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View Full Version : What age is too young to race a horse?


ilzho
05-21-2015, 07:33 AM
I would like to know everyone's thoughts on the proper age to race a horse.
I am not a trainer nor breeder, but I hear that horses 2-3 years old are just too young to race as they are not fully developed?

lamboguy
05-21-2015, 08:40 AM
i would think the better question would be what age is to late to start a horse?

there have not been to many champions in North America that have started at age 4 or more.

chadk66
05-21-2015, 08:57 AM
that question is best answered by the horse. the horse will tell you when he/she is old enough to race. not some casual observer. In regards to three year olds not being old enough, if they can get a mile and a quarter in the derby or a mile and a half in the Belmont they certainly are developed enough.

horses4courses
05-21-2015, 08:59 AM
There can't be a set formula.
Horses, like people, are different.

The best trainers know when a horse is ready to take
the type of training needed to get them fit to race.
Regardless of whether that is at age 2 or 3.

lambo is right about debuting horses after age 4.
That seldom turns out well for speed-oriented US dirt racing.

On the other hand, horses that run in national hunt races in UK/Ireland
don't reach their peak until age 8 or 9.
Completely different style of racing where stamina is key.
Most of those horses don't jump a fence until age 4 - sometimes later.

ilzho
05-21-2015, 09:10 AM
Ok good to know.

I've read somewhere that a horses peak racing age is 4.5 years?

DJofSD
05-21-2015, 09:38 AM
Each breed matures at a different age, however, whatever the breed it is old enough to be put into training when the growth plates have finished forming and have fused.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

Fager Fan
05-21-2015, 01:46 PM
I would like to know everyone's thoughts on the proper age to race a horse.
I am not a trainer nor breeder, but I hear that horses 2-3 years old are just too young to race as they are not fully developed?

They're not too young to race.

Look at the research out there on bone development in the Thoroughbred. You'll find that they very much need the stress of works and racing at a young age in order to remodel the bone to withstand the stresses of racing. Maybe a race isn't necessary at age 2, but working the horse at age 2 is definitely beneficial.

chadk66
05-21-2015, 04:28 PM
Each breed matures at a different age, however, whatever the breed it is old enough to be put into training when the growth plates have finished forming and have fused.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdftraining them isn't the problem (as in jogging, galloping) but speed work is until their growth plates are closed up. My babies had several months of galloping before they saw their first workouts. and I had xrays done on their knees prior to any speed work.

ilzho
05-21-2015, 04:34 PM
This is all great information. Very informative.
I'm learning a lot.
Thank you.

Sysonby
05-21-2015, 10:50 PM
Each breed matures at a different age, however, whatever the breed it is old enough to be put into training when the growth plates have finished forming and have fused.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

This is the common wisdom of people who teach equine studies courses, and in my opinion it's dead wrong. The time to start training a horse for racing or any other discipline is BEFORE the growth plates have finished fusing. You want the horse's growth to be appropriate to the exercise they are going to be competing in. All studies done have demonstrated that horses who are trained and compete at two have more starts than those who don't start till 3 or 4. The most definitive study demonstrated that they had more starts, even when you excluded their two-year-old races.

Studies have also looked at this in relation to show jumpers which start quite a bit later than racehorses, but it found there too that the earlier the horse started the longer they were able to compete effectively.

Sysonby
05-21-2015, 10:53 PM
They're not too young to race.

Look at the research out there on bone development in the Thoroughbred. You'll find that they very much need the stress of works and racing at a young age in order to remodel the bone to withstand the stresses of racing. Maybe a race isn't necessary at age 2, but working the horse at age 2 is definitely beneficial.

Sorry, hadn't seen this before I made my post, completely agree with this.

The key is that the exercise has to be suitable to the horse's capacities, meaning you increase intensity as the horse develops the ability to handle it. In terms of speed works, the science indicates they should be started early but the first speed works should be only a furlong at a moderate pace, say 15 seconds. Gradually, the length is expanded and the speed is quickened. This is how to remodel bone without getting bucked shins.

DJofSD
05-22-2015, 12:25 AM
This is the common wisdom of people who teach equine studies courses, and in my opinion it's dead wrong. The time to start training a horse for racing or any other discipline is BEFORE the growth plates have finished fusing. You want the horse's growth to be appropriate to the exercise they are going to be competing in. All studies done have demonstrated that horses who are trained and compete at two have more starts than those who don't start till 3 or 4. The most definitive study demonstrated that they had more starts, even when you excluded their two-year-old races.

Studies have also looked at this in relation to show jumpers which start quite a bit later than racehorses, but it found there too that the earlier the horse started the longer they were able to compete effectively.
That's all well and good. Do you have any sources?

Sysonby
05-22-2015, 01:37 AM
That's all well and good. Do you have any sources?

The Nunamaker study for early but moderate speed works to avoid bucked shins, called On Bucked Shins, published 2002. Let me check my materials for the other studies.

Also, see The association of age at first start with career length in the Australian Thoroughbred racehorse population, lead author Brandon Velie, Equine Veterinary Journal, July 2013;

and The effect of selected factors on length of racing career in Thoroughbred racehorses in Poland, Magdalena Sobczynska, Animal Science Papers and Reports vol. 25.

There's also a Jockey Club study with similar findings and I couldn't find the study that also discusses show jumpers. I had all of this info in notes but have bought a new pc since then so think it's probably on one of the old ones.

Tall One
05-22-2015, 11:11 AM
4yo Elmazeed, Shadwell firster for McLaughlin/I Ortiz broke his MDN at Belmont last Saturday.. paid $19.80 of which i got none.. :cool: