TheAmerican Stud Book is thestud book for theThoroughbred horse in theUnited States. It was founded by Sanders Bruce, with assistance from his brother B. G. Bruce in 1868.[1] In 1896, theJockey Club bought out Bruce and assumed publication of the book, which it has continued to the present.[2]
TheAmerican Stud Book was first published, as volume one, in 1868, covering the first part of the alphabet from A to K. In 1873, a revised volume one and a second volume were published, with the new volume one covering A through L.[3] Bruce continued publishing the volumes, but a fire in his offices right before volume five was published put him in financial difficulty, and he then entered into a legal fight with The Jockey Club over the right to publish theAmerican Stud Book, which was finally settled in 1896 when The Jockey Club bought theAmerican Stud Book from Bruce for $35,000.[4]
Currently theAmerican Stud Book includes all Thoroughbred horses foaled in the United States,Canada, andPuerto Rico. It also includes any Thoroughbreds imported into those places from other countries, as long as those countries' Thoroughbred stud books are approved by The Jockey Club.[5]