The trendlines have been all too visible and all too visceral-nationwide declining foal crops and numbers of mares bred.Mainstays of the Thoroughbred breeding industry in the state that has produced the likes of Smarty Jones, Hard Spun and Unique Bella, however, are beginning to see tentative signs for optimism.“Our number of mares bred has remained relatively the same the past four years,” said Brian Sanfratello, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA).Indeed, the number of mares bred to Pennsylvania stallions has narrowly fluctuated between a high of 453 and a low of around 400 the past four years. The foal crop also hasn't seen the same kinds of declines as in other states.“Hopefully soon it'll start moving upward,” he said.If you ask Sanfratello why Pennsylvania's breeding industry has managed to weather the storm better than others, he has several theories. One concerns the racing product.While other states' racing programs can be limited, between Parx, Penn National and Presque Isle Downs, Pennsylvania offer something different.“If you're looking for a state with year-round racing, Pennsylvania is the place to be as we offer 331 race days between our three tracks,” he said.Another is a richly endowed breeder and owner award program. “So, that's super important to breeders to get back their money as fast as possible,” he said.He's not the only one to hold the state's breeding and owner incentives program in high esteem.“Kentucky is a world onto itself that everybody cares about stud fees,” said Bob Hutt, president and CEO of Uptowncharlybrown Stud, a Pennsylvania-based Thoroughbred breeder and management firm with two stallions (Uptowncharlybrown and Eastwood) standing in the state.“In Pennsylvania, it's completely different. Pennsylvania has the best state-bred program as far as I'm concerned in the country,” he added.An infographic on the PHBA's website shows how a registered PA-bred can walk away from a $50,000 purse race at Parx with nearly $59,000 in the pocket. It breaks down this way: $30,000 from the purse, a 40% owner bonus worth $12,000 (the percentage changes for different tracks), and a 40% PA-sired breeder award coming to $16,800.“We're very consistent on the awards that we paid out over the past 13 years-last year we paid out $23 million in awards and bonuses,” said Sanfratello, pointing out how the 13-year annual average comes out at $27.5 million. “Our highest breeding fund recipient last year was the Warriors Reward Syndicate and they received $819,519 in awards.”This program, agrees Hutt, is especially lucrative for the owner-breeders in the state. Through his own wallet, Hutt said Uptowncharlybrown Stud has walked away with an annual average of $768,624 for the past three years.“Broodmares bred to Uptowncharlybrown in the past three years have earned approximately $3 million,” said Hutt. “And whether I own the mare or I don't own the mare, I still get the stallion awards of 10%. He's earned personally for Uptowncharlybrown Stud over $200,000 a year.”Complementing Pennsylvania's owner-breeder awards program is a comprehensive calendar of restricted races for Pennsylvania-breds including an extensive stakes-program, some restricted solely to PA-sired Pennsylvania-breds.“And this is our second year of our yearling show. Anybody that's involved in that yearling show is eligible for bonuses at the end of their two-year-old and three-year-old years,” said Sanfratello.“We have $20,000 in awards that are broken between the top four two-year-olds in earnings and $20,000 that's broken between the top four three-year-olds in earnings. And those earnings can be anywhere,” Sanfratello added. “It doesn't have to be just in Pennsylvania.”The state also offers a Pennsylvania-bred maiden claiming waiver (for races at $25k and above) at Penn National, “as we want to get breeding costs back to the breeder as soon as we can,” he said.All these programs combined amount to a “very significant amount” of money, said Sanfratello. “So, keeping these programs going will help to greatly stabilize the horse population and the number of race days that we have.”More broadly, stakeholders have put the necessary hard work and financial investment into the state industry, Sanfratello said. “We had one of our longtime breeders put a lot of money into a great farm, where he stands a few stallions. I think that helped, too, because people now have a spot where they can make choices,” said Sanfratello, of Rich Miller's Mountain Springs Stables.“Someone who's looking for a stallion can go there and they may say, 'Well, I like him, but maybe he's too big for my mare or he's too small.' But there's another six stallions there to look at. It makes it a little bit easier for them to choose,” said Sanfratello.As Fasig-Tipton's vice president Bayne Welker recently told the TDN, regional breeding markets “are just so important” to the whole industry. “As long as they can stay viable, we certainly want to be there,” he added.“That Midlantic region, those are good horse people. Whether it's pony club or fox hunting or whatever, that horse is a thread that's woven through the fabric of that area. They raise really good horses in that part of the world,” he said.Central to a strong regional market is a strong regional sale. And central to Pennsylvania's industry is the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale.This year's iteration of the sale came with some major structural changes. Fasig-Tipton didn't officially clock breezes. Riders were also limited in how they used their whips, permitted primarily for safety purposes.“I commend them for it. First and foremost, the welfare of the horse is always my number one consideration. If I had a horse that I didn't think was ready for the sale, I wouldn't even gallop it. I just would just withdraw them,” said Hutt, who sold one of his horses (by Essential Quality) for roughly $150,000.The Pennsylvania horsemen “owe a great debt of gratitude to Fasig-Tipton for doing it,” said Hutt, of the company's Midlantic sale.“I know the majority of people that come to that sale are looking for Pennsylvania-breds to run in Pennsylvania for the 40% owner's bonus and as a breeder there's no other place I could or would sell the horse,” said Hutt. “It's a symbiotic relationship with Fasig-Tipton, and they do a fantastic job of promoting our program.”The post Pennsylvania Breeding in Focus: “Best State-bred Program in Country” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.