AN interesting document distributed at the racing conference on Monday in Paris was an up-to-date statistical information booklet compiled by the Secretariat to the International Stud Book Committee. The 12-page publication contains some fascinating details about the relative sizes of the breeding population in some 70 countries around the world where racehorses were bred.

The leading nations, as we would recognise them, are obvious but there are some fascinating names lurking among the top 10s, and one that caught my eye was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While just missing out on a top 10 slot in the stallion listing – but ranking higher than Britain – they make the top tier for broodmare numbers and the size of their foal crop.