REPORT: GENETICS COULD BE THE KEY TO HORSES’ RUNNING STYLES
Mar 5, 2014 8:36:45 GMT -5
Post by Evelyn on Mar 5, 2014 8:36:45 GMT -5
REPORT: GENETICS COULD BE THE KEY TO HORSES’ RUNNING STYLES
Paulick Report
Genetics testing may be catching on in the Thoroughbred world, according to a report published in Nautilus.
Research by Irish scientist Emmeline Hill suggests that horses have one of three genetic codes for the amount of muscling they will carry: CC, CT, or TT (the Cs and Ts indicating cytosine and thymine, two of the four proteins found in genetic code). In a study that encompassed 142 Thoroughbreds, Hill learned that while the genetic codes doesn’t themselves determine if the horses will win or lose, they do correspond to horses’ tolerance for distance and the average age of peak. Horses with the CC code excel at sprint races and on average, accumulate their first win by age two. CTs typically pick up their first win around the same age at a distance of a mile to a mile and a half. TTs do best a mile and a quarter distances but achieve their best performance about seven months later than the other two types.
Hill’s research was originally published in 2010, and the racing world is starting to catch on. Trainer Jim Bolger uses genetic testing on his horses, and wasn’t surprised when, at the age of three, trainee Trading Leather took home the Irish Derby–it was just what the horse’s test had indicated he may be capable of.
Read More:
nautil.us/issue/10/mergers--acquisitions/can-science-breed-the-next-secretariat
Paulick Report
Genetics testing may be catching on in the Thoroughbred world, according to a report published in Nautilus.
Research by Irish scientist Emmeline Hill suggests that horses have one of three genetic codes for the amount of muscling they will carry: CC, CT, or TT (the Cs and Ts indicating cytosine and thymine, two of the four proteins found in genetic code). In a study that encompassed 142 Thoroughbreds, Hill learned that while the genetic codes doesn’t themselves determine if the horses will win or lose, they do correspond to horses’ tolerance for distance and the average age of peak. Horses with the CC code excel at sprint races and on average, accumulate their first win by age two. CTs typically pick up their first win around the same age at a distance of a mile to a mile and a half. TTs do best a mile and a quarter distances but achieve their best performance about seven months later than the other two types.
Hill’s research was originally published in 2010, and the racing world is starting to catch on. Trainer Jim Bolger uses genetic testing on his horses, and wasn’t surprised when, at the age of three, trainee Trading Leather took home the Irish Derby–it was just what the horse’s test had indicated he may be capable of.
Read More:
nautil.us/issue/10/mergers--acquisitions/can-science-breed-the-next-secretariat