Sources of wastage in a cohort of Standardbred foals

Abstract

Objective and Methodology To identify sources of wastage in the Standardbred racehorse industry, data from the New Zealand Infohorse database were analysed using mixed effects logistic regression models for the 2012 Standardbred foal crop (n = 2,272; i.e. 197 female trotters, 933 female pacers, 218 male trotters, 924 male pacers) to the end of their 10th year. The training milestones were REG (registered with trainer), TRIAL (official trial) and RACE (started races). Results Overall, 62.8% were REG, 55.6% had a TRIAL, and 47.4% attained RACE status. Of the 846 (37.2%) horses that failed to be registered, 385 (45.5%) were dead, 302 (35.7%) retired to a second career, 83 (9.8%) were exported, 58 (6.9%) retired to stud, 18 (2.1%) were unknown. Males were more likely to attain REG (p = 0.036), TRIAL (p = 0.002) and RACE (p = 0.001) milestones than females. Increasing dam age impaired attainment of milestones (REG, p = 0.036; TRIAL, p = 0.002; RACE, p = 0.020). Also, later born foals (December and January) were less likely (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) to attain the milestones than early born (August/September) foals. Sire was a significant random effect (p < 0.001) for REG, TRIAL and RACE status. Of the horses that attained RACE status, there were (median/total) lifetime starts for 23.5/2,845 female trotters, 12.5/7,825 female pacers, 24/3,236 male trotters and 17/11,262 male pacers. A large proportion (37.2%) of horses failed to enter training; thereafter proportionate losses were small (REG to TRIAL, 7.1%; TRIAL to RACE, 8.2%). Male horses were more likely to attain all milestones, as were foals born early in the breeding season and those born to younger dams. Conclusion These results indicate that early loss or the decision not to enter training are major drivers for wastage in the harness racing industry.