WAHO INVESTIGATION & INSPECTION REPORT

THE TURKISH ARABIAN STUD BOOK, APRIL 1997

Inspection and Investigating Committee participating in the Arabian Horse Stud Book examination in Turkey, 8 - 15 April 1997.

Dr. Pesi Gazder, United Kingdom	WAHO Founder Member and Stud Book Consultant. Permanent Chairman of the Inspection & Investigating Committee.
Basil Jadaan, Syria	WAHO Executive Committee Member. Member of Syrian Stud Book Committee. Authority on Arab Pedigrees and Strains. Breeder. International judge.
Kees Mol, Netherlands	Registrar of Qatar Arabian Stud Book, formerly of British Arab Horse Society and AVS, the Netherlands. Authority on Pedigrees and Registration Procedures. Breeder. International judge.
Katrina Murray, United Kingdom	WAHO Executive Secretary. Authority on Registration Procedures. Breeder. National judge.

OFFICIAL REPRESENTATION IN TURKEY

This investigation was accomplished with the direct assistance of the following officials of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture; The Jockey Club of Turkey; the Etlik Veterinary Control and Research Institute.

Ömer Faruk Girgin	Chairman of the Stud Book Committee and Member of the Board of the Jockey Club of Turkey (JCT). Breeder and Owner.
Ömer Halim Aydin	Foreign Affairs Consultant, the JCT. Owner.
Selman Tabek	Member of the JCT. Translator. Owner and Breeder.
Dr. Mustafa Çelebi DVM PhD	Veterinary Surgeon. Director of Animal Health Section, General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprise, (TIGEM), Horse Breeding Section. Former Director of Karacabey and Çifteler Studs.
Dr. Erol Demirtel	Chief of Stud Book Registry, Dept. of Horse Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture. Former director of Çifteler, Assistant Director of Karacabey. PhD in Horse Breeding. Veterinarian.
Mr. Ismail Bilir	Member of the High Board of Commissioners of Ministry of Agriculture. Veterinary Surgeon. Former Deputy Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr. Gür Ozbelge	Member of the Board of the JCT.
Mr. Ercan Emre	Member of the Board of the JCT. Owner & breeder.
Mr. Bahadir Godek	President of the Horse Owners and Breeders Association of Turkey. Owner & breeder.
Önur Yetkin	Member of the Board of the JCT. Director of Izmir Race Course.
Hilmi Item	Managing Director, Sultansuyu Stud Farm
Mehmed Ali Kogterer	Stud Director, Sultansuyu Stud Farm
Yaslar Esin	Breeding Manager, Sultansuyu Stud
Mehmed Koç	Anadolu Stud
Faridun Erzurum	Karacabey Stud
Dr. Faruk Gogruz	Director, Blood Typing Laboratory, Etlik

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Any consideration of Arabian horses in Turkey must include a quick look back at history. Ever since its domestication, the horse has played a major part in Turkey’s history. Cappadocia (which means ‘Land of the Beautiful Horses’) is acknowledged as the original home of one of the earliest known civilizations, that of the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings, who introduced the horse to Egypt in the time of the early Pharaohs. Hittites, Mitanni, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Persians and Seljuk Turks all had an influence in the area - mainly mounted on oriental-type horses. The Mitanni were apparently very keen on horse-racing, a passion which has come down the millennia to the present day.

The size and influence of the Ottoman Empire, established after their conquest of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 AD, is well known. It ruled over almost the entire Arabic speaking world and extended from the Gulf to the borders of Poland, from the Caspian Sea to the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It existed for nearly 500 years, until its collapse after the end of the First World War , and exerted an influence on Arabian horse breeding which still survives to this day.

The Sultans and Generals of this gigantic and powerful empire had not only inherited equine traditions and love of horses from their Byzantine predecessors, but they also had access to the very best purebred Arabian breeding stock and used their influence to acquire large numbers for their studs, by tithe, by capture or by purchase. They knew exactly what Arabian horses were, and bred them as such for hundreds of years. They established breeding centres in every area under Turkish rule. Under the rule of Sultan Mehmet II (mid 15th century), the Conqueror of Constantinople, a vast horse market was constructed, where the buying and selling of some 7,000 horses per year took place. Nothing remains of this site, but it was situated directly in front of where the great Blue Mosque stands today.

By the sixteenth century there were reported to be 200,000 horses in the Turkish cavalry. Each district was made responsible for breeding certain numbers of the required breed of horses. Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Nejd in Central Arabia supplied purebred Arabian horses to the stud farms of their Ottoman rulers. Stable boys were brought in from Arabia especially to care for these horses, and also for those belonging to the Sultan. Wealthy individuals maintained as many as 600 horses and 70 staff on their breeding farms. The last Ottoman Emperor, Sultan Abdul Hamid II maintained a particularly fine collection of purebred Arabian horses at the turn of the century, and it should be borne in mind that even that great horse owner and collector, Mohammed Ali of Egypt, answered to the Sultans in Constantinople.

As a direct consequence of this great interest in Arabian horses over many centuries, there resulted a pool of quality horses which were eagerly sought after. Some of the best were sent as gifts to Kings and Princes throughout the world, including Queen Victoria. Military missions, traders (such as the Levant Company), agents and private individuals all came to buy these horses, which were mainly exported from Istanbul (Constantinople), Izmir (Smyrna), Iskanderun (Alexandretta), Mosul and Haleb (Aleppo). A quick glance through the stud books of other nations reveals many famous horses tracing back to these Ottoman Empire horses. See Appendix 1.

MODERN HISTORY OF ARABIAN HORSE BREEDING IN TURKEY

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 under Marshal Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Under his instructions and the directorship of Ali Riza Bey, the registration and organized breeding of horses was re-started in 1925, regulated by Government Laws of 1926 (extended and amended 1952). Several large studs were established, many at historic sites of former stud farms, including Karacabey near Bursa, Çifteler near Eskiúehir, Sultansuyu near Malatya, Karakoy near Samsun and Mercimek near Adana. Many stallion stations were also created or reorganized for the improvement of local horses and the production of cavalry horses. Purebred Arabian horses were considered the most important breed in the new Republic, and five state studs (now reduced to three) were established.

The Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey lies to the north of Syria and Iraq and includes a number of areas such as Urfa and Mardin which are traditional Arabian horse breeding areas, neighbouring the lands of the Shammar and Tai tribes. The cities of Urfa, Siverek, Suruç and Mardin are traditional sources of Turkish Arabian horses. Stallion stations standing state stud stallions were established in this area. In the 1950s a number of privately owned purebred Arabian horses from this region, including many tracing back to original imports or to state-stud lines, were incorporated into the stud books in order that these lines were not lost.

The three main state studs for purebred Arabian horses still in existence today are:-

Karacabey National Stud established in 1924 near Bursa (the ancient Ottoman capital). Originally comprised some 110,000 acres. Now 8,700 acres with 25% given over to the horses and the production of their food. Foundation stock of purebred Arabians were acquired from 1925 including Kurus and Sa’ad, both buried there. Today there are some 300 Arabian horses at Karacabey, excluding the 1997 foals.

Anadolu National Stud (formerly known as Çifteler) near Eskiúehir. In existence for several hundred years at other sites. Relocated to Eskiúehir and reorganized 1934. It is noteworthy that the stud buildings are exactly the same as those in Babolna and Poland - they were built with advice from Hungary. Originally 44,000 acres given over to horses, now reduced to 600. Today there are some 270 Arabian horses at Anadolu, not counting 1997 foals.

Sultansuyu State Stud, near Malatya. The oldest of the state studs, established by Sultan Ahmet, reorganized in 1928. Originally 100,000 acres with 30,000 set aside for the horses. Intended as the main purebred Arabian horse stud. Today there are around 250 horses at Sultansuyu and the acreage for the horses is much reduced.

Seven main Stallion Stations and over fifty sub-stations were also set up to provide state owned stallions to cover privately owned mares. Private breeders’ horses were also registered according to the strict government laws, which included fierce penalties for misrepresentation or falsehoods such as 6 months in jail. A number of those private breeders’ lines still exist today.

During the early years of reorganization of purebred Arabian breeding in Turkey, horses were first incorporated into the new state studs from within the boundaries of the new Republic of Turkey. Seven horses (which were originally imported) came from the Palace Stables of the last Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, and twelve horses were retained from the old state studs such as Sultansuyu. Further horses with extant lines were purchased mainly in the Urfa region in SE Turkey, which forms part of the grazing lands of a number of horse-breeding Bedouin tribes, such as the Shammar and the Tai. The oldest of these original horses which has an extant direct line in the state studs today is Mahsuse, an imported bay mare from the Palace Stables recorded as born in 1906 and imported in 1910.

In the late 20s and early 30s a decision was taken to increase the numbers of purebred Arabian horses with new imports from the traditional horse-breeding areas so well known to the Turks from centuries of direct contact. The men responsible for this were the two foremost Turkish authorities on purebred Arabian horses, assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture to search every corner of the Middle East for the best Arabian horses they could buy. These two experts were Prof. Dr. Selahattin Batu, Director of the Veterinary Faculty of the Zoological Institute at Ankara, and Dr. Nurettin Aral, General Director of the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. They travelled widely to the horse-breeding areas of what is now northern Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, in particular buying horses from the Anezeh and Shammar tribes. Between 1925 and 1936 they were responsible for the import of some 180 purebred Arabian horses to re-stock the stud farms. See Appendix 2 for details of one of their buying trips.

A stallion was also purchased by Mr. Aral from Babolna in Hungary in 1935, and in 1936 a six-year old stallion of the Hamdani Simri strain was presented by King Abdullah of Jordan, although neither have left registered descendants today. In 1946 the King of Saudi Arabia presented the Turkish President with a two year old stallion of the Kuhailan Zaid strain which does have registered descendants within pedigrees.

All the foundation horses as shown in Appendix A have either a ‘hojja’, which is an Arabic hand-written, sworn statement of authentication, sometimes containing a pedigree certified by thumb prints, seals and stamps, or in the case of the horses from within Turkey, sworn statements of origin and strain from the owner duly certified and authenticated by the village headman and provincial governor responsible for horse registrations. From their strains it is evident that all come from the most favoured ‘desert-bred’ origins.

Amongst the horses purchased by Aral and Batu are many who became very important in the new state studs of Turkey. The grey stallion Kuruú (1921, by a Saklavi Sieyfi out of a Küheiletül Kuruú) was purchased for 2,300 French francs in 1933 in the village of Halbe, the famous horse breeding area in the mountains of Lebanon, not far from Damascus. (See Appendix B). The Turkish delegation were fortunate to secure this highly esteemed horse, as Dr. Ahmed Mabrouk, on an extensive buying mission for the Royal Agricultural Society of Egypt, later reported: “At Beirut I found a Krush, a nice grey horse who won 17 races. This horse out of El Nowagia by Krush belongs to Saad el Din Shatila Pasha. The sire of the Krush horse which I bought was sold a few years ago to the Turkish government ...it is worth mentioning that in the only 3 stables I visited in Beirut, I saw about 30 offspring of the famous stallion Krush ....”.

Kuruú was used in Turkey for a period of ten years, where he became known as Baba Kuruú (Baba means Father) and he is buried at Karacabey with ‘Baba Sa’ad, another famous foundation stallion. Sa’ad (Veliaht) was a bay stallion (by a Kuheylan Jietni out of a Kuheylet Sa’de). This horse, also purchased in 1933, at one time belonged to one of Baghdad’s wealthiest men who turned down an offer of £10,000 Turkish lire for him. This horse apparently won many races in Iraq and India, but after injury ended his career he was sold as a carriage horse, fortunately to be found by Nurettin Aral and Ihsan Akhun, General Director of the Veterinary Ministry, who purchased him for 850 francs.

Today, there are seven extant direct male lines left in Turkey - Kuruú (1921); Berk (1924); Seklavi I (Gülap) (1924); Hilalüzzaman (1926); Übeyyan (Hedban) (1927); Sa’ad (1928); and Alkuruú (1933). Seventy two foundation mares have left direct tail female descendants, 37 of these in the state studs. Of the remaining foundation horses, 55 have left no direct tail male or tail female descendants, but can be found within the pedigrees of registered horses. All the others (90) for which records still exist have left no registered descendants in the modern Turkish stud book, but have been included in the list of foundation horses for historical interest. This leaves a total of 134 foundation horses to be designated OA which have descendants registered in the modern stud book, see Appendix A.

DIARY OF EVENTS OF THE WAHO INSPECTION & INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE:-

Wednesday 9th April 1997.

Istanbul. Full day meeting at the Jockey Club with Chairman of Stud Book Committee and colleagues. Examined photocopies of original horses’ documentation. Discussed the question of numbers of horses in the stud book. Discussed the naming of horses.

Thursday 10th April .

Flew to Izmir. Day at the races. Overnight Izmir.

Friday 11th April.

Flew to Ankara. Full day meeting at Ministry of Agriculture/TIGEM Registry Office, meeting all relevant officials including Cemal Uysal, General Director of TIGEM. Lengthy meeting with Dr. Erol Demirtel, Registrar, and all the Registry staff. Examined originals of old documents and a full set of old volumes of stud books, complete with dossiers and photographs of each horse. Examined paperwork, procedures and rules relating to registration. Visit to blood typing laboratory (ISAG approved) with demonstration of equipment. Overnight Ankara.

Saturday 12th April.

Drove to Anadolu. Examined original records of imported horses. Shown stallions, mares and youngstock. Met Stud Director and staff. Continued to Bursa for overnight stop.

Sunday 13th April.

Drove to Karacabey. Examined original records of imported horses. Shown stallions, mares and youngstock. Met Stud Director and staff. Drove back to Istanbul. Flew that evening to Malatya.

Monday 14th April.

Visit to Sultansuyu. Examined original records of imported horses. Shown stallions, mares and youngstock. Met Stud Director and staff. Flew back to Istanbul.

Tuesday 15th April.

Last meeting with Chairman of Stud Book Committee at the Jockey Club regarding final version of their rules and regulations for registration and entry.

FINDINGS OF THE INSPECTION & INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE

GENERAL COMMENTS

Following a visit to Turkey by Erika Schiele and a group from Germany in 1976, Turkey was accepted as a WAHO Applying Member in that same year, and they submitted a first draft stud book shortly afterwards covering the period to 1972. Turkey has continued to pay its annual Membership dues since that date. For a variety of reasons, the WAHO Inspection and Investigation Committee did not visit Turkey in the intervening years, although correspondence was continued between the Turkish authorities and WAHO throughout the 1980s and Turkish delegates continued to attend WAHO Conferences and give details of their Arabian horse-breeding, numbers and activities. In 1996 a second draft stud book containing some 3,000 living horses was received from Turkey complete with photocopies of the documentation for the original imports, and seven Turkish representatives met twice with the WAHO Executive Committee at the 1996 Conference in Abu Dhabi. It was agreed that an investigation visit was essential and this was duly arranged.

The Investigation and Inspection Committee were well aware that this was to be a unique investigation. The fact that the Turkish authorities have been registering their horses with complete, detailed and accurate documentation since 1925 meant that this inspection could not therefore be compared to that of any other country in the Middle East which have ‘Original Arabs’. In other Middle Eastern countries there may have been a choice in accepting the very well documented and the not so thoroughly recorded horses. In the case of Turkey, due to the excellent record keeping and documentation, such a dilemma did not exist. To accept one original and documented horse could only result in the obligation to approve all.

THE SECOND DRAFT TURKISH ARABIAN STUD BOOK, VOLUME 1

This was a well laid out book containing the following sections:-

· Purebred Arabian horse breeding in Turkey - A short history on the subject and the listing of all male and female original horses, together with their colour, strain, vendor, area of origin and year of purchase, to which all entered horses in the stud book trace back.

· Organization and entry in the stud book of all purebred Arabian horses in Turkey. Rules and regulations for registration.

· Laws, Rules and Guidelines for stud book entries of purebred Arabian horses. Articles of law (1926 and 1952) as issued by the Ministry of Agriculture for The Republic of Turkey.

· Broodmares (5 generation pedigrees) with their produce to 1995. This is the largest section of the book.

· Living stallions (5 generation pedigrees).

· List of produce arranged under their sires.

· Broodmares arranged under their sires.

· Indices

The following suggestions were made by the Inspection & Investigation Committee:-

· The registration officials should add a companion volume of family tables to the stud book so that there would be an uninterrupted link from the original stock to the horses bred today. This would make complete entry of horses onto the WAHDatabase possible, and allow researchers full pedigree histories.

· The list of Original Arabians should be extended to include the strain or name of the sire as well as the dam where known.

· All horses with registered descendants be added to the list of Original Arabians.

· The rules of registration and entry should be condensed from the existing Government laws to comply with WAHO requirements.

· An index arranged numerically to be added.

· A list of horses which have died or been retired from stud to be added.

· A list of exported horses to be added.

· The acknowledgment that the stud book is kept in accordance with WAHO rules and regulations must be added.

· Copyright and disclaimer for errors and omissions to be added.

NAMING OF HORSES

The naming of young horses in Turkey is still being done in the traditional manner, using a numbering system. At the state studs, at registration colt foals are given the name of the sire and a number, fillies are given the name of the dam and a number, both with the last two digits of the year of birth added. These numbers are freeze-branded onto the left saddle area of each animal, as a means of permanent identification. Individual unique names are then given by the new owner after the sale of state stud horses, generally at 2 years old, and well after their original registration, blood typing and parent verification. This name is then registered with the stud book authorities and the Jockey Club and stays with the horse for life.

Whilst it has to be said that the traditional numbering system was easy to follow, and of considerable help to the Inspection & Investigation Committee in checking pedigrees back to the original horses, this is however an alien system to the rest of the world and unacceptable under WAHO rules. The Inspection & Investigation Committee therefore requested that in future all purebred Arabian horses be permanently and uniquely named at the time of initial registration. This was agreed by the Turkish stud book committee but will not be retrospective. In addition each horse will still branded with its individual number and year of birth. The Inspection & Investigation Committee found the numbering system with which each horse is branded to be an extremely useful and accurate aid to identification.

RECORD KEEPING & REGISTRATION PROCEDURES

All members of the Inspection & Investigation Committee found the standard of record keeping to be nothing less than outstanding. The meticulously kept registration details, dossiers, illustrations (both photographic and pictorial) and details for all horses, including the original imported stock, were very inspiring. The wonderful visual records from the early days enabled the committee members to draw comparisons between the horses then and now. The Ministry of Agriculture for Turkey must have one of the most complete collections of photographs of their imported ‘original arabs’ in the world and should therefore be congratulated on the care and attention they have paid to their record-keeping.

Each horse has two identical dossiers, one kept at the Registry office in Ankara in annual stud books and one kept at the stud where the horse was originally placed or bred. Owners are issued with a registration document for their horses. Horses bred by private studs have always been subject to the same rules of registration, which are well publicised. The dossiers contain photographs, markings, dimensions, pedigree and, where relevant, breeding history. It was most interesting to see from these dossiers that Artificial Insemination was regularly used (based on a Russian system) as early as 1937.

Examples of all stud book volumes were examined, also all documentation such as mare return forms, covering certificates, markings and identification forms, and registration documents known as ‘Pedigris’. The Committee cross-questioned the Registrar and his staff on their procedures. These proved to be of the highest calibre, even down to having a second vet corroborate a foal’s markings, originally done by a different vet some weeks earlier, when taking the blood for bloodtyping. The records in Ankara are computerized, with paper originals. The records at the studs are on paper. Horses are re-photographed and their identity checked when ‘entered’ for breeding as adults. The Jockey Club in Istanbul also has computerized records.

The Committee was fully satisfied with the professionalism of the Turkish Registrar and his staff of 8, and have no doubt that these high standards, kept for 70 years, will be carried on into the future.

A blood typing laboratory was set up near Ankara using German technology in 1983 and from 1986 onwards all Arabian horses in Turkey have been blood typed and parentage verified before registration. The blood typing laboratory at Etlik, which is a member of the International Society for Animal Genetics, was visited. Random samples of blood types are also sent abroad, in particular to Britain, for independent checking and corroboration. A sample of a blood type and parent verification report was sent by the Inspection & Investigation Committee to a world authority on the subject, and was pronounced more than satisfactory.

The Inspection & Investigation Committee recommended to the Registrar that all their irreplaceable old records be placed on microfiche or scanned onto computer disk, the photographs be copied (not just photocopied) and the old stud book volumes be placed in fireproof safes as a matter of urgency.

NUMBERS OF HORSES IN THE DRAFT STUD BOOK

At the Executive Committee meeting in Abu Dhabi, a draft stud book had been presented and discussed which contained some 3,000 horses. The Inspection & Investigation Committee were presented with a revised draft of the stud book in Turkey. In order to accommodate the WAHO Executive Committee’s 1996 request to produce a smaller stud book containing fewer horses, 1200 individuals had been excluded, some being full siblings or closely related to animals in the state studs, many others owned by private breeders. It was the expectation of our hosts that the implication of this could have serious repercussions, causing a big rift between the state studs and the private breeders, with ultimately a feeling of betrayal and despondency, resulting in loss of interest in the breed and the potential destruction of the Arabian horse in Turkey. The additional problem of those related but unregistered horses ‘coming back to haunt us’ could not be overlooked.

The Turkish authorities confirmed that they had advertised widely for all privately owned purebred Arabians to be notified to them, and estimated that from well over 6,000 horses, approximately 2,800 had the correct documentation for inclusion in the final draft stud book.

The Inspection & Investigation Committee, having spent a full day in discussion with the Turkish Stud Book Committee Chairman, and having inspected photocopies of original ‘hojjas’, thought it logical to suggest to Turkey that they should go back and re-instate all those horses that qualify as registered purebred Arabian horses. The consideration behind this decision was the WAHO principle of inclusion rather than exclusion and the support WAHO has been seen to give to individual breeders in the world through their respective Registries. To ignore the future of the Arabian horse in Turkey by not accepting all qualified registered horses would have left them with the prospect of a potential civil war, both amongst its breeders, and between its breeders versus the state.

The Inspection & Investigation Committee all felt very strongly that insisting on a reduced number of horses on strict numerical grounds would have been a very wrong decision, denying Turkey access to the family of WAHO and indeed causing them endless internal complication and strife of the sort that has often resulted in a suspension. The Committee therefore felt that the original foundation horses, to which all present registered horses trace in their pedigrees, were those to be considered for WAHO acceptance. It therefore follows that by accepting those original foundation horses as Original Arabs (see Appendix A), all the registered purebred Arabian horses of Turkey that trace back in all lines to these horses must also be accepted. The Committee also had no doubt that if suitable arrangements had been made at any time from 1976 to 1997 for an Inspection & Investigation Committee to visit Turkey and make the necessary scrutiny of records, that Committee would have come to the same decision.

PUREBRED ARABIAN RACING IN TURKEY

For centuries racing has been popular in Turkey, along with the ancient polo-like sport of ‘Jirit’. Arabian horses are also used for pleasure riding, at riding clubs, for light farm work, and for improving other breeds in the country. The only ‘horse shows’ feature show jumping or cross country, there are no in-hand or ridden show classes in Turkey. It should be borne in mind that keeping Arabian horses exclusively for showing and breeding for beauty alone as has been the trend in Western countries is totally alien to the culture and customs of the Middle East and indeed to the original Bedouin breeders of the Arabian horse.

Racing, both for Thoroughbreds and Arabians, is incredibly popular in Turkey, rivalling football with its following. It is professionally run by the Jockey Club of Turkey from its offices at the Velifiendi Hippodromu in Istanbul, who work closely with TIGEM and the Registry in Ankara. The state runs the betting system and reinvests a large amount of money in the racing industry - in 1997 the turnover of the Jockey Club of Turkey is expected to be in the region of 400 million US dollars, with 30 million US dollars allocated to prize money for Arabian races, and a similar amount for the Thoroughbreds.

There is racing all year round, five days a week, with 250 race days a year amounting to some 1500 races, 55% of which are for purebred Arabians. Arabians start racing at 3, and can continue as long as they are sound and happy. Geldings are not allowed to race. Most big cities have their own racetrack, some organizing winter racing and others taking over in the summer months. There are both dirt/sand and grass tracks and Arabians race from 4 furlongs (3 year olds only) to 15 furlongs, the majority over 7 furlongs.. Race results have been published since 1932. A normal race day offers seven races, generally four for Arabians and three for Thoroughbreds. Prize money is high, with 10,000 US dollars being average for a standard race, and up to 200,000 US dollars for the major races and classics. Prize money in 1997 for Arabian racing is 30 million US dollars, with an additional 20% of the winning prize money going to the breeder. The top Arabian racehorse in Turkey can expect to win approximately 2 million US dollars in prizemoney in the course of a successful career. Large, cheerful and vocal crowds attend the race meetings, and all racing is televised on a dedicated channel.

For many years Turkey has been a member of the Paris Conference (Thoroughbreds) and the racing the WAHO Committee saw live at Izmir and televised from Adana was of a good standard. The Arabian races are extremely popular, there are more Arabians racing than Thoroughbreds, races are graded and horses handicapped with weights ranging from 46 to 64 kg with all racing run under Jockey Club rules. Turkey is seeking to invest considerable sums over the next few years to upgrade their racing infrastructure.

The tradition in Turkey has been that all the state studs organize several annual auctions at which surplus young stock is offered for sale to private breeders and owners. It should be noted that the majority of state stud-owned fillies and some of the colts are neither sold nor raced. At a recent (1996) select sale, 42 lots were offered and more than 200 people registered as serious bidders. The demand still outstrips supply in a burgeoning economy, leading to very high prices - the top two colts at that particular sale made $140,000 and $115,000 respectively and the lowest price was $20,000.

The current leading sire is Hilalüzzaman 25, born 1975, a beautiful and typey grey horse, himself unraced, who was still covering at Anadolu at the age of 22. His progeny have won in excess of 10 million US dollars, more than double that of his nearest rival Albatur (born 1978, from the Sa’ad sire line).

The Turkish Government always tries to buy back stallions that have had a particularly successful career at the track, although their price tag is often into the millions (in US dollars). At the time of writing this report, private breeders can use Government owned stallions at the various stallion stations around the country, but not the stallions at the three State Studs. The Jockey Club has recently announced that they are to set up a new National Stud offering top stallions to private breeders. More colts than fillies are raced, and many of the fillies in race training are privately owned/bred. There are now some 100 private breeders in Turkey, owning from two to thirty horses, and whilst they do use state owned stallions, the stud fees are very high and so in the future they are likely to start using their own stallions.

ARABIAN RACE RECORDS

In terms of racing records, if a comparison has to be made, Turkey can best be compared to France, where horses have been bred specifically for racing and there is strong government involvement with many similarities to Turkey. However, comparisons of race times is dangerous. Without knowing the weights, track conditions, race tactics and field sizes, they are little more than generalizations. For example, on the day Cigar won the Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba, the ‘Duty Free’ race over exactly the same distance earlier on the card was won in a faster time - but that winner would never have beaten Cigar. Please note that such little notice is taken of race records that it has proved almost impossible to establish those of France and Great Britain.

Distance	TURKEY	RUSSIA	USA	QATAR
1000 m	1.04	1.07,6	1.00,8	-
1200 m	1.17,5	1.19	1.16,4	1.18,94
1400 m	1.30,6	1.33,7	1.32	1.31,12
1600 m	1.43,8	1.45,2	1.47,4	1.44,28
1800 m	-	1.58,6	1.58,1	2.01,05
2000 m	2.13,5	2.13	2.14,1	-
2400 m	2.41	2.41	2.52,6	2.44,04

(NB: All the race winners in Qatar are French bred)

CONCLUSIONS OF INSPECTION & INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE

Turkey has a unique group of horses, one that has seemingly been caught in a time warp. They trace in all lines back to Original Arabian horses of the very best desert-bred strains and with extraordinarily complete documentation which should be the envy of any Registry. Bred to perform, they are untouched by - some would say protected from - modern standards of ‘show ring beauty’. These horses present a unique opportunity for students of the Arabian breed who can also study their original records, together with the superb photographic material.

The Inspection & Investigation Committee felt that these original records were of such value and importance that consideration should be given by the Turkish authorities to preserve them for posterity in a museum or accessible archive.

Since the re-organization of purebred Arabian horse breeding in Turkey in 1925, Arabian horses have primarily been bred to race. Turkey produces performance horses. The modern ‘beauty’ aspect or ‘show quality’ in Arabian horses is an alien phenomenon in Turkey. When asked, they did not envisage a sudden interest in horse shows in Turkey, as they cannot really see the purpose served by ‘beauty contests’ for horses. Purebred Arabian horses in Turkey have until now been selected for conformation, athletic ability, soundness and speed.

However, on visiting the state studs it soon became clear to the Inspection & Investigation Committee that there are a large number of ‘typey’ Arabian horses in Turkey, many of which would not be disgraced in Western show rings. It was particularly interesting that individual horses from the state studs’ 7 remaining sire lines and 37 remaining female lines could, with some experience, be readily distinguished from one another. The other extant dam lines are to be found in the horses of the private breeders, of which there are now approximately 100.

It should also be emphasized that not all Arabian horses in Turkey are raced - the state studs keep 90% of their fillies as future broodmares, and some of the stallions have also been retained by the studs without being raced and no horse is ever selected purely on racing ability. The state studs do not race their own horses.

In late May 1997 the WAHO office received a third draft of the Turkish Arabian stud book Volume 1 covering the period to the end of December 1995, containing 120 stallions, 732 mares, and 2,060 of their foals, totalling 2,912 animals of which 2,668 are alive. This revised stud book contains all the requirements put to the Turkish Stud Book Committee during the WAHO Inspection & Investigation Committee visit to Turkey in early April 1997.

Whilst 2,912 “new” horses (of which 2,668 were alive in 1995) may appear at first sight a big pill to swallow, on considered reflection this is no more than the numbers of foals bred each year by Britain and Germany together, and barely more than a quarter of the number of foals bred each year in America. To reiterate, the Turkish record keeping is second to none, and they are well ahead of the rest of the world with their bloodtyping and parentage verification records since 1983.

One understandable feeling in the West is a fear that Turkish Arabians will come and flood our markets. There are those who would hate to see a new competitor in an already competitive market. The truth is that due to the success of its well funded racing industry, horses in Turkey are very expensive and demand currently outstrips supply.

The other side of the coin is, will the rest of the world flock to Turkey to try and sell them some horses? The Turkish market is in fact well protected by Government law and large import taxes. However, with their limited number of sire and dam lines, the likelihood is that the Turkish authorities will be sending out the 1997 equivalents of Dr. Batu and Mr. Aral to search for new blood, in particular stallions.

The Inspection & Investigation Committee feel strongly that the world of WAHO will be a bigger and better place with the acceptance of the Turkish Arabian Stud Book. It will not cause a threat nor change anything overnight, just as the approval of many countries before Turkey enriched rather than damaged the purebred Arabian horse worldwide. It should also be noted here that at the 1996 WAHO Conference in Abu Dhabi, a vote was taken, and passed unanimously, by the floor of the General Assembly to accept Turkey as a full new Registering Authority Member of WAHO, pending finalization, printing and circulation of their stud book.