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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 64(7)

Career profile and pattern of racing for Thoroughbred jumps-racing horses in New Zealand

M. J. Gibson https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5970-4289 A * , K. A. Legg A , E. K. Gee A , Y. Y. Chin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1698-6893 A and C. W. Rogers https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4253-1825 A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.

B School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.

* Correspondence to: m.gibson@massey.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Wayne Bryden

Animal Production Science 64, AN23422 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN23422
Submitted: 14 December 2023  Accepted: 6 April 2024  Published: 23 April 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Racing structure and focus for racehorses differs across jurisdictions and is poorly described. In New Zealand and Australia, jumps racing accounts for a small proportion of total Thoroughbred races each year, as opposed to the larger jumps-racing (National Hunt) industry with purpose-bred horses found in the UK and Ireland.

Aims

This study aimed to describe the career profile and pattern of racing for Thoroughbred jumps-racing horses in New Zealand.

Methods

Metrics from every horse with a full jumps-racing career (n = 1276, 89% geldings) between the 2005/06 and 2021/22 racing seasons (n = 40,302 starts) were examined. Descriptive statistics, box plots and heat maps were used to describe the data, by using horse age as a proxy for career progression.

Key results

Jumps-racing horses had a median of 17 flat starts (IQR 9–30) before their first jumps-racing start. The median career of a jumps-racing horse was 3.7 years (IQR 2.3–5.2) and 29 starts (IQR 16–44). Older horses had a decreasing number of flat-racing starts and an increasing proportion of steeplechase-racing starts. However, the majority of horses still had at least one flat-race start per calendar year, often prior to the first jumps race. Most horses had one spell each season (length 194 days, IQR 124–259), and a condensed preparation length over the winter months, with a median of 14 days (IQR 10–21) between starts.

Conclusion

The career pattern for jumps-racing horses in New Zealand reflects the industry retention of horses with a prior career in flat racing into a secondary jumps-racing career. Successful horses have increased focus on preparation for the winter jumps-racing season.

Implications

Jumps racing provides a secondary racing career for some flat-racing horses, particularly geldings. This strategy reduces wastage of horses from the industry.

Keywords: hurdle, jumps racing, periodicity, secondary career, steeplechase, sustainability, Thoroughbred racing, wastage.

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