Dosage Index: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:59, 18 June 2004

Revision as of 09:50, 24 June 2004

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Interest in determining which sires of race horses transmit raw speed, and which sires transmit stamina (defined as the ability to successfully compete at longer distances) to their progeny dates back to the early 20th Century, when a [[France|French]] researcher, Lt. Col. J. J. Vullier, published a study on the subject, which was covered in greater detail by an [[Italian]] breeding expert, Dr. Franco Varola, in two books he authored, entitled ''Typology Of The Race Horse'' and ''The Functional Development Of The Thoroughbred''.

However, these observations attracted little interest from the general public until [[1981]], when [[''Daily Racing Form'']] columnist Leo Rasmussen included the concept in his analysis of the upcoming [[Kentucky Derby]] for that year. The idea rapidly caught on, and the term "Dosage Index" has been a fixture in the lexicon of [[horse racing]] ever since.

The index itself is compiled by noting the presence of certain influential sires, known as ''chefs-de-race'' ([[French language|French]] for "chiefs of racing," or, more esoterically, "masters of the breed") in the first four generations of a horse's pedigree. Based on what distances the progeny of the sires so designated excelled in during their racing careers (the distance preferences displayed by the sires themselves while racing being irrelevant), each chef-de-race (approximately 120 such sires were identified in the early 1980s and about 80 more have been added since) is placed in one or two of the following categories, or "aptitudinal groups": Brilliant, Intermediate, Classic, Solid or Professional, with "Brilliant" indicating that the sire's progeny fared best at very short distances and "Professional" denoting a propensity for very long races on the part of the sire's offspring, the other three categories ranking along the same continuum in the aforementioned order. If a chef-de-race is placed in two different aptitudinal groups, in no case can the two groups be more than two positions apart; for example, Classic-Solid or Brilliant-Classic are permissible, but Brilliant-Solid or Brilliant-Professional are not.