United States Eventing Association

It's a Roll of The Dice When it Comes to Dosage Profiling

Do the numbers really mean anything?

Deciphering your ex-racehorse's Dosage Profile may be part of a missing link and could answer questions as to the type of horse you own. Have you ever sat on a Thoroughbred and wondered what drives them to be the way they are? Do you event a Thoroughbred and feel like your horse could gallop all day long and never tire? Do you have a Thoroughbred that barely needs any conditioning?

Some horses are bred to run on the turf

Jockey Club registered Thoroughbreds have Dosage Profile numbers that look a lot like lottery numbers. Personally, understanding how to put together a profile is about as interesting as watching grass grow and that old sleepy feeling I use to get while sitting in Statistics class starts to creep in. But by understanding a Thoroughbred’s profile, some may think it can enable them to make predictions about it’s future.

Are there hidden factors in a Dosage Profile?

A Dosage Profile (DP) can be thought of as a mathematical equation to classify Thoroughbred pedigrees into different racing categories. It is also suppose to assist in verifying what type of race the horse will be successful in running such as a Grade I (Kentucky Derby/Breeder’s Cup), Grade II (Louisiana Derby) or Grade III (Gotham Stakes). The lower level types of races are in the following order: Non-Stakes races, Classified Allowance races, Claiming races, Maiden Special Weight races and Maiden Claiming races.

Profiling predicts inherited traits based upon sire ancestry and how well a horse is going to run in the dirt or on turf, if it will be a sprinter or have stamina to run long distances. The offspring’s sires must be listed on the Chef-de-Race list in order to have Dosage points. Breeders, bloodstock agents and those who bet on races believe it to be a serious tool for rating a horse before it has ever been conceived. It’s an intricate piece of information (that can be confusing), generated by meticulous record keeping and configurations.

Gulfstream Race Track in Florida

The Chef-de-Race list is updated annually and is a ‘who’s- who’ of old and new Thoroughbred sires. The list is sometimes referred to as the Masters of the Breed listing. Each stallion has points that are inherited to their offspring. The points start out higher in the 1^st and 2^nd generation of foals and gradually become lower in later generations as the sire’s influence or bloodlines lessen. For example, 1st generation will be scored 16 points, 2nd generation - 8 points, 3rd generation - 4 points, 4th generation - 2 points. Sires can be named in more than one category and therefore have points in both divisions.

The Dosage Profile’s (DP) 5 categories or 5 numbers, predict the running ability offspring will inherit via the sire/s. The numbers can be found at the top of a Thoroughbred’s pedigree report next to the name, where stallions are placed under the categories of Brilliant (speed) – Intermediate (speed) – Classic (middle) – Solid (stamina) – Professional (stamina). Categories correspond to a range of distance potential. Classic represents the "ideal" balance of speed and stamina and is usually divided in half with points being added into the Brilliant/Intermediate categories and then the other half into the Solid/Professional slot.

The Dosage Profile is made up of 2 stats: the Dosage Index (DI) and Center of Distribution (CD). The Dosage Index (DI) is the ratio of inherited proponent speed to stamina in the pedigree. It is derived from the DP by dividing the speed component (the Brilliant points plus the Intermediate points plus one-half the Classic points) by the stamina component (one-half the Classic points plus the Solid points plus the Professional points). The DP is split down the middle through the Classic aptitude group. The numbers on the left side represent speed while those on the right side represent stamina. The Center of Distribution (CD) marks the balancing point of all the numbers in the profile and indicates a specific distance that an individual Thoroughbred can run.

Storm Cat

For example, Storm Cat’s highlighted Dosage Profile: (USA) br. H, 1983 DP = 11-8-10-1-0 (30). DI = 4.00 CD = 0.97 . Storm Cat’s Dosage Index interprets him to be a speed horse.

The higher the number is in the Dosage Index (DI) between the scale of 1.0 to 4.0, the more speed a horse is suppose to have. A horse that scores higher than 1.0 for the Center of Distribution (CD) will have lower distance potential.

So the next time you gallop through the finish on Cross Country after having a clean and stellar round, possibly consider your Thoroughbred’s Dosage Profile as playing a part. It could be a hidden formula that gives you a ‘jump’ ahead of the competition.

Photo credit: Mark Lehner of Hoofclix.com