Information Centre

A mare must be registered as a broodmare in the Stud Book so that her foals are eligible for racing or breeding.

Owners are responsible for registering their mare as a broodmare after she is covered for the first time (by completing an initial entry form) and maintaining her registration in the Stud Book until she is retired from breeding or is sold or leased out. Owners must lodge a mare return every season even if the mare does not produce a live foal or isn’t covered. The return can be done online by emailing [email protected]  or over the phone.

Mare returns are due by 28 February of each year. The following fees apply:

• $75.00 – annual entry fee per mare
• $120.00– DNA laboratory fee for the foal
• A penalty of $120.00 per season per mare for late lodgement
• Fees are discounted for returns completed online or by phone and paid with a credit card.

A return will not be accepted unless it is completed correctly and all fees paid.

A return is the first part of foal registration. The second part is branding/microchipping and parentage verification. You must complete both stages before the foal is eligible for registration.

The criteria for ownership of breeding stock are set out in the Rules of Racing.

If a mare is purchased or leased for breeding, the SR20 Change of ownership or SR3 Lease for stud purpose forms must be lodged with the Stud Book within 7 days of the transfer. A mare will not appear on your return if you are not the NZTR registered owner.

A late penalty will be charged if your return is not lodged by the due date. If the transfer of ownership has not been completed, you will be unable to lodge the return and will incur the late penalty.

A foal is recorded as being bred and owned by the person, partnership or entity who is the registered owner of the mare on the day the foal is born. The change of ownership or lease form needs to be completed accurately so that the correct breeder/owner of the foal is recorded in the Stud Book.

If a previous owner has outstanding mare returns due, a new change of ownership or lease will not be recorded until the outstanding returns are lodged and paid for. Purchasers are urged to check the status of any mare they are considering buying, either on the website or by contacting the Stud Book.  

A stallion must be registered annually for his foals to be eligible for entry in the Stud Book. The fee for this is $75.00.

The stallion manager is responsible for lodging a Certificate of Service every season. This form lists the mares covered during the season, and the first and last dates of service. The fee for this varies according to the number of mares covered. Once again, this can be done online or over the phone.

Under Stud Book regulations, a foal must be conceived by natural service. Artificial insemination and embryo transplant are prohibited. See Rule 407 of the NZ Rules of Racing.

The covering season begins on 1 September each year. 

Thoroughbreds in New Zealand and Australia are aged according to the date of the mare’s first cover. For example, the foal of a mare covered on or after 1 September 2017 will be deemed to commence its first year of life on 1 August 2018 regardless of its date of birth, provided that date of birth is consistent with such covering. However, the foal of a mare covered before 1 September 2017 will be deemed to have started its second year of life on 1 August 2018 regardless of when it is born (i.e. it will become a yearling on the day it is born).

Every foal must be branded, microchipped, and parentage tested by 31 July of the season in which it was born.

A veterinarian will brand, microchip and take a mane hair sample for DNA testing. The veterinarian will also complete a Brand Identification Certificate at the time of branding and send a copy of this to NZTR.

Only microchips issued by NZTR are to be implanted in thoroughbred foals. A foal will need to be re-chipped and the DNA test repeated if a non-NZTR microchip is used. 

DNA for the parentage test is extracted from the bulbs of mane hair. DNA from both the sire and dam of the foal is needed to complete the test. If the laboratory does not hold DNA from the mare, her owner will be asked to supply a mane hair sample so that the test can be completed. If DNA from the mare cannot be provided, i.e. she has died or been given away, the foal cannot be registered. Blood typing is no longer available as a means to confirm parentage.

Any horses entering New Zealand must be registered under our Rules of Racing and integrated into our Stud Book/Racing databases.

An Import Application must be completed for every imported horse. It is the owner’s responsibility to lodge the Import Application. The fee is $250.00 including GST, if lodged within 30 days of the horse’s arrival, or $330 if lodged after 30 days. The shipping agent will not do this for you. 

Use the appropriate import application form:

• SR36A Import application - named racehorse
• SR36B Import application - broodmare or stallion
• SR36C Import application - un-named horse

The following horses must also complete an Import Application, however, there is no fee charged in these circumstances.

• A NZ-based broodmare returning in the same season she left
• Foals arriving at foot with their dam
• NZ racehorses returning within 3 months of departure
• A visiting racehorse, where the period of stay is less than 3 months.

Owners/trainers must also ensure that a racehorse entering NZ has a clearance issued from the Stewards/Authority where the horse last raced. 

Broodmare owners must ensure that all documentation required by the overseas Stud Book is completed prior to export so that a clearance can be issued to the NZ Stud Book. 

The overseas registration document, i.e. passport or Foal/Thoroughbred Identification Card, must be returned to the Stud Book if the horse is re-exported, or given to the purchaser if it is sold.

The Stud Book can identify your thoroughbred from its brands and, for horses born since 2004, by its microchip. 

Use the SR22 Request for identification of a thoroughbred form to request a search. Please provide as much information as you can – the more information provided, the greater the chance of finding your horse. There is a fee of $50.00 for the search.

For overseas based stallions and mares, the colt/filly foal number shown is an indication of the times the stallion or mare appears in a pedigree on the NZTR database. It is not an indication of actual foals produced.