Australian Stud Book

rdf:langString Australian Stud Book

rdf:langString The Australian Stud Book (ASB), is the body responsible for ensuring the integrity of Thoroughbred breeding in Australia. Australia is the second-largest Thoroughbred breeding country in the world behind the US. The principal functions of the ASB include identification procedures along with DNA testing of mares and foals and the recording of a mare’s progeny and stallion statistics. In 2003 the ASB introduced microchips for foals, which is the most secure means of horse identification when and combined with freeze branding, provides racing officials with the most dependable identification system in the world. The ASB regularly produces printed Stud Books. These books are now over 3,000 pages, with volume 42 of the ASB containing the breeding records of 43,000 mares and 70,000 of their named offspring. The ASB also controls the comprehensive online database which contains the records of over 860,000 horses. This database includes every Australian foal born since 1972 and includes 28,000 winners of major races in Australia and around the world. Basic horse information is free, but there is subscription access to the Stud Book website where extensive data is available for a modest fee.