In conjunction with the Breeders’ Cup Thoroughbred races at Gulfstream Park, the 1999 International Breeders Meeting took place in Bal Harbour, Fla. Breeders representing 30 countries from around the globe gathered to listen to four morning presentations on topics ranging from an analysis of breeders’ incentive programs to the impact of the stallion shuttle on the breeding industry to global dissemination services.

Following the morning session, the group conducted a round table discussion that addressed many topics of interest. On the agenda were equine diseases, the use of growth hormones, foal production analysis, the repository systems at bloodstock sales, and stallion fertility, among others.

One of the main topics of the morning session dealt with the future of using microchip technology to identify horses.

Hamish Anderson, Director of Weatherbys and the person responsible for the General Stud Book, Eclipse Pedigrees, and the British Stud Book, addressed the gathering on the benefits of the microchip as a means of proper identification. The microchip, he said, is quite useful, not necessarily to identify a horse but to distinguish between two or more horses when they look alike