This article first appeared in the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association newsletter in 2002.
Federico Tesio The Blood-Horse, June 2, 1945
Pedigree analysts are forced to confront the dubious nature of their profession everytime they meet face to face with breeders of the Thoroughbred. Oftentimes they are asked "So if I breed stallion X to mare A, it gives me a [choose one of the following]:
"Nick rating of A+,"
"A dosage index of 2.16 and a center of distribution measuring .50,"
"A 4x4 doubling of Somethingroyal,"
"An inbreeding co-efficient of 4.086 through five generations."
This is invariably followed with the query "Is that good?" Unfortunately for the pedigree analyst, there is no correct answer to the question and his apparent confusion in providing a quick answer often leaves some doubt as to his proficiency.
Over the last few years some pedigree concepts have been presented with a series of exacting measurements that suggest a level of specificity that simply does not exist in the realm of predicting heritable characteristics in a hybrid species. As a result Thoroughbred breeders have been led to believe that somewhere out there lies The Right Answer and that given the correct formula, their own Classic winner should foal this time next year.
If such an equation existed, it would have already been appropriated by the Thoroughbred breeder with the largest sum of capital, who would then flood the racecourse and sales ring with a steady stream of stakes performers.
The large, commercial breeder and the smaller producer of regional stock do not have the same chances of producing a superior runner, but enough opportunities exist for the regional breeder to shoot for the stars while having a realistic chance at recouping his operating costs. Which is why the challenge of breeding a Thoroughbred for a state bred program is so inviting.
There are some basic guidelines for Thoroughbred breeders who wish to improve the quality of their matings:
Know your mare. Before opening the first page of the stallion register, learn everything there is to know about your mare. After you have fixed her race record, conformation and immediate pedigree in your mind, scratch for even more. Learn as much as you can about the racing and stud record of each name in your mare's six generation pedigree. Determine their best racing qualities. Learn all about the stakes winners that were produced from members of your mare's family. Learn about other mares who share ancestries similar to your mare's pedigree. Learn about the horsemen who trained the runners in your mare's family. Learn about the breeders who produced your mare's immediate and extended family. The clues to her best possible mating are found in an examination of your mare.
Plan with a goal for the intended foal. Whether you breed for sale or racing, you should have an idea as to what you will do with the resulting foal at the time you plan your matings. Breeding for the commercial market requires a diligent selection of mares and stallion contributors and a scrupulous monitoring of the developing foals while keeping abreast of racecourse and sales ring trends. Racing your breeding stock in your own colors could easily require three times that level of attention.
Study closely what patterns have given the best results. The clues that will yield better production for your operation are plentiful and easy to obtain. The stakes results section in the Thoroughbred Times and Blood-Horse give a weekly account of which pedigree patterns are proving most effective currently. A simple database program, notecards or even a yellow Hi-Liter can help you keep track of stakes winners whose pedigrees share some of the ancestries found in your own broodmare band. Bloodstock Research and The Jockey Club Information Services provide stallion and broodmare sire reports that can help identify their most effective mating patterns for a marginal fee. Study the most successful breeders in your region and around the country. Learn about their history. Oftentimes, well planned selections of broodmares, stallions and trainers may have made all the difference in a breeder's domination of a regional circuit. The internet provides a number of informative, free resources that will help you in your quest to produce a better racehorse. Several excellent newsgroups feature contributions from experienced Thoroughbred breeders and matings planners.
Pedigree Patterns to Explore
Dam Line & Family - Every Thoroughbred traces back to a single mare that is recognized as the "Tap root" dam that began that respective family for the purpose of record keeping in the stud book. At the turn of the twentieth century pedigree authority C. Bruce Lowe's Breeding Racehorses by the Figure System was published. Lowe attempted to rank each tap root dam line by the number of Classic winners it had produced. While several revisions to his work have since been made, the family numbers assigned by Lowe remain relatively unchanged. Continued examination suggests each family has an underlying aptitude that will produce its best runners if supported with the correct stallion contribution. Examining the best runners from a mare's dam line can highlight what might prove to be the most effective mating pattern.
Nicks - Certain sire line to broodmare sire line crosses yield outstanding results from otherwise common representatives. A complete report of a given broodmare sire's stakes winners can provide some of the clues as to what will best "Nick" with your mare's sire. A firm that specializes in providing information about nicks, can provide a one page report that lists the stallions that best match your broodmare's sire for a reasonable fee.
The difference in the data provided by a firm specializing in nicking information compared to what is found in the Blood-Horse Nicks book merits additional mention. A complete understanding of nicking data is based on the sucess of line crosses rather than the performance of individual stallions. This information is valuable to the breeder interested in a broodmare sire who lacks performance statistics. For example, if a breeder would like to learn what nicks best with his Western Trick mare, (Western Trick being a son of Seattle Slew) a complete report would provide data showing stallion performance with many other sons of Seattle Slew, oftentimes yielding otherwise undisclosed nicking patterns that will be useful to the breeder.
It should be remembered that a nick rating only measures a specific part of a proposed mating and while it shouldn't be used to finalize a mating decision it makes an excellent place to begin making one.
Inbreeding and Linebreeding -
The closely related practices of inbreeding and linebreeding are the primary area of concentration for most Thoroughbred pedigree analysts because they have played the biggest part in the development of the modern racehorse. The practice of inbreeding requires the duplication of an ancestor shared by both the sire and dam within four generations or less while linebreeding refers to duplications in the fourth remove and beyond.
The pattern of duplicating an ancestor or multiple ancestors in a pedigree was practiced from the earliest days of the breed and its intended purpose was to emphasize or "Fix" certain characteristics in the resulting foals. Concentrating their efforts on the best runners of the day, Thoroughbred breeders, were able to improve performance in subsequent foal crops.
Over the years this practice was enhanced through the utlization of closely related individuals. Good examples of this pattern can be found in the closely related Sir Gaylord and Secretariat or *Nasrullah and *Royal Charger. Many times simply introducing the closely related sibling in a mating unlocks levels of performance in the resulting foal that was not matched in several preceding generations.
Another type of linebreeding pattern concentrates on individuals who share the same ancestors but in opposing patterns of inheritance. Theoretically, providing strains of a duplicated ancestor through opposite sexed offspring will ensure that the best strains of the genetic composition of the target ancestor are reproduced in the resulting foal. Some examples of these genetically-opposed "Equivalents" are Majestic Light/Graustark and Storm Bird/Nijinsky II.
Breeders wishing to upgrade their production will closely investigate the linebreeding opportunities that may present themselves in the pedigrees of their broodmare band.
Stallion Selection - While the Thoroughbred breed and the General Stud Book came into being just over 300 years ago, the process of selecting the best stallion for a mare began with the first men working with the domesticated horse. As industrial and military uses for the horse gave way to sport, the characteristics which were stressed in equine matings also changed. The Thoroughbred racehorse as it exists today is a direct result of the selection practices employed to meet the demands of racing calendars throughout the world.
When breeders select a stallion for their mare, they should bear in mind they are in fact acting on behalf of the force of nature. Broodmare bands returned to their natural state would be fought over by opposing stallions and would eventually bear the stamp of the strongest stallion specimen only to see that influence transmuted with the introduction of newer stallions that will eventually succeed the current boss of the herd. That same pattern is echoed in the pages of today's stallion registers, where yesterday's Sir Gallahad III and Bull Lea have given way to Mr. Prospector and Northern Dancer. They too will be forced aside by other sire lines in the years ahead and breeders should be mindful of the ever shifting landscape of Thoroughbred pedigree.
Even the most casual observer of pedigree would be struck by the incongruent values assigned to unproven stallions in the current Thoroughbred marketplace. Breeders who concentrate their efforts on proven stallion values have already increased their chances by better than half as the majority of unproven stallions will not be able to make any long term contribution to the breed's continuing development.
A stallion's potential can be measured in three significant and interdependent categories: Pedigree, race record and conformation.
A stallion rarely succeeds on the strength of his sire line alone. He will only achieve great success if his entire pedigree compliments and enhances the primary influences found in the population of mares to which he is mated. It should be noted that certain dam lines are noted for their ability to produce stallions.
Breeders should be reminded that they are attempting to select from hybrid characteristics; A 15-hand stud does not necessarily balance out the flaws found in a 17-hand mare, rather the foal has an excellent chance of being either 15 hand or 17 hands in height.
Hopefully the foregoing will illuminate for the reader just some of the issues Thoroughbred breeders and pedigree analysts should take into consideration when choosing stallion mates for a mare. If the task now appears a more complicated one, it should, as it has left some of the most talented breeders in the business occasionally groping for The Answer.
That's what you have to do every time you lay down that paper with a horse and a mare, because you never know when it's going to hit. We don't know what it is. None of us really know.
John Nerud - Interviewed in the Blood-Horse, July 9, 1994
Best of luck to all in your search.
David M. Miller
Star of the North Bloodstock
"Dedicated to the Search for the Superior Horse"
