Horse Racing History Article # 1

 How Easy Is It To Breed A Champion?

The following article offers a brief description of the basics of breeding race horses, discussing who they are and what they do.

Breeders throughout the UK have an unofficial motto: "Breed the best to the best, and hope for the best." Farms throughout the country all try to emulate what champion breeders throughout the country have done over the years, in order to produce the kind of horses that they do.

The heart of breeding is based on the study of bloodlines. Breeding is an art form all in itself, but in layman’s terms its about matching a dam (mother) with a sire (father) in order to produce a champion foal. The process of doing this successfully combines artful intuition with some scientific innovation, and of course a little luck.

Despite the odds siring a champion being better if the sire himself is a champion, a number of famous champions throughout horse racing history have never been able to sire a winner. As with all races, this aspect of the industry is far from certain, but modern methods and improved scientific study is constantly being improved upon.

Breeding a colt or a filly is only the very first step of breeding. After the young horse is born, breeders dedicate many hours of difficult work getting the young horse prepared to race. The official birthday for thoroughbreds (regardless of when they are actually born) is 1 January, and this was universally adopted in 1858. Before this date, it had actually been 1 May.

The official breeding season for thoroughbreds starts on 15 February. This is a date which has been selected arbitrarily in order to try to prevent foals arriving before their official birthdays, mainly due to the fact that the gestation period for a horse is about 11 months and 11 days.

Breeders who focus mainly on flat racing normally try to plan their arrivals earlier rather than later. Even an age difference of three months can be a lot to give away in two years for two-year-old runners. An early foaling date is not quote so critical for horses who will become national hunt horses, as they tend to start their careers when they’re a little bit older.

During the first autumn after birth, these young horses are parted from their mother and placed in a group with other like horses where they continue to grow together. By spring, these horses that are now called “yearlings” enter the training phase of their lives. They will experience having a saddle mounted on their backs and are slowly acclimatized for their future careers.

Article Author: Cliff Thurston

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