This should be of interest to those that bet first time starters as well as those interested in racehorse breeding in general. It's the first hard scientific evidence of the added influence of the dam through her contribution of mitochondrial DNA. Sorry for the long post but I couldn't find a way to send it as a link to the article. The full text of the study is way too long to post, but anyone interested in reading it can e-mail me and I will send it to you. The point here is that this is why you should pay extra attention to the dam side of the breeding data.

Bob

"New Take on What Makes a Winning Combination
By Greg Wood
March 22, 2006

A BRITISH scientist claims to have made a "historic breakthrough" in the study of thoroughbred genetics, after a six-year research project produced the first proof of a relationship between specific genes and the individual performances of racehorses.

The results of the study by Dr Stephen Harrison, whose company Thoroughbred Genetics is based in Kent, will be published next month in the peer-reviewed journal Mitochondrian.

It could have considerable implications for the bloodstock business, in which the winner of a classic — such as an English Derby — or a race such as the Golden Slipper can command a stud fee of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars, but in which young, untried horses often are bought for millions of dollars on little more than a hunch and a prayer.

Working with Juan Luiz Turrion-Gomez, Harrison studied eight "athletically important" genes in samples of mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) taken from 1000 racehorses, including classic winners. mDNA is significant because it is inherited solely from the dam side of a pedigree, while the mitochondria in which it is located are important cellular structures linked to energy release and respiration in muscles, and thus, according to Harrison, "have a direct impact on the optimum performance of a racehorse".

Harrison has discovered that different combinations of the performance-related genes will give horses different racing aptitudes, particularly with regard to optimum race distance, and the age at which they are likely to perform best.

His findings also could provide valuable information to trainers, who often adopt a "try-it-and-see" approach to finding a horse's best distance.

Thoroughbred Genetics now hopes to exploit its findings by offering a genetic testing service to breeders and owners who want to reduce as much of the risk as possible.

"Breeding racehorses is a high-risk, multimillion-dollar industry," Harrison said this week. "A high percentage of racehorse breeders fail to recoup their investments. Many foals produced are bred inappropriately and fetch poor prices at sales, a large proportion fail to reach the racecourse, and the vast majority never win a race … The odds have for too long been stacked against the breeder, and the use of advanced genetic techniques to modernise traditionally based breeding programs can narrow down the quest to produce a truly brilliant horse. Racehorse breeding has effectively been fast-forwarded 200 years."

He hopes to lay to rest such beliefs as the idea that a stayer bred to a sprinter will necessarily produce a miler.

"That's really like saying that if you take parts from a formula one car and mix them with bits from a tractor, you'll get a touring car in between," Harrison said. "You are much better off co-ordinating all your efforts to try to make sure that you have the best genetic chance to start with."

The great Italian breeder Federico Tesio famously commented almost half a century ago that "the thoroughbred racehorse exists because its selection has depended not on experts, technicians or zoologists, but one piece of wood: the winning post of the Epsom Derby". Genetic science, it seems, may be about to prove otherwise."