Conformation and breeding choices

By Judy Wardrope

A lot of factors go into the making of a good racehorse, but everything starts with the right genetic combinations, and when it comes to genetics, little is black and white. The best we can do is to increase our odds of producing or selecting a potential racehorse. Examining the functional aspects of the mare and then selecting a stallion that suits her is another tool in the breeding arsenal.

For this article we will use photos of four broodmares and analyze the mares’ conformational points with regard to performance as well as matings likely to result in good racehorses from each one. We will look at qualities we might want to cement and qualities we might hope to improve for their offspring. In addition, we will look at their produce records to see what has or has not worked in the past.

In order to provide a balance between consistency and randomness, only mares that were grey (the least common color at the sale) with three or more offspring that were likely to have had a chance to race (at least three years old) were selected. In other words, the mares were not hand-picked to prove any particular point. 

All race and produce information was taken from the sales catalogue at the time the photos were taken (November 2018) and have not been updated. 


Mare 1

Her lumbosacral gap (LS) (just in front of the high point of croup, and the equivalent of the horse’s transmission) is not ideal, but within athletic limits; however, it is an area one would hope to improve through stallion selection. One would want a stallion with proven athleticism and a history of siring good runners.

Mare 1

The rear triangle and stifle placement (just below sheath level if she were male) are those of a miler. A stallion with proven performance at between seven furlongs and a mile and an eighth would be preferable as it would be breeding like to like from a mechanical perspective rather than breeding a basketball star to a gymnast.

Her pillar of support emerges well in front of the withers for some lightness of the forehand, but just behind the heel. One would look for a stallion with the bottom of the pillar emerging into the rear quarter of the hoof for improved soundness and longevity on the track. Her base of neck is well above her point of shoulder, adding additional lightness to the forehand, and she has ample room behind her elbow to maximize the range of motion of the forequarters. Although her humerus (elbow to point of shoulder) shows the length one would expect in order to match her rear stride, one would likely select a stallion with more rise from elbow to point of shoulder in order to add more lightness to the forehand.

Her sire was a champion sprinter as well as a successful sire, and her female family was that of stakes producers. She was a stakes-placed winner at six furlongs—a full-sister to a stakes winner at a mile as well as a half-sister to another stakes-winning miler. Her race career lasted from three to five.

She had four foals that met the criteria for selection; all by distance sires of the commercial variety. Two of her foals were unplaced and two were modest winners at the track. I strongly suspect that this mare’s produce record would have proven significantly better had she been bred to stallions that were sound milers or even sprinters.


Mare 2 

Her LS placement, while not terrible, could use improvement; so one would seek a stallion that was stronger in this area and tended to pass on that trait. 

The hindquarters are those of a sprinter, with the stifle protrusion being parallel to where the bottom of the sheath would be. It is the highest of all the mares used in this comparison, and therefore would suggest a sprinter stallion for mating.

Mare 2

Her forehand shows traits for lightness and soundness: pillar emerging well in front of the withers and into the rear quarter of the hoof, a high point of shoulder plus a high base of neck. She also exhibits freedom of the elbow. These traits one would want to duplicate when making a choice of stallions.

However, her length of humerus would dictate a longer stride of the forehand than that of the hindquarters. This means that the mare would compensate by dwelling in the air on the short (rear) side, which is why she hollows her back and has developed considerable muscle on the underside of her neck. One would hope to find a stallion that was well matched fore and aft in hopes he would even out the stride of the foal.

Her sire was a graded-stakes-placed winner and sire of stakes winners, but not a leading sire. Her dam produced eight winners and three stakes winners of restricted races, including this mare and her full sister. 

She raced from three to five and had produced three foals that met the criteria for this article. One (by a classic-distance racehorse and leading sire) was a winner in Japan, one (by a stallion of distance lineage) was unplaced and one (by a sprinter sire with only two starts) was a non-graded stakes-winner. In essence, her best foal was the one that was the product of a type-to-type mating for distance, despite the mare having been bred to commercial sires in the other two instances.


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Ontario Breeding

By Alex Campbell

The Ontario breeding industry has experienced a number of twists and turns since the provincial government canceled the lucrative slots-at-racetracks program back in 2013. Prior to the cancelation of the program, the once robust industry had years where more than 1,600 mares were bred in the province, according to numbers published by The Jockey Club. In 2018, that number was down to 733.


While the cancelation of the program has impacted the majority of the province’s breeders, well-known breeding operations in Ontario have experienced success through all of the uncertainty. Sam-Son Farm won back-to-back Sovereign Awards as Canada’s top breeder in 2013 and 2014, while Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs won three straight Sovereign Awards between 2015 and 2017 when they bred two Queen’s Plate winners in that time, including Shaman Ghost in 2015 and Holy Helena in 2017. 

Along with these big operations, several other commercial breeders are also experiencing success, not only in Ontario but throughout North America and internationally as well. Ivan Dalos’ Tall Oaks Farm bred two Gr1 winners in 2018, including full brothers Channel Maker, who won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park, and Johnny Bear, who won the Gr1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine for the second consecutive year. In addition, Dalos also bred Avie’s Flatter, Canada’s champion two-year-old in 2018; dam In Return, who produced Channel Maker; and Johnny Bear, which was Canada’s Outstanding Broodmare. As a result, Tall Oaks Farm won its first Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder in 2018 as well.

Horses bred by David Anderson’s Anderson Farms and Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry also were big winners at last year’s Sovereign Awards. Anderson bred Queen’s Plate winner and 2018 Canadian Horse of the Year, Wonder Gadot, while Fitzhenry’s homebred, Mr Havercamp, was named champion older male and champion male turf horse. Both Anderson and Fitzhenry have also had success selling horses internationally, primarily at Keeneland. In 2017, Anderson sold Ontario-bred yearling, Sergei Prokofiev—a son of Scat Daddy—to Coolmore for $1.1 million. One of Fitzhenry’s success stories is that of Marketing Mix, who he sold for $150,000 to Glen Hill Farm at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Marketing Mix went on to win the Wonder Where Stakes at Woodbine as a three-year-old in 2011, and captured two Gr1 victories later on in her career in the 2012 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita and the 2013 Gamely Stakes at Hollywood Park.

For Anderson, commercial breeding is all he’s ever known. The son of the late Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Robert Anderson, David Anderson grew up around horses at his father’s farm in St. Thomas, Ontario. In the 1970s and 1980s, Anderson Farms was one of the biggest breeders and consignors in the province, breeding several graded stakes winners. In fact, in 1985, Anderson Farms was the leading consignor at both the Saratoga and Keeneland yearling sales.

“That’s what my father established years ago, and that’s what I grew up with was breeding and selling at all of the international sales,” David Anderson said. “We haven’t diverted from that philosophy in nearly 50 years. It’s what I learned growing up, and I try to buy the best quality mares that I can and breed to the best quality sires that I can.”

David Anderson (blue suit) with Peter Berringer

While Anderson closely watched his father build up the Thoroughbred side of the business, he got experience of his own breeding Standardbreds. After all, the farm’s location in Southwestern Ontario is in the heart of Standardbred racing in the province. Anderson said the Standardbred business had a number of success stories spanning more than a decade: breeding champions such as Pampered Princess, Southwind Allaire, Cabrini Hanover, and The Pres.

In 2010, Robert Anderson passed away from a heart attack, and the farm was taken over by David Anderson and his sister, Jessica Buckley, who is the current president of Woodbine Mohawk Park. Anderson went on to buy Buckley out of her share of the farm and took on full control. He also decided he wanted to focus exclusively on Thoroughbred breeding and racing.

“After my Dad died I decided I wanted to jump back into the Thoroughbreds,” he said. “I sold all the Standardbreds and put everything I had back into Thoroughbreds. I came full circle back to my roots, and this is where I really love it.”

It’s been a long-term project for Anderson to get the farm to where it is today. After taking control of the farm, Anderson sold off all of his father’s mares—with the exception of one—and began to build the business back up. Anderson said his broodmare band currently sits between 25 and 30, which is where he wants to keep it.

Fitzhenry, on the other hand, took a much different path to his current standing in the Thoroughbred breeding industry. Fitzhenry said his start in Thoroughbred racing came through a horse owned by friends Debbie and Dennis Brown. Fitzhenry and his wife, Dorothy, would follow the Brown’s horse, No Comprende, who won seven of his 30 starts in his career, including the Gr3 Woodbine Slots Cup Handicap in 2003.

The Fitzhenrys decided they wanted to get involved in ownership themselves and partnered with the Browns on a couple of horses. The more Fitzhenry got involved, the more the breeding industry appealed to him.

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The important role played by the CBA

By Cynthia McFarland

Thrilling. Challenging. Rewarding. Overwhelming.

Ask anyone whose livelihood is tied to the world of thoroughbred sales, and all of those adjectives apply, depending on the day. Or the moment.

Because the whole sales process can also be intimidating at times, it's reassuring to find there's actually an organization that represents all players - large and small.

Located in Lexington, Kentucky, the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association (CBA) is comprised of a far-reaching group of people who make their living in the thoroughbred breeding industry. The organisation was created to provide a unified voice of representation for the breeders and consignors who provide the horses that drive the industry.

The CBA was launched in 2005 by a group of prominent consignors and breeders who believed the thoroughbred industry could improve the way commerce was handled. They sought to do that by creating a non-profit, dues-based organisation that would educate and promote unity.

"If you look at the wine industry in California and Europe, the automotive industry and other trades, more often than not, unity brings about better trade. There is a cohesion of ideas and a progressive sharing of trade interests," observes Joe Seitz, current CBA president.

"There was a void where the people producing the product didn't really have a voice. We wanted to have a seat at the table when issues came up regarding ethics and integrity, veterinary topics, sales company practices, regulatory entities, legislation, and even how sales companies design and lay out their sales and facilities," explains Seitz. "This is a moving, fluid market, so we're always needing to make things better for breeders, sellers and buyers."

“The CBA is a great organisation to provide support for both sides (buyers and sellers).” LIZ CROW, Elite Sales/BSW Bloodstock

The CBA has filled that void in a most productive manner. The organisation's mission statement says it all: "The CBA works democratically on behalf of every consignor and commercial breeder, large and small, to provide representation and a constructive, unified voice related to sales issues, policies, and procedures. The association’s initiatives are designed to encourage a fair and expanding market place for all who breed, buy, or sell thoroughbreds."

That might sound ambitious, but the CBA has stepped up to the proverbial plate and become an educator, advocate, and representative for pretty much everyone who makes a living connected with the thoroughbred breeding business.

Although the name does not refer to them, buyers are an integral part of the CBA's mission. After all, when buyers have the information they need to make knowledgeable, confident, buying decisions, everyone involved - breeder, consignor, sales company and buyer - benefits.

Several important initiatives lie at the core of the CBA. These include:

  • education

  • ethics and integrity

  • veterinary science issues

  • working directly with sales companies

Education…

One highly successful project of the CBA is the "Plain and Simple" series of educational books, which clearly explain various aspects of the sales process and are available for free download from the CBA's website.

The booklets educate both buyers and sellers about key aspects of the public auction.

"They've been requested all over the world and have been reprinted in multiple languages, even Japanese," says Seitz.

"We've also held three symposiums in Lexington that were well received and covered a myriad of topics important to anyone buying or selling thoroughbreds," he says, adding that broadcasts are posted on the website.

Additional educational efforts include the CBA's quarterly online newsletter, as well as a monthly sales calendar email filled with sales deadlines and requirements designed to help breeders who are selling, as well as consignors.

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Keeping it all together! The Pennsylvania Breeding Fund