Beginner Breeding: How To Pick a Stud

Original article written by Ren Marston posted 2 years 3 weeks ago

Breeding is easily the most exciting part of the sim. I know that when I first started I was absolutely delighted with the idea of breeding my very own racehorses! However, based on the advice I received from my terrific ‘mentors’, I decided to wait and learn before really investing in the breeding market. It wasn’t long before I had buried myself in knowledge after probably torturing the very supportive more experienced players with my endless questions before I finally began breeding. My very first foals from when I had only played for a few weeks didn’t turn out very great, but I kept trying. This article is an all purpose article that applies to all categories of breeding.

My very first crop was just 40 foals, all breeds and all surface/distance combinations. Most of the mares had been leased in auctions, or bought from the game NPC, Alexandra Jamison. Somehow, it all worked out. I came out of my first ‘festivus’ with six homebred stakes and six allowances! Festivus is the day during break when the foals turn into yearlings and can finally be galloped and their possible potential is finally revealed. Now, after my second festivus, resulting in four stakes and eighteen allowances, proving consistent results from this method; I feel somewhat confident in discussing how I decide on a stud and breed without breaking the bank.

There are a lot of ways to choose a stud, and almost every successful player does it a little differently. There is mass breeding, which has served a lot of players well. There are also smaller crops using more focused breeding tactics, which is personally what I focus on for my own breedings.

To start, let’s discuss the common broodmare. Broodmares are all over the place, and while it may seem tempting to buy them all up and breed everything you see that has a fancy sire, it's not necessarily the best option. I try to find mares that fit a certain set of criteria when I’m looking to add one to my stable; whether it be by sale or by lease. It’s important to note that a great broodmare is of course a combination of her sire and dam; however, successfully sired horses are not hard to come by due to the volume of foals a sire may have. First, I look for a mare with either good earnings herself OR a successful dam or granddam. I try not to go further back than three or sometimes four generations. I like to look for mares that have won stakes or come from a line of stakes winning mares. Secondly I worry about progeny earnings. A mare who did well on the track is all well and good, but if her family hasn’t produced besides her then I might consider passing on it. If her dam only ever was successful with her and the granddam also didn’t produce particularly well, it may have been a lucky slide and won’t necessarily repeat itself. I like to find something with a very nice granddam, usually these are findable and not overly expensive for the new breeder.

Then, it's finally time to focus on the broodmare sire. If the potential broodmare has checked off all of the other boxes, it's time to take a look at her sire. A good broodmare sire is also an important part of a breeding pedigree. Some great examples of really successful broodmare sires include but are not limited to: James Dean, Distant Dream, Walk Off Grandslam, Allonsy, etc. If I'm browsing a sale or lease auction, I keep an eye out for these names. Lastly, I worry about her broodmare comment. If she’s checked off the previous two boxes, it's time to see whether or not she actually has any potential as a broodmare. There are six different rankings of broodmare: No potential, some potential, unpredictable, formidable, star, and blue hen. When I first started, I bred a lot of formidables, and avoided anything beneath. It might be tempting to lease or buy something less than a formidable one if she has a really shiny pedigree, but for the starting out breeder it's not worth the gamble.

Ok, so let's say you’ve got a nice broodmare. She has the right dam side, the right damsire, and the right comment. Now what? Some would pick out a stud at the top of his game that's very fashionable, but I like to make more of an art of things and take every factor of the broodmare into account. First I’ll look at the broodmares dam and see what she produced well with, and see if that stud is still available. If he is, then I’ll do a search and plug in the broodmares sire with this stud. If the results are more than a few successful crossings, then he goes on the maybe list. If the stud is not available, I’ll repeat the process with a son of his or perhaps a half brother from the sire or dam side, if they are available. If not, I will continue to check these same factors with the granddam. If none of this is applicable, I may even go straight off of a damsire search. I check what sire did well with the broodmares sire, and if there are consistent results I will go with the sire that is most readily available and successful.

It’s also important that even if a stud works out genetically, he might just not have the stuff for it. That is when we visit the studbook page (if you have a Simperior account). It's important to check his progeny earnings. If the stud is over ten years old and has no real produce, I will usually pass. If he does have good progeny, then he also has made his way onto the maybe list. If he does not, it is back to the drawing board. Next we check the Offspring Gallop Results chart located on the studs stud book page. Here we can see the number of each gallop type he has produced. I try to only use studs whose stakes and freaks outweigh his claimers, and if there are a significant number of ‘different careers’, I tend to avoid the stud altogether (unless he is a steeplechaser).

Now, let's talk about new studs: breeding to a stud that has just entered the stud market is both exciting and risky. I myself have bred to exciting new studs and have had disappointments and extremely pleasant surprises. A way I’ve found to open myself up to these new studs is that if I happen to find them during my initial search for a genetically compatible stud, I’ll check the forum to see what the discussion around the stallion is. The forum is a great place to hear about the well hypoing freshman studs at the end of every season when the top of the crop are retiring. If the new stud is said to be hypoing well and comes from the right pedigree, I will often give it a try. This is also a great idea for the savvy frugal breeder because often if they have a good first crop, the cost of the fee will be raised.

So here we are: You’ve got the mare. You’ve got the stud. Now, you’ve got to breed for a foal. It’s important to make sure you’ve actually got the financial makings for a breeding program. I myself recommend not breeding until you have a solid financial foundation with the promise of more income from solid race stock. If you have this, then you may be ready for breeding. If the mare is a lease with a great pedigree I always recommend breeding for a filly; this assures you will keep those awesome lines in your stable forever! However, after the first 20 foals, you must have a 50/50 balance of fillies to colts. How do we get those colts? This is where you can get slightly sloppier with breeding, at least in the beginning of your breeding career. I personally have an in house stud I’ll breed with nice enough but not particularly special mares, but there are other methods to accomplish the colt count with. Before I had a stud of my own I would simply use studs that were pensioning soon and therefore almost always nicely discounted. Or use a nice enough but also cheap stud with equally cheap mares.

At last, the foal has been bred. It is done. All of the grueling research work is done. You have bred all your cool mares to all the cool studs, and now it is time to rest. Just kidding, that's just the beginning. Now that they are born, it's time to wait for Festivus. And then it starts all over again. That's the fun part!

Author's note: Thank you for reading my article! Here are a couple links to articles that would do well to follow up this one for the beginner breeder and trainer who wants to do right by their first crop:

How to properly raise and tone your first crop: https://www.simhorseracing.com/featurerace/article.php?ArticleID=1785

How to schedule workouts and find equipment:
https://www.simhorseracing.com/featurerace/article.php?ArticleID=17940

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