The first cloned mammal was Dolly the sheep born in 1996, who developed from the complete genome of an another single adult sheep. At the time, we thought cloning animals might come in handy someday for producing beef or something, but only if the costs came way down. Cloning a beloved pet is available for very rich people, and some entities are trying to bring back extinct species by cloning (with little luck so far). But there is one animal that can earn millions of dollars in its lifetime in sports- horses. Yet it's not thoroughbred racing. Neither artificial insemination nor embryo transfer is allowed in thoroughbred breeding, much less cloning. But no such restrictions exist for polo ponies.
The world's top polo player, Argentina's Adolfo Cambiaso, wanted to preserve the genetic legacy of his best horse Aiken Cura after he suffered a devastating injury and was euthanized. He founded Crestview Genetics, which not only cloned Aiken Cura but also Cambiaso's best mare, the retired but still living Cuartetera. Twenty years later, there are many Cuarteteras and Aiken Curas. Read how that came about at Knowable magazine. -via Metafilter
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