2-Y-O racing study

[Richard prior]

This is probably an area where some of the old guys who have had horses all of their lives should have their opinions aired. I have no problems what so ever with horses racing at 2 but the fact remains, they are still growing and are brittle, so it totally depends if the individual horse is ready. It's crazy to assume that you can just take 1 random year and make a judgement.

[Tangles]

Pulled up the abstract of the report and yes I believe it raised more questions than answers. Of course a horse that begins racing in the rich futurity/stakes system at 2yrs will earn more than a 4 yr old starting in maiden company racing for ordinary stake money.


In all, the most glaringly and obvious part of the report was over looked. Females earn considerably less than male horses. This must be addressed on all levels of the industry starting from HRA, through the state controlling bodies, to the clubs in their programming. It is obvious the occasional mares only or PBD on sex is not 'cutting the mustard'. Studmasters need to look concessional fee's for filly foals and sale companies need to provide increased incentives to buy females at auction.


To continue as we are will lead to continued poor returns for breeders and the owners of females. Bring on sex splitting of semen. It will be the only way to breed and remain profitable under the system.

[Richard prior]

Real good points there Tangles, I would like to see females racing against each other until a set age and still have the option to race against the boys if their good enough. David James from Empire Stallions could really help out with the programming as he has a lot of knowledge with the North American system. A level playing field for the prizemoney split would also help to increase the value of fillies at the sales. I would have no problem with semen sorting, The sex of a potential foal always is a consideration when I'm breeding. It would be a lot easier decision on which stallion to breed with if I knew the sex of the foal. I remember reading a while back that North American breeders were givin a concession if their mares had a Direct Scooter filly, as they were a bit ordinary on the track compared to his colts, which seemed like a great idea. They might have been ordinary on the track but left some serious speed when it came to breeding with them.

[Triple V]

This is probably an area where some of the old guys who have had horses all of their lives should have their opinions aired.

[VVV] No thanks. Over the years I've listened to enough old shaggers spout enough baseless non-scientific old wives tales, bullshit & assorted tripe to last me a lifetime and beyond. The late John Gaines said it best. Conventional wisdom is almost always wrong.

That being said...the following is a patently stupid statement & does the case FOR 2yo Racing no favours as it states the painfully obvious to all. Females earn less eh Doc? No shit.

The study showed that the males, and horses which first raced as two-year-olds earned significantly more prize money than females, and horses which commenced racing age three or over.
Dr Knight therefore concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that racing as a two-year-old had any deleterious effect on a standardbred’s career.