Relationships between race earnings and horse age, sex, gait, track surface and number of race starts for Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses in North America.
Abstract: There is no consensus on objective outcome measures that can be used to determine if a medical or surgical treatment affects race performance. Objective: To determine the association between 2 commonly used outcome measures (total starts and total earnings) and age, sex, gait and race surface. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using the race performance data for all Thoroughbred horses age 2, 3, 4 and 5 years racing in the United States, and Standardbred horses of the same ages racing in the United States and Canada during the year 2006. Median earnings and starts were determined for each combination of age, sex and track surface (for Thoroughbred) or gait (for Standardbred). The effect these variables had on starts on race earnings ($) was determined using linear regression. Results: Race records for 68,649 Thoroughbreds and 25,830 Standardbreds were obtained. All independent variables (age, breed, sex, gait, track surface and total number of starts) had a significant impact on total earnings (P<0.0001). Conclusions: The data show considerable variation across age groups and track surfaces for Thoroughbreds and across age groups for Standardbreds. They also show that the decision to use earnings or starts as outcome measures could have a marked effect on reported success for a particular treatment. Conclusions: Both earning and start data should be reported in studies evaluating outcome following surgery or other intervention. Considerations of age, breed, sex, track surface and gait should be included in the design of these studies.
Publication Date: 2010-06-09 PubMed ID: 20525054DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00032.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research paper considers the relationship between the earn amount and the number of races for Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses in North America, with factors such as age, gender, gait, and track surface taken into account.
Objective And Methods
- The study aims to establish the association between two common outcome measures—total starts and total earnings—and variables such as age, sex, gait, and race surface. These associations are essential to determine if certain medical or surgical treatments affect a horse’s race performance.
- A cross-sectional methodology is used to analyze information from 2006. The data incorporates Thoroughbred horses (2 to 5 years old) racing in the United States and Standardbred horses of equivalent age racing in the US and Canada.
- The study determines median earnings and starts for each combination of age, sex, and track surface (for the Thoroughbred breed) or gait (for the Standardbred breed). It employs linear regression to understand the effect of these variables on race earnings.
Results
- The study considers the race records of 68,649 Thoroughbreds and 25,830 Standardbreds. The results show that all independent variables (age, breed, sex, gait, track surface, and total number of starts) significantly affect total earnings.
Conclusions
- It is observed that there is significant variation across different age groups and track surface for the Thoroughbred breed and between different age groups for the Standardbred breed.
- One of the significant findings is that the choice of using earnings or starts as the outcome measures may considerably influence the perceived successfulness of a treatment.
- The study recommends that both categories of data – earnings and starts – should be reported in studies evaluating outcomes following surgeries or other interventions. In the design of these research, considerations should take into account factors such as age, breed, sex, track surface, and gait.
Cite This Article
APA
Cheetham J, Riordan AS, Mohammed HO, McIlwraith CW, Fortier LA.
(2010).
Relationships between race earnings and horse age, sex, gait, track surface and number of race starts for Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses in North America.
Equine Vet J, 42(4), 346-350.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00032.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Aging / physiology
- Animals
- Female
- Gait
- Horses
- Male
- Sex Characteristics
- Sports / economics
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Physick-Sheard P, Avison A, Sears W. Factors Associated with Mortality in Ontario Standardbred Racing: 2003-2015. Animals (Basel) 2021 Apr 5;11(4).
- Jacquet-Guibon S, Dupays AG, Coudry V, Crevier-Denoix N, Leroy S, Siñeriz F, Chiappini F, Barritault D, Denoix JM. Randomized controlled trial demonstrates the benefit of RGTA® based matrix therapy to treat tendinopathies in racing horses. PLoS One 2018;13(3):e0191796.
- Hedenström UO, Wattle OS. Significance of ossificated ungular cartilages regarding the performance of cold-blooded trotters. Acta Vet Scand 2014 Oct 25;56(1):74.
- McCoy AM, Ralston SL, McCue ME. Short- and long-term racing performance of Standardbred pacers and trotters after early surgical intervention for tarsal osteochondrosis. Equine Vet J 2015 Jul;47(4):438-44.
- Ryu SH, Sohn Y, Forbes E, Jeon HS, An SJ, Kim BS, Kyung SG, Lee I. A cross-sectional study of colic and rate of return to racing in Thoroughbreds at Seoul Racecourse in Korea between 2010 and 2020. J Vet Sci 2023 Nov;24(6):e81.
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