A longitudinal study of racing thoroughbreds: performance during the first years of racing.
Abstract: To develop a profile of the racing careers of Thoroughbred horses in south-eastern Queensland, and to examine factors that affect racing during the first years of racing. Methods: A longitudinal study using the racing records of a defined cohort of Thoroughbred horses that were born on or within 12 months following 1 August 1991. Data collection commenced in 1996 and will continue until all horses cease racing. In this paper two measures of performance were examined: race earnings during the first year of racing and cumulative proportion of horses still racing up to 2 years after their first start. Univariable and multivariable methods were used to describe and identify factors associated with the performance of these horses. Results: By 31 July 1997, 1804 horses were enrolled in the study including 916, 701, 152 and 35 horses that first raced at 2, 3, 4 and 5 years of age, respectively. During their first year of racing, half the horses earned no more than A$450 from race earnings, and 710 (39.4%) horses earned no money at all. In comparison to poorly performing horses, well-performing horses were more likely to be male, to have started as 2-year-olds and to have had more starts during this year. Of the horses that first started as 2 and 3-year-olds, only 71 and 46% continued racing for at least 1 and 2 years after their first start, respectively. Length of racing life was associated with performance during the first year of racing (number of starts and average earnings per race), and with sex, date of birth and age at first start. Conclusions: The study confirmed a high wastage among racing Thoroughbreds. As expected, premature retirement from racing was linked to poor performance. During the first year of racing, the race earnings of an estimated 1567 (86.9%) horses were insufficient to cover training costs. The 2-year-old racing cohort outperformed the older racing cohorts in each of the performance measures under investigation. Interpretation of this result, and the long-term effects of 2-year-old racing, was limited by the problem of confounding.
Publication Date: 1999-03-17 PubMed ID: 10078358DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1999.tb11678.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research examines the initial performance of thoroughbred racehorses in south-eastern Queensland, focusing on their career beginnings and factors that impact their performance. The study reveals that a substantial portion of these horses do not earn significant race earnings, or even any earnings at all, in their first racing year, and many do not continue racing for more than a couple of years.
Methodology
- The researchers conducted a longitudinal study, tracking a cohort of thoroughbred horses born on or within 12 months following August 1st, 1991.
- Data collection commenced in 1996 and was set to continue until all horses in the study stopped racing.
- The performance of the horses was assessed in two ways: their race earnings in their first racing year and the proportion of horses still racing after two years since their first race.
- Single and multiple variable methods were employed to describe and identify factors contributing to the horses’ performance.
Results
- The study gathered data on 1804 horses. The distribution of horses that began racing at certain ages was: 916 horses at 2 years old, 701 at 3 years, 152 at 4 years, and 35 at 5 years.
- In their first year of racing, half of the horses earned no more than A$450. Furthermore, around 40% of horses did not earn any money at all from racing.
- The horses that performed well were more commonly male, were more likely to have started racing at 2 years old, and had more racing starts in their first year.
- Only a small percentage of the horses that began racing as 2 or 3-year-olds continued racing after one or two years since their first race. Their performance during the first racing year and other factors like sex, date of birth and age at first race were found to influence racing lifespan.
Conclusions
- There was a high dropout among the thoroughbred racing horses, with premature retirement often linked to poor performance.
- Around 87% of horses did not earn enough in their first racing year to cover training costs.
- The performance of 2-year-old debutants outperformed older debutants in all performance measures investigated. However, the interpretation of this result was limited due to potential confounding factors.
Cite This Article
APA
More SJ.
(1999).
A longitudinal study of racing thoroughbreds: performance during the first years of racing.
Aust Vet J, 77(2), 105-112.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1999.tb11678.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Veterinary Science and Animal Production, University of Queensland.
MeSH Terms
- Age Factors
- Animals
- Cluster Analysis
- Data Collection
- Female
- Horses / physiology
- Longitudinal Studies
- Male
- Multivariate Analysis
- Physical Conditioning, Animal
- Prospective Studies
- Queensland
- Regression Analysis
- Retrospective Studies
- Sex Factors
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Mactaggart AG, Phillips CJC. Validating a Thoroughbred Racehorse Welfare Index through Horse Behaviour and Trainers' Reports of Welfare Issues in Their Horses. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jan 13;13(2).
- Arango-Sabogal JC, Mouncey R, de Mestre AM, Verheyen K. Date of birth and purchase price as foals or yearlings are associated with Thoroughbred flat race performance in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Vet Rec Open 2022 Dec;9(1):e43.
- Morrice-West AV, Hitchens PL, Walmsley EA, Wong ASM, Whitton RC. Association of Thoroughbred Racehorse Workloads and Rest Practices with Trainer Success. Animals (Basel) 2021 Nov 1;11(11).
- Crawford KL, Finnane A, Greer RM, Barnes TS, Phillips CJC, Woldeyohannes SM, Bishop EL, Perkins NR, Ahern BJ. Survival Analysis of Training Methodologies and Other Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Injury in 2-Year-Old Thoroughbred Racehorses in Queensland, Australia. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:698298.
- Thompson K, McManus P, Stansall D, Wilson BJ, McGreevy PD. Is Whip Use Important to Thoroughbred Racing Integrity? What Stewards' Reports Reveal about Fairness to Punters, Jockeys and Horses. Animals (Basel) 2020 Oct 29;10(11).
- Flash ML, Renwick M, Gilkerson JR, Stevenson MA. Descriptive analysis of Thoroughbred horses born in Victoria, Australia, in 2010; barriers to entering training and outcomes on exiting training and racing. PLoS One 2020;15(10):e0241273.
- Gramm M, Marksteiner R. The effect of age on thoroughbred racing performance. J Equine Sci 2010;21(4):73-8.
- Schrurs C, Dubois G, Van Erck-Westergren E, Gardner DS. Cardiovascular Fitness and Stride Acceleration in Race-Pace Workouts for the Prediction of Performance in Thoroughbreds. Animals (Basel) 2024 Apr 29;14(9).
- Sobotková E, Kopec T, Mikule V, Kuřitková D. Influence of horse demographics, country of training and race distance on the rating of Thoroughbreds. Arch Anim Breed 2023;66(4):299-313.
- Argentina M, Mahadevan L. Fluid-flow-induced flutter of a flag. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005 Feb 8;102(6):1829-34.
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