Language concerning the concept of value is used freely and loosely throughout our society. Usually, such language is, at best, ambiguous, and rarely does it delve into the specifics of what defines ‘value’. From automobiles to mutual funds, everyone claims to be selling something with extraordinary value, although few bother to substantiate such claims. These […]
Read ArticleSpeed, Stamina, And Genomic Research
The following was written and sent to us by Joseph Appelbaum, a successful NY-based pinhooker and bloodstock consultant. It seems clear that the next frontier in thoroughbred breeding will be based on genomic research. However, I don¹t think this advance will be of great significance. Why not? The crux of the discovery is the ability […]
Read ArticleStamina And The Maternal Influence
Is Stamina Crucial to Future Success? As long as there is horse racing, the debate will go on: What traits are most important in successful broodmares? There are those who are adamant about a mare’s female family, refusing to consider those without significant black-type on their catalog pages. Others rely on the mare’s race record, […]
Read ArticleBruce Lowe’s Figure System
Classification systems are not synonymous with substantiated theory. Theory and class are meant to be exclusive of one another with classification systems acting as a mechanism by which information can be organized during theory development. To interchange the two can only lead to a false validity, even in scenarios where the classification system accurately describes […]
Read ArticleStallions Entering Stud Between 1994 And 1997: Where Are They Now?
Intuitively, most breeders know that the odds are stacked against a stallion ever becoming a long term success. If asked, most of us can rattle of a long list of failures that were quickly exported from central Kentucky, usually landing in regional markets or foreign countries. The irony then occurs when we look at the […]
Read ArticleThe Myth Of The Female Family
This article originally appeared in the October 23, 2003 issue of The Blood-Horse) The late Joe Estes argued incessantly through out his writing career that a mare’s race record was the single most important predictor of future success as a broodmare. In the 1999 compilation of his writings and speeches “The Estes Formula for Breeding […]
Read ArticleNicking Distributions And Comparative Usefulness
True Nicks edges E-Nicks in Keeneland September analysis. Most descriptive statistics aimed at categorizing a population will form a bell-shaped curve of distribution, meaning most values gravitate towards the center (or average), while fringe values that deviate from the average will migrate in both directions from the more populous center. Seldom are there perfectly bell-shaped […]
Read ArticleNicks: The Final Nail
Over the last decade, nicking gurus have done a fabulous job of purveying their trumped up science to the masses. Nick ratings for hypothetical foals are available on an increasing number of farm websites and sellers in private transactions frequently brag about the nick rating of the horse they’re attempting to sell. In previous pieces, […]
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