Cloning may be Horse Racing's Next Horizon

A small group of researchers, entrepreneurs and horse owners is moving ahead with the cloning of horses, ignoring prohibitions against the practice instituted by the horse racing industry.

The retirement of racing's stars - horses who have achieved a lot in a very short time - hurts the sport by removing the best-known competitors just as they're becoming household names. It's as if Brett Favre or Roger Clemens were packed off to the breeding shed after one or two good seasons. But it's simple math: A horse is more profitable as a breeder than a racer.

As soon as the horses thunder past the finish line in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, at least three of thoroughbred horse racing's brightest stars will step off the racetrack for the last time. Any Given Saturday, Hard Spun and Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense all are headed for second careers as stallions, even though they are only 3 years old and none will have raced more than 13 times.

Industry leaders acknowledge that the lack of continuity is an age-old problem in...