In the realm of pedigree, there is one thing breeders want to know about a prospective cross more than anything else. What is the nick rating? And by that they mean the original and industry-standard Werk Nick Rating®.
Easy access to these ratings for your stallions responds to two important principles that determine which stallions are selected by breeders and which are either not seriously considered or overlooked entirely. How a promotional effort responds to these two principles determines how successful it will be.
Breeders select stallions that attract their attention.
WTC's eNicks site provides a way for breeders to select your stallion as a prospective cross for their mares, and viewing the ancestry of the prospective foal conveys a powerful message. To be sure, this message can be negative in regard to mares with which the stallion has a low Werk Nick Rating®. But, as you know, stallion promotion is in part a numbers game. Stallions that get the most attention from breeders tend to be the most successful.
Breeders select stallions on the basis of what they know.
For mares that have a favorable Werk Nick Rating® with the stallion, the message will be highly compelling. The key to understanding the value of free eNicks for your stallions is that breeders are more likely to select a stallion for which they know the Werk Nick Rating® is high than to select one whose rating they don't know at all, no matter how high it might otherwise be. A given mare is not going to be bred to a given stallion unless the owner of the mare has grounds for believing that the cross is a favorable one. The Werk Nick Rating® can provide those grounds in a more broadly credible and compelling way than any other measure of compatibility.
The MareMatch Advantage
We introduced MareMatch in late July, 2008. It instantly became our most popular feature on eNicks. In fact, during the first 9 months of 2009, 50,592 individuals have been run by breeders using MareMatch.
Breeders simply enter their mare, select a stud fee range and geographic location. MareMatch instantly displays all stallions that provide A and better nick ratings with that mare, but ONLY enrolled stallions. This is a HUGE advantage for enrolled stallions.
Enrollment Fee
In part because of the current economic climate, stallion farms need more promotional tools at more affordable prices than ever before. That's why we've lowed our stallion enrollment and renewal price for the breeding season from $895 per stallion annually (12 months) to a three-tier pricing scheme that's as low as $395 for qualifying stallions. Here's what you get:
1) Your stallion is listed on www.enicks.com, allowing breeders to match their mares to your stallion for free with no limits.
2) We provide you with an eNicks link for your website that allows breeders to match their mares to your stallions ONLY.
3) You receive 5 free eNicks credits (value $100) for each stallion you enroll.
Additional benefits
We've formed several strategic partnerships that add value to your stallion's enrollment.
When breeders select your stallion, we display the Thoroughbred Daily News (TDN) Stallion Progeny PP's link if your stallion participates in their program.
When you consider that booking just one additional mare because of eNicks can return many times the cost of enrollment, this may be the most valuable, cost-effective form of stallion promotion available to farms today.
Sign up to receive more information on enrollment online or, if you have questions, call us at (510) 490-1111.