Lexington, KY - For the equestrian insider in Lexington, the differences between the worlds of Thoroughbred racehorses, Rolex eventers, Western reiners and backyard trail horses are easily differentiated. For the casual observer, however, it's hard to tell one horse in a Bluegrass pasture from another. In honor of our annual equine issue, take a peek at the insider's guide to the difference between Lexington's influential Thoroughbred racing and warmblood sport horse industries:
Hotbloods versus warmbloods
Thoroughbreds are descended from three branches of light-bodied, Arabian stock horses known for their speed and electric temperaments. The Thoroughbred is part of a breed group referred to as "hotbloods" due to the climate in the region they come from.
Thoroughbred racing includes racing over dirt, synthetic or turf tracks, and steeplechase, which is racing over fences.
"Warmblood" refers to a group of less specific breeds created from a cross between a hotblood and a coldblood (often a heavier draft breed originating from the United Kingdom or Europe). Warmbloods are usually heavier bodied than Thoroughbreds and are slower to grow and develop.
The "sport horse" industry refers to disciplines that may include hunters, jumpers, dressage or eventing horses.
Baby steps
Thoroughbreds must be registered with the Jockey Club in order to enter a race in the United States. The Jockey Club keeps track of age by January 1 of the horse's birth year, rather than individual birth date, for the purposes of sale and race qualifications. Therefore horses born early in the year have an advantage over those born later in the year, since all are considered the same age when they compete with each other.
Warmbloods may be registered with multiple breed organizations, depending on their lineage, and they do not go by the January 1 deadline, so being born earlier in the year does not give them any particular advantage.
Early years
A big part of a Thoroughbred's life cycle is often going to auction as a weanling or yearling. For commercial breeders, this is their best opportunity to make a profit on their investment. Post-sale, young Thoroughbreds begin the preliminary stages of their training to enter their first race as two- or three-year-olds.
According to Modesty Burleson, DVM and resident veterinarian for Spy Coast Farm, Warmbloods are slower to physically mature, meaning that young horses are rarely in demand as sale prospects, as they will not be ready to begin training until age two or three.
"It's about trying to produce a good performance horse. There's not really a market for selling a weanling or yearling. It's much harder, compared to the Thoroughbred industry. These horses have to do something, and not just be well-bred (in order to have value)," said Burleson.
Performance
While Thoroughbreds are wrapping up their careers at age three or four, Warmbloods are just learning to accept a rider. Burleson notes that Thoroughbreds reach their physical growth peak and performance peak around that age, but slow-growing sport horses don't usually begin competing until age four or five, and may not peak until age ten or twelve.
Retirement
Many retired Thoroughbreds are destined for the breeding shed after they leave the track if they have good bloodlines, sometimes independent of their performance history. Those without a desirable pedigree or race record may be transitioned into second careers as riding horses, show horses or pasture pets.
Warmbloods may continue performing until they are well into their teens. At that age, they may be transitioned into lesson horses, retired to pasture, or they may be bred if they have good bloodlines and are physically capable.
Breeding
The Jockey Club will not register a Thoroughbred that is the product of artificial insemination. Because mares can only carry one foal each year, those that are retired to breeding are used exclusively for that purpose, and rarely stay in or go back to race training. The breeding industry in central Kentucky is the primary source of equine income, with stallions covering 100 to 200 mares per year.
There are no such restrictions on reproduction methods for sport horses, and for this reason, performers at the highest level are rarely retired from sport in order to breed. Semen is collected for artificial insemination while stallions continue to compete, and mares may have foals carried by surrogates through embryo transfer while they are still showing. Embryo transfer also allows the same mare to have multiple foals each year. The market for breeding sport horses in America is considerably smaller than it is in Europe, according to Spy Coast owner Lisa Lourie.
Ownership
Increasingly, Thoroughbreds are owned by groups of owners who form a syndicate to share the expenses and risk involved in campaigning a successful racehorse. Syndicates often purchase horses before they hit the track, and so they are found at all levels of the sport. The syndicate may include the horse's trainer, but often does not. Jockeys operate as free agents and are not usually involved in ownership of a mount.
Syndicates are less common in the sport horse industry and are primarily found at the highest levels. These syndicates are usually between the horse's rider/trainer and sponsors.
Single owners in both sports are often wealthy people who have made their money in another industry and can afford to pay the horse's expenses even if they do not compete successfully at a high level.
Economic impact
Thoroughbreds affect the Lexington economy through the income from auctions and stud fees, but they also draw tourists from across the world every year, particularly around Kentucky Derby time. Within the industry, millions of dollars go toward the upkeep of high-end breeding farms, but an equally staggering amount keeps grooms, trainers, riders, veterinarians and office staff employed on the racetrack. Although to a lesser extent due to the relative size of the industry, the same can be said for sport horses.
The sport horse industry has a fan following, as any driver north of town knows during Rolex weekend, but it's a smaller circle. It also attracts vital tourism to the state, but the remainder of its economic impact is in industry and services catered toward older performance animals and their riders.
"I wouldn't say that we create more jobs," said Lourie. "What you're seeing in the outward economy is maintenance of younger animals in feed companies, farriers and vets who focus on younger horses (for us). I bet you that for the number of horses I have, compared to the Thoroughbred breeding farms, I have more grooms per horse. "
While she admits that her employee-to-horse ratio may not be the norm, Lourie believes that the sport horse business has an equally wide-reaching impact on Lexington - just concentrated in a different point in the horse's life cycle.