Horse Clones Start Heading to the Races

Santa Anita Park, in the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia, is the racetrack where a bay-colored horse named Seabiscuit became a national hero some 80 years ago. Today, about 14,000 people still show up on a typical racing day to watch the thoroughbreds. Punters wagered more than $660 million here last year. Even on a Thursday afternoon, the park, nicknamed the Great Race Place, is bustling.

The steady parade of debutantes in towering hats offers a reminder that horse racing remains a bit outside of time, a world unto itself. Tradition and lineage are of tremendous value. The multibillion-dollar market for racehorse breeding is strictly controlled, especially in the U.S., where racing organizations adhere closely to rules that haven’t changed much since Seabiscuit’s day. The American Quarter Horse Association, the U.S. Trotting Association, and the Jockey Club are among the groups that have banned even artificial insemination in the breeding process. You can guess how they feel about cloning.