Season 4 of Foal Patrol

Fans got to watch the birth of Seahorse d’Oro (above). This two-year-old filly was named by fans in a contest that attracted more than 600 entries. She is in training now and will be working toward her first race in 2021. Photo by National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

In 2017, 1.2 million web viewers around the world watched April the giraffe give birth on a viral live stream from the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, N.Y. That following year, horse lovers had the chance to await the birth of several foals from Thoroughbred breeding farms in various states, thanks to a creative initiative from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y, called the Foal Patrol, and now they are on Season 4.

John Hendrickson, who created the “Foal Patrol” concept with the late Marylou Whitney, once commented, “Once you see a foal born, you will never be the same.”

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Watching a foal be delivered is an experience like no other for horse lovers, and if you’ve not had that experience before, then the Foal Patrol initiative has you covered. Followers can view a one-of-a-kind collection of live streams from participating farms to watch mares during their pregnancies, foalings, and the first few weeks of a foal’s life at FoalPatrol.com.

“One of the greatest aspects of Foal Patrol is that anyone with an internet connection can participate,” says National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Museum Educator Lindsay Doyle. “This program provides a behind-the-scenes look at what daily life is like for an in-foal mare, granting access to an aspect of a mare’s life most people don’t have up-close access to. This access allows dedicated racing fans, as well as general animal lovers, a chance to ask questions, engage with farms, and deepen their understanding of the Thoroughbred industry as a whole.”

Foal Patrol now has fans all over the world, and Season 3 received more than 1.6 million views.

Seahorse d’Oro was foaled during Season 1. Courtesy National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Fans can choose from a range of mares to follow, watch a daily feed of them as they go about their lives on a beautiful Thoroughbred farm, and enjoy the excitement of impending birth. Afterward, the blog gives updates on those foals born from previous seasons as they go through weaning and the beginning stages of training or to a sale (depending on the path the horse takes), and then to their appearance on the track.

In addition, FoalPatrol.com offers a variety of information about racehorses in general and also the stallions and broodmares in the program. There is also a kid’s area in partnership with Godolphin, one of the world’s leading horse racing and breeding operations.

Season 4’s roster of mares will be announced with webcams going live around the end of December.

In addition, keep an eye out for the following Season 1 foals, who kicked off their racing careers in 2020: Navratilova (Medaglia d’Oro x Centre Court, by Smart Strike) won her first race with Julien Leparoux on August 21 at Ellis Park. La Kara Mia (Medaglia d’Oro x La Verdad, by Yes It’s True) captured a second-place finish in her second start at Belmont Park on July 2, 2020.

This article about Foal Patrol Season 4 appeared in the January/February 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

4 years ago

Sarah Evers Conrad, former HI Digital Content Editor

Sarah Evers Conrad is the former Digital Content Editor for Horse Illustrated and Young Rider magazines. During her time at Horse Illustrated, she handled all digital initiatives, cohosted the Horse Illustrated podcast, edited all publications, and oversaw the redesign of the new www.younrider.com site. Her career also includes time at The Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care and the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) Equestrian magazine, before she became USEF’s Director of E-Communications. She also spent time as a content manager/travel writer for a Caribbean travel agency before she opened her own business, All In Stride Marketing. Throughout her career, she has been published in equine publications such as Horse Illustrated, The Horse, Blood-Horse, Equestrian, Arabian Horse Life, USDF Connection, the American Quarter Horse Journal, Paint Horse Journal, Driving Digest, American Farrier’s Journal, Off-Track Thoroughbred, Stable Management, Equine Wellness, and Camp Business Magazine. She has also served as the editor for the Certified Horsemanship Association’s official publication, The Instructor magazine, and for multiple books. Conrad has a BA in Journalism from Western Kentucky University with a double major in Agriculture with an Equine Science emphasis. You can learn more about her at http://www.equestrianjournalist.com.