Brisbane Times - Brisbane,Queensland,Australia

ANDREW STEVENSON
March 21, 2009 .
A leading racing official says the refusal to register horses bred by AI is a restraint of trade, writes Andrew Stevenson.

A SENIOR horseracing figure has revealed plans to mount a legal challenge against the effective ban on artificial insemination of thoroughbred horses in Australia, a move with the potential to break the power of the major horse studs that are able to command serving fees of up to $330,000 for their stallions.

Bruce McHugh, formerly both a major league bookmaker and chairman of the Sydney Turf Club, has engaged solicitors to prepare court action against the Australian Stud Book - the effective controlling body of thoroughbred breeding - to force it to accept horses bred by artificial insemination.

Stud books around the thoroughbred racing world have retained a united front against AI, refusing to sanction its use, although the practice is allowed with virtually all other horse breeds, which includes standardbreds, quarterhorses and European trotters and jumpers.

McHugh believes the refusal to register horses bred by AI, or their progeny, is a restraint of trade.

“I’ve been in racing all my life, I’ve looked at this from every possible angle, and the only thing I can see against it is the fact that the major studs see an advantage in not introducing it,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be doing it unless I was confident I could get the result I require, and I will go down that path until someone can explain to me in simple terms why it’s not good for the industry.”

McHugh has also taken his case to Racing NSW, and its new board will consider the matter on Monday night.

But Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’Landys said the board’s power was limited. “It would require an Australia-wide decision and extensive consultation with all facets of the racing industry. But our board will certainly consider the matter, because of the respect for Bruce McHugh,” he said.

“We are very aware that our breeders are very much against it. There’s a lot of support for it but a lot against so we have to balance it to see what’s the best for the industry as a whole.”

Complicating the matter is that while Racing NSW is the statutory regulating body for racing in the state, the Stud Book is jointly owned by the two former principal race clubs, the Australian Jockey Club and Victoria Racing Club.

Keeper of the Stud Book, Michael Ford, said if a legal challenge were made, the Stud Book might be forced to levy breeders to create a fund to defend the provisions.

Ford said the international stud books were resolutely opposed to allowing AI, and warned Australian breeders and owners they would find themselves in dangerous waters if they were to change the status quo unilaterally.

“It would be dangerous for Australia to go alone and definitely foolish because any horse bred that way wouldn’t be accepted, their progeny wouldn’t be accepted and you wouldn’t be able to export them. Some countries might even take affront and say we’re not even going to let you export horses to Australia. Internationally, it would be disastrous,” Ford said.

DNA testing overcomes the previous major barrier to AI, with progeny able to be identified with a very high level of accuracy.

McHugh plans to buy a high-quality young stallion for $3 million to $4m. But, instead of standing him at stud and having him personally cover 100 mares (at a price of between $15,000 and $20,000), McHugh believes many more mares could be covered using AI.

“I’ll be charging a fraction of the cost but I’d be wanting to cover 200 mares,” McHugh said, suggesting the cost could be halved. Also reduced would be the inconvenience of shifting mares around the country, with chilled semen able to be sent to mares within Australia.

Leading breeder John Messara said the proposal was not without its benefits, “but I think it would cause a lot of harm to the industry”.

Messara, joint owner of Australia’s most valuable stallion, Redoute’s Choice, denied the major studs would be threatened by AI, which, he argued, would see allow the best stallions to corner the market.

“I think if AI was to come in we would make a lot more money but I don’t think it would be good for the industry,” he said.

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