with the VC noting the IgG level. However, if the foal is 30 days old or more, only a standard VC is required with no IgG or blood biochemistry necessary.

Conclusion 

With fewer foals, strict registration rules, and expanding risks, foal insurance isn’t just a periphery concern, it’s a necessity. Protecting each foal right from the beginning of its life means that breeders can focus on building quality bloodlines and securing their racing futures. Early planning with your Howden broker ensures a bespoke insurance solution is in place for your foal, facilitates timely VCs, and allows access to extended policy options through to the 2027 yearling sale. Insurance helps mitigate against this season’s top threats - mortality, failed pregnancies, weather events, and biosecurity threats. Importantly, this helps breeders manage risk in a shrinking and high-stakes market. As previously explicated, registration delays can lead to racing bans and welfare concerns, therefore proactive compliance and insurance go hand in hand. In a breeding landscape currently faced with uncertainty, protecting your foal crop from day one is an essential step to ensuring long-term stability and success. 

¹Kit Gow, “Finding the Gain: The Shorter the Derby, the More Commercial the Appeal,” TTR AusNZ, 11 August 2025, https://www.ttrausnz.com.au/edition/2025-08-11/finding-the-gain-the-shorter-the-derby-the-more-commercial-the-appeal (accessed 18 August 2025).
²TTR AusNZ, “Breeding Drain or Racing Gain: The Shrinking Foal Crop,” TTR AusNZ, 21 July 2025, https://www.ttrausnz.com.au/edition/2025-07-21/breeding-drain-or-racing-gain-the-shrinking-foal-crop (accessed 18 August 2025).
³TTR AusNZ, “Breeding Drain or Racing Gain: The Shrinking Foal Crop,” TTR AusNZ, 21 July 2025, https://www.ttrausnz.com.au/edition/2025-07-21/breeding-drain-or-racing-gain-the-shrinking-foal-crop (accessed 18 August 2025).
⁴TTR AusNZ, “Racing Australia Implement a Foal Declaration Crackdown,” TTR AusNZ, 9 July 2025, https://www.ttrausnz.com.au/edition/2025-07-09/racing-australia-implement-a-foal-declaration-crackdown (accessed 18 August 2025).