Thoroughbred

There is much to know about the Thoroughbred horse, from their history and bloodlines, to how they are trained and raced.

The Thoroughbred is a horse bred for racing, and they are known for their athleticism and power.

They can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour (70 km/h).

In order to race in most sanctioned races, they must be registered with The Jockey Club.

This comprehensive guide will provide you with everything you need to know about these magnificent animals.

So without further ado, let’s get started!

Thoroughbred Breed Info

Here are some of the key things you need to know about the Thoroughbred:

Height (size) 15.2 – 17.0 hands high
Colors Bay, dark bay, brown, chestnut, black, or gray. Less common colors recognized in the United States include roan and palomino. White markings can appear on the legs and face.
Country of Origin England
Common Uses Racing, show jumping, dressage, eventing, endurance, hunting, polo, general riding, improvement of other breeds

Thoroughbred Facts & Information (Breed Profile)

History of the Breed

As a result of an increase in the number of people who traveled to other countries, the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire started giving Arabian horses as presents to the heads of state in European countries.

This was the case with Byerley Turk brought to England in 1683, Darley Arabian (1703), and Godolphin Arabian (1730), who was sometimes called “Barb”.

These three Oriental stallions were the foundation for a new breed that would eventually become known as the Thoroughbred.

They were named after their respective owners, Thomas Darley, Lord Godolphin and Captain Robert Byerly, and bred to stronger, but less refined, native horses.

The eventual result was an animal that was able to carry weight while maintaining speed over extended distances.

These attributes added a new facet to the emerging sport of horse racing, which was sponsored by aristocrats.

As a result, a process of selective breeding was initiated, which has been going on for more than 300 years.

In this process, the best stallions are bred to the best mares, with the racetrack serving as the ultimate judge of supremacy and perfection.

Today 93% of all modern Thoroughbreds can be traced to these three sires.

Although other stallions of oriental blood had less of an impact on the breed overall, they nonetheless made important contributions to its development.

One such horse was Brownlow Turk, and it is believed that he is mostly responsible for the gray coat color seen in Thoroughbreds today.

The majority of today’s Thoroughbreds can be traced back to just 28 stallions from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Also, ten foundation mares account for 72% of maternal (tail-female) lineages.

Due to the extent of unintentional inbreeding that is unavoidable in such a small population, there is concern that the closed stud book and strictly managed Thoroughbred population is at danger of genetic diversity loss.

History of Organized Horse Racing

At least as early as 1174, when four-mile races were held in London’s Smithfield, flat racing was already a popular form of competition in England.

The sport of horse racing was popular at fairs and markets all the way through the Middle Ages and into the reign of King James I of England (early 17th century).

It was at this time when handicapping, a procedure that involves adding weight to an animal in an effort to equalize its odds of winning a race, as well as enhanced training practices, first came into use, and also the foundation of the Thoroughbred as a breed was laid.

With royal support of Charles II, and later Queen of Great Britain, Anne, horse racing grew in popularity, and in 1727 the Racing Calendar, a journal dedicated to the sport, was launched.

Even though records of horse racing on Long Island date as far back as 1665, Governor Samuel Ogle of Maryland is generally credited for the introduction of organized Thoroughbred racing to North America when in 1745 he staged a Thoroughbred race “in the English style” at Annapolis.

What started off as a leisure and sports entertainment for the rich is now a global business that is worth multiple millions of dollars and has an influence on the economy that is widely felt at both the regional and national levels.

Today, Thoroughbred racing generates close to half a billion dollars in government revenue each year.

There have been many notable thoroughbreds throughout the breed’s history.

Even today, the legendary race horses Man o’ War and Seabiscuit are considered to be among the best of all time.

Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, making him the first horse in 25 years to do so.

However, his crowning achievement was his 31-length triumph in the Belmont Stakes in world record time.

Development of the Stud Book

The accuracy of the breed’s historical records is crucial to the process of selective breeding.

The first volume of the General Stud Book was published by James Weatherby in 1971 after conducting thorough research of a number of privately kept pedigree records, listing the pedigrees of 387 mares.

Today, the Weatherby Group, secretary to the English Jockey Club, continues to publish The General Stud Book in England.

The U.S. Stud Book

The necessity for a pedigree register of American-bred Thoroughbreds that was comparable to the General Stud Book became obvious a number of years later, when the sport of horse racing grew more popular throughout the rapidly developing continent of North America.

In 1873, the first volume of The American StudBook was released.

The author, Col. Sanders D. Bruce was a native of Kentucky and had spent practically his entire life researching the ancestry of American Thoroughbred horses before publishing the book.

Bruce meticulously adhered to the format of the original General Stud Book and produced six volumes of the register up to the year 1896, when The Jockey Club took over the project.

All North American Thoroughbred racing is based on the integrity of The American Stud Book.

The foal crop was roughly 3,000 when The Jockey Club issued its first edition of the studbook. By 1986, it had surpassed 51,000.

The Jockey Club adopted modern computer technology in order to tackle the issues presented by the registration of such a huge number of horses, so today, The Jockey Club is responsible for running one of the most advanced computer operations in the country.

Its database contains the names of more than three million horses that are kept on a master pedigree file, and some of the names date all the way back to the late 1800s.

Additionally, the system manages the daily results of every Thoroughbred race held in North America, and processes electronically transmitted pedigree and racing data from all over the world, including England, Ireland, France, Australia, and Japan.

In 1977, the Jockey Club began an intensive blood-typing program in 1977, making further significant advancements in the integrity of the Stud Book.

Every Thoroughbred foal that was recorded in The American Stud Book between the late 1970s and the year 2000, together with its sire and dam, had its blood typed in order to ensure that its parentage could be verified.

With the 2001 foal crop, the Jockey Club switched from traditional blood-typing to DNA testing utilizing mane hair for parentage verification.

As well as being a non-invasive method, DNA-based parentage verification has a 99.9% accuracy rate, compared to 97% for blood-typing.

Interesting Facts About the Thoroughbred

If a horse is to be registered as a Thoroughbred (with The Jockey Club registry), it must have been conceived by “live cover,” which means that an observer must have been present during the natural mating of a mare and a stallion.

If a horse is to be registered as a Thoroughbred (with The Jockey Club registry), it must have been conceived by “live cover,” which means that an observer must have been present during the natural mating of a mare and a stallion.

This is in contrast to a significant number of other breeds that are currently registered.

Although artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) are used often and are permitted in the registries of a great number of other horse breeds, they are not permitted with Thoroughbreds.

The use of the Thoroughbred in the development of new horse breeds as well as the improvement of existing breeds has been common.

The Thoroughbred has been significant in the development of the Quarter Horse, Standardbred, Anglo-Arabian, various Warmblood breeds and many others.

If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating breed, keep reading!

Alternative Names

“English Thoroughbred”

Temperament/Personality

Intelligent, sensitive, spirited, energetic

Physical Characteristics

The Thoroughbred is widely regarded as one of the most versatile horse breeds in the world.

The head is generally small and elegant with a straight profile, and the nostrils are flared.

The neck is long and straight, and the withers are prominent.

The chest is deep and the shoulders are sloped and muscular.

The back is long and the coup is sloped.

The legs are long with large mobile joints, and the body is lean.

They are bred and built for speed.

Colors

Bay, dark bay, brown, chestnut, black, or gray.

Less common colors recognized in the United States include roan and palomino.

White markings can appear on the legs and face.

Height (size)

15.2 – 17.0 hands high

Stallions

n/a

Mares

n/a

Weight

Average 1,000 pounds (450 kg)

Blood Type

Hot

Common Uses

Racing, show jumping, dressage, eventing, endurance, hunting, polo, general riding, improvement of other breeds

Health

Some thoroughbreds have unusually small hearts, which may lead to circulation problems.

Other problems include low fertility, and some individuals have hooves that are too small for their body size, with thin soles and walls and a lack of cartilage mass, which can lead to pain and lameness.

It has been suggested that inbreeding is to blame for these health problems that are associated with Thoroughbred horses.

The breed also is susceptible to exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, or bleeding in the lungs from intense exercise.

On the racetrack, Thoroughbreds are routinely subjected to strenuous conditions that may lead to a number of health problems and accidents, including fractures that can be fatal.

It has also been stated that the potential for speed may be boosted in an animal that is already fast by enhancing the animal’s muscular mass.

This is a sort of selective breeding that has resulted in the creation of animals that are built to win horse races.

However, as a result, the modern Thoroughbred travels at a speed that is greater than what its skeletal system is capable of supporting.

Popular Traits

Very fast and with exceptional stamina

Feeding/Diet

n/a

Country of Origin

England

Ancestors

Native mares (Irish Hobby, Scottish Galloway), 3 Oriental stallions of Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman pedigree