Preston SA, Brown MP, Trumble TN, Chmielewski TL, Zimmel DN, Hernandez JA. Effects of various presale radiographic findings for yearling Thoroughbreds on 2-year-old racing performance.
J Am Vet Med Assoc 2012;
241:1505-13. [PMID:
23176245 DOI:
10.2460/javma.241.11.1505]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effects of various presale radiographic findings for Thoroughbreds sold at a yearling sale on 2-year-old racing performance of those horses.
ANIMALS
397 Thoroughbreds.
DESIGN
Cohort study.
PROCEDURES
Thoroughbreds offered for sale at a Thoroughbred sales facility in Kentucky were selected via a randomization procedure. Effects of various presale radiographic findings on the following measures of 2-year-old racing performance were determined: having started a race and having placed (ie, finished in first, second, or third place) in a race at least once, total amount of money earned, and amount of money earned per start.
RESULTS
Of the 397 horses, 192 (48%) started in at least 1 race during the 2-year-old racing year. The odds of failure to start a race as a 2-year-old were 1.78 times as great for horses with forelimb proximal sesamoid bone osteophytes or enthesophytes as for horses without this finding (95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 3.16). The odds of failure to start a race as a 2-year-old were 2.02 times as great for horses with hind limb proximal phalanx osteochondral fragments as for horses without this finding (95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 4.31), although this result was not significant. Radiographic findings did not have an effect on total amount of money earned, amount of money earned per start, or whether horses placed in a race.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Presale radiographic detection of forelimb proximal sesamoid bone osteophytes or enthesophytes or hind limb proximal phalanx osteochondral fragments in yearlings were associated with failure to start a race during the 2-year-old racing year in study horses.
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