FACTORS INFLUENCING RACING PERFORMANCE OF THE STANDARD-BRED PACER

Generalized least squares solutions were used to estimate effects of post position, track condition, purse within class of race, and breaking stride on time at finish of the Standardbred pacer. A total of 30,181 race records made during the 1972 racing season were analyzed. All effects were found to have a significant influence on time at finish. Differences between effects were generally uniform across age groups. Since post position, track condition, purse within class of race, and breaking stride were found to have a substantial influence on racing performance, these factors should be considered when estimating a horse\u27s racing ability. Variance components pertaining to horse and driver effects were estimated using Henderson\u27s Method 2. Repeatability estimates of horse and driver performance for the various age groups ranged from .2 to .7, with an average of .43. The average repeatability indicates that horse and driver variances account for 43% of the total variation