The History of the Stud Book
The Argentine Stud Book was created on June 30, 1882, by order of the Jockey Club, whose Racing Regulations (Art. 67) required the registration of all purebred horses imported or born in the country that participated in equestrian events or in breeding, verifying their origin, age, filiation and ownership. Such resolution gave rise to the first volume of the Argentine Stud Book, as well as to the edition of the first Regulations.
At present, the Republic of Argentina is in the fourth place as producer of Thoroughbred Race Horses after the United States and Australia. (Statistics published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, based on the number of offspring registered in 2011) This situation has allowed, over several decades, the export of animals for racing and breeding to all the countries of America, in particular, and Europe and Asia, in other cases. The Argentine Stud Book Regulations have served as a basis in many cases for the drafting of other similar South American regulations, which gives a hint of the seriousness and reliability of its records.
The Argentine Stud Book Committee is composed of nine members appointed by the Board of Directors of the Jockey Club. Currently, the Stud Book is divided into several governance sections, among which the Reception Desk Office, Statistics, Administration, and the Veterinary Technical Department. It relies on a staff of 15 employees and 4 veterinary inspectors to carry out the tasks.
The veterinarian staff carries out an annual inspection of all the stud farms in the country, when the products born at the foot of the declared mother are checked. At the time of this inspection, they do not exceed 5 months of age in any case, which allows for the verification of paternity and the certification of genealogy.
In order to carry out this inspection, the country has been divided into zones, with an inspecting veterinarian responsible for each of them. The inspections are carried out in the months of January, February, March, April and May.
For animals located more than 300 km away, if the Stud or Breeder is in charge of less than 10 animals, the inspection will be carried out by means of “PHOTOGRAPHS”; the owner must send the vet inspector a minimum of 6 photos per animal, (right side; left side; front; back and details of the swirls of the neck).
The final registration of an animal will be subject to the completion of its ancestry check by means of DNA analysis carried out by the laboratory designated by the Stud Book Argentino for such purpose.
In the event that the analysis shows that the horse does not genetically match one or both of its declared progenitors, its registration shall be cancelled from the Stud Book records.
If it is possible to determine the correct genealogy of the horse in question, and the rights of third parties are not affected, and the horse does not race in the tracks, taking into account the corresponding antecedents, the Stud Book Commission may correct the genealogy and keep the registration in question.
For the purpose of registering a horse, its progenitors must have a DNA analysis prior to its birth. Otherwise, the Stud Book shall grant a term of 30 calendar days to regularize the situation.
The tests have been carried out since 1989 at the Immunogenetics Laboratory of the Argentine Rural Society, which is approved by the International Stud Book Committee.
In order to increase the security of the identification of thoroughbred horses, as a complement to the suitable methods used up to now and without ceasing to use any of them, the Argentine Stud Book Committee has decided to apply the electronic identification system for all registered horses by means of the use of a radio frequency microchip.
The provisions indicated in this regulation correspond in their entirety with the directives issued by the International Stud Book Committee on transponders (microchips) and the respective readers. The radiofrequency microchips to be applied must comply with the ISO Standard 11784 and ISO Standard 11785, 134.2 khz.
Racetracks all over the country verify the identity and genealogy of the horses entered in their equestrian events by means of the certificates issued by the Argentine Stud Book at the request of their owners, which are periodically delivered to the racetrack for which they have been requested. These are consulted through a Web Service specifically dedicated to the most important racetracks in the country, among which the Palermo, San Luis and Rosario racetracks can be mentioned; at present, actions are being implemented so that all the racetracks in the country may have access to these services.
As the latest update, we can highlight the new environment that Stud Book Argentino has in its Web Page, which is consulted by the whole spectrum of the turf environment with an approximate statistic of 5000 daily visits. We can specially highlight the access to the Breeders and Owners, who, with a user name and password, can book appointments in person, reserve names for their future products, consult their horses and learn about their status in this registry. Currently, a new function is being developed for the offer of services by the stud farms.
Our web page has a wide range of information on statistics of races, studs, professionals, stables, services; births; data on horses; and other relevant data of this beautiful activity; which offer public access and is totally free of charge
Website Location
Cerrito 1446, C1010ABD Cdad. Autónoma de Buenos Aires