In the equine industry, a champion's pedigree can be worth a fortune. But at one Central Kentucky farm, the science of producing the next generation of sport horses is changing what's possible.At Spy Coast Farm, breeding a futur e champion doesn't always start with a mare and stallion in the same barn. At the country's largest sport horse breeding facility, that process can begin in a lab.C.O.O. and resident veterinarian Modesty Burleson says artificial insemination allows breeders to use fresh, cooled or frozen semen; advanced reproductive techniques such as embryo transfer and ICSI open up even more breeding possibilities with sport horses.ICSI stands for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection."It's IVF for mares," Burleson told LEX News.She says with ICSI, instead of relying on sperm to fertilize an egg on its own, veterinarians inject a single sperm directly into the egg. The resulting embryo can be transferred into a recipient mare, like a surrogate, or frozen for later use.For sport horse breeders, that can mean more options when working with older mares, valuable bloodlines or genetic material from horses overseas.This can also allow a mare to have more than one foal per year and continue competing while breeders pursue embryos for future foals."Quite a few mare owners and clients now just jump straight to ICSI, because they can do it any time of the year, freeze the embryo, and then they have access to it when they need it," said Burleson.The technology doesn't guarantee a pregnancy, but at Spy Coast, Burleson says it's changing what's possible for sport horse breeding."When you start the breeding season and you see that little black dot on the ultrasound, you're like, 'It's success right there.'" she said. "It's black and white, literally black and white."Spy Coast Farm offers educational tours. Learn more here. ...read more read less