Horse Thoroughbred How to Read Pedigree Numbers

Of all the angles a handicapper must study, pedigree assay is mayhap one of the about difficult, merely don't be intimidated. A little basic knowledge can exist very effective, particularly when betting on races for ii-year-olds, get-go-time starters or horses making a surface change.

A practiced racehorse is equally much a product of its convenance as it is of its environment, upbringing and grooming regimen (non to mention just pure luck). The unique concrete features it inherits from its sire (begetter) and dam (mother) predispose it to run certain distances, over specific surfaces and, most importantly, fast or tedious. Preparation can certainly enhance (or hinder) such predispositions, but it ever comes back to convenance.

So, how do y'all begin studying pedigrees? Starting time, allow'due south start with the basic terminology, using 2007 Kentucky Oaks and Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches as an example.

Born in 2004, Rags to Riches is the progeny (offspring) of Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic winner A.P. Indy and Grade 1 Acorn Stakes runner-up Meliorate Than Honour. In breeder-speak, a foal is ever "past" a stallion and "out" of a mare, thus Rags to Riches is past A.P. Indy out of Improve Than Accolade. Her dam's sire (specifically called damsire) is 1981 Canadian Horse of the Twelvemonth Deputy Minister. The equivalent to the human being term "grandmother" is merely carried downwardly through the damline, non through her sire, then Chroma With Pride (by Blushing Groom out of the Traffic Judge mare All-time in Show) would exist considered Rags to Riches' second dam; Best in Bear witness would exist her 3rd dam, Stolen Hour would be her fourth dam and and so on.

Amend Than Accolade is a black-type producer, meaning that she has given birth to several stakes winners, including Belmont Stakes winner Jazil, Peter Pan Stakes winner Casino Bulldoze and Breeders' Cup Marathon winner Man of Iron. Because they share a dam but are by different sires, Jazil and Human of Fe are considered half-brothers to Rags to Riches. Considering Casino Drive'due south sire Mineshaft is a son of A.P. Indy, he is considered a 3-quarter brother to Rags to Riches. Horses that share the same father only unlike dams are not technically considered siblings, however.

Looking at the pedigree chart above, yous'll discover that the stallions Assuming Ruler and Nasrullah appear twice each in Rags to Riches' bloodline. This is called inbreeding, and so y'all volition hear that Rags to Riches is inbred 5 x 4 to Bold Ruler and 5 x 5 to Nasrullah–the 4's and v's refer to the number of generations dorsum, and should always exist read from tiptop to bottom as the pedigree is laid out.

Pedigree Query is the most accessible online source for studying a horse's pedigree, only it is nowhere near consummate since it relies on its users to add and update data on each horse. Still, you would be hard pressed to find a more than useful source, every bit you can besides view information under "Reports" well-nigh a mare's progeny and their individual race records. In some instances, when a equus caballus has been sold at sale, you can notice more comprehensive pedigree records in catalogs on auction websites such equally Keeneland, Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, and Fasig-Tipton. Similar pedigree and racing information can be constitute for horses racing in Europe at Racing Mail and in Australia and New Zealand at Racing and Sports.

And then, at present that you know the terminology and where to do research, what does it all mean? I thought information technology would be a expert idea to go directly to an adept to find out. Sid Fernando is the president of eMatings.com and Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., a former bloodstock editor and columnist at the Daily Racing Form who at present writes a must-read blog for those interested in international racing and breeding at Sid Fernando + Observations, likewise as the pedigree blog Who'south Hot, Who'due south Not.

Q: Information technology may sound simplistic, but like homo beings, do sires and dams pass downwardly specific genes to their offspring that affect item areas of physical evolution such equally colour, height, bone structure, and muscularity?

A: Certain. The ii principal colors are bay/brown and chestnut, and chestnut is a recessive cistron, which ways that you need a recessive anecdote gene from each parent to become a chestnut color. At that place are stallions, for example, that are dominant baysâ€"they do not carry a chestnut geneâ€"and their offspring are always bays. Seattle Slew and Danzig were examples of dominant bays. Grays, however, are possible at any time when these genes combine.

Size, bone, and muscle mass are all inheritable qualities, every bit they are in humans.

Q: In general, is there a correlation between the size of horses and how far or fast they can or cannot run? For instance, exercise taller horses run better than shorter horses over longer distances while shorter horses perform better in sprints? What almost big-boned horses over those with more than frail frames?

A: No real correlation between size and speed and distance. However, lighter-made horses do appear to race amend on turf and over distances, and sprinters practise tend towards more than mass, simply as in humans.

Q: Is the sire more important than, or equally important to, the dam'south bloodline in considering distance capabilities and how a horse might perform on a particular surface? For example, if the sire excelled at sprinting and the dam'south family is rich in stamina, would the offspring be a sprinter like dad or would the dam'south influence assist it stretch out? What about vice versa: If the sire's a router, but the dam is pure sprint speed? Could the sire's influence produce a horse with stamina–or is it all a crapshoot?

A: It really depends on the stallions and mares in question. There are sure sires, Dynaformer, for example, that sire distance horses, usually on turf; and there are mares from families that accept been cultivated for classic distances, such as the mares in the Aga Khan broodmare ring. And so there are stallions, such as Carson City , who were amend suited for speed on clay, and in that location are mares and families that are more speed-oriented. Unremarkably, breeders tend to breed like to like, or in gentle deviations, instead of sprinter to extreme stayer, or vice versa. When they do, it's called "fish and fowl" mating. In a fish and fowl mating, it's hard to predict what you lot might become. Nevertheless, have a expect at the about famous example of combining Dynaformer with a Carson City mareâ€"the tragic Derby hero Barbaro. He was promising on turf, was switched to clay and won the Derby . His Carson City dam is a full sister to the stakes-winning sprinter Lucky Lavendar Galâ€"who won each of her seven races at sprint distances similar a typical Carson City . But Barbaro's dam, the sister to Lucky Lavendar Gal named La Ville Rouge, was a winner at sprints on dirt, won on turf over a route and also was Grade one-placed in a turf race over a altitude of ground. She proved to be a perfect mate for Dynaformer.

Q: How far back into a horse's pedigree should one study in order to amend understand whether or non the equus caballus can perform on certain surfaces or at various distances? Do certain genetic traits change or dice out after the passing of so many generations?

A: Four or v generations is sufficient.

Q: When you hear the term "back class" in a pedigree, what exactly does that hateful?

A: That refers to stakes producers in the direct line of female descent a few generations dorsum from the equus caballus in question.

Q: Could you recommend whatsoever good books that are must-reads for anyone simply get-go to explore pedigrees and bloodlines? What are the classic sources, and which ones nowadays more recent ground-breaking theories?

A: Frank Mitchell'south book on convenance theories, Racehorse Breeding Theories is a skillful starting point. Another great book with historical background is Abe Hewitt's The great breeders and their methods.

Q: Practise you accept any other advice for people just starting with pedigree handicapping?

A: Picket for sires whose progeny perform well on turf and off-tracks. Also look for speed sires and early 2-year-old sires when handicapping early on maiden races, and wait for turf and distance sires, for example, when looking at distance races on the turf.

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