National participation levels in the 2017-2018 Australian thoroughbred racing season.

INTRODUCTION: The social licence of the Australian thoroughbred (TB) industry relies on the general public's perception of how they manage the animal in their care. METHOD: This study examines the horse, race and activity records for the 37,704 horses racing and training in Australia from 1 August 2017 to 31 July 2018. Three-quarters (75%, n = 28,184) of TBs started in one of the 180, 933 race starts that occurred during the 2017-2018 Australian racing season. RESULTS: Horses participating in the 2017-2018 Australian racing season had a median age of 4 years, with geldings more likely to be aged 5 years and older. The majority of the TB racehorse population were geldings (51%, n = 19,210), with 44% (n = 16,617) females and only 5% (n = 1877) entire males. Horses aged 2 years were three times more likely to not start in a race in that year compared with older horses. At the end of the 2017-2018 racing season, 34% of the population had an inactive status recorded. Horses aged 2 years (median two starts) and 3 years (median five starts) had fewer starts than older horses (median seven starts). Eighty-eight percent (n = 158,339) of race starts were over distances of 1700 metres or less. Race starts by horses aged 2 years (46%, 3264 of 7100) were more likely to have occurred at a metropolitan meeting compared with starts by older horses. CONCLUSION: This study provides a national overview of the racing and training activities and TBs participating in the 2017-2018 Australian racing season.

Descriptive analysis of horses and ponies attending horse auctions in Victoria from July 2019 to March 2020.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years there has been public speculation about the breed, destination and number of horses being sold by public auction at livestock saleyards in Australia. Currently, there is little objective information available about the breed and condition of horses sold through this medium. With little publicly available objective data on these horses, the horse industry has been left vulnerable to misinformation. Accurate information regarding the composition and condition of horses attending saleyards is important to identify and address any welfare issues and to inform public debate. METHOD: Data were collected on 312 horses and ponies presented for sale through the Pakenham Horse Sales between July 2019 and March 2020. All horses and ponies were inspected at the saleyards and information on breed, age, body condition score (BCS), purchaser and sale price were recorded as the animals were auctioned. RESULTS: Crossbred horses and ponies were the largest groups presented for sale. Ponies were more likely to be sold to private buyers. Quarter horses and riding ponies were as likely to be sent to slaughter as thoroughbreds and standardbreds. Entire males and females sold for lower prices than geldings. Most horses and ponies (64%) were sold to private buyers. More than three-quarters (77%) of horses and ponies presented for sale had a BCS greater than or equal to three out of five. CONCLUSION: This pilot study challenges perceptions that thoroughbreds are the primary breed to attend public sales or that animals attending the sales are in poor condition.

Factors associated with racing performance and career duration for Victorian-born Thoroughbreds.

The number of horses leaving the Australian Thoroughbred (TB) racing industry each year is of concern to animal welfare advocates, public and regulators. A horse's previous athletic performance is a significant driver of retirement from racing. Racehorse performance can be measured in terms of the total number of starts, duration of racing and prize money earned. This study investigated Australian racing records for the 2005 and 2010 Victorian TB foal crops to identify factors associated with total number of starts, racing career duration, prize money earned and age of last race start-up to the 10-year-old racing season. Racing Australia registered 4,577 TB horses born in Victoria in 2005 (n = 2,506) and 2010 (n = 2,071) that raced in Australia. Horses that started racing at 2-years of age had fewer race starts in their first racing season but an increased total number of starts, prize money and duration of racing. The median age of last start (LS) was five (Q1 4; Q3 7) years. Horses that had won a race, had a maximum handicap rating of 61 or above and those racing over distances of more than 2,400 m had an increased racing career duration and an age of last race start greater than 6-years of age. Horses participating in jumps races (n = 63) had the longest careers and older age of LS. These horses were more likely to have had a handicap rating over 80 and were just as likely to start their racing careers as 2-years-olds.

Participation of Victorian Thoroughbreds in the racing industry: a whole-of-population benchmark.

The proportion of Thoroughbred (TB) horses that commence training and eventually race, is an important industry-level indicator of how successful it is at producing horses suitable for racing. It is also of interest to the wider community and is central to the issue of whether there is overbreeding in the Australian TB industry. This study investigated the training and racing records for the 2005 and 2010 Victorian TB foal crops to determine the proportion of TBs that train and race, and the age of entering training and first race start. Subsets of the foal crop were also examined to determine if premier yearling sale cohorts would produce selection bias. The Australian Stud Book (ASB) registered 7662 TB horses born in Victoria in 2005 (n = 4116) and 2010 (n = 3546). Of these, 5614 (73%) entered training and 4868 (64%) started in at least one race. Fourteen percent (n = 1045) of the study cohort had their first race start as 2-year-olds and 35% (n = 2644) had their first start as 3-year-olds. A higher proportion of TB horses that attended premier yearling sales entered training (93%) and raced (84%). This study established a baseline for training and racing milestones, such as the proportion and age that horses commenced training, and age of first start using population-level data. It also established that the use of subsets of the population can introduce selection bias.