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Q&A - What are the Differences Between TrueNicks & Other Nicking Systems? What's More Important, a 'Good' Dosage Profile or a Good Nick Rating?
Monday, October 05, 2009 4:26 PM

Dawn asks : I am somewhat new to this and really need some help. have a mare named Buy You A Bear (Bayou Hebert x Sheckyrilla - Shecky Greene) that I am contemplating breeding to Borrego ( TrueNicks , SRO ) or Leroidesanimaux (BRZ) ( TrueNicks , SRO ) . These are my questions: 1) Based on TrueNicks, she nicks better with 'Leroi' than Borrego, but her Dosage is... Read More...

by aporter | 7 comment(s)

Filed under: Sire Lines, Other Breeding Theories, Mares, Readers' Questions, Sires, Pedigree Elements

Nureyev Up Close
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 4:46 PM

We mentioned a while back in a TBH MarketWatch article that inbreeding to a major horse tends to transition from controversial, to accepted, to commonplace ("From Controversial to Commonplace" in TBH MarketWatch Feb. 2009, pg. 23). In recent times, the most prominent horse to undergo that journey was Northern Dancer. It's been more than a quarter of a century... Read More...

by aporter | 1 comment(s)

Filed under: Other Breeding Theories, Sires

Quite Contrary Exceptions
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 3:42 PM

Before being made available to the public, TrueNicks was tested on a group of more than 100,000 horses. That study firmly established a correlation between a high nick rating and success at stakes level: in fact, while only 13% of the population earned a variant rating high enough to qualify for a rating of A or better, 37% of stakes winners achieved that rating... Read More...

by aporter | 7 comment(s)

Filed under: Hypothetical Matings, Pedigrees and Breeding, Validity, Other Breeding Theories

Reader Question -- Why do the Dosage Index and TrueNicks Score Seem to Disagree Sometimes?
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 9:08 AM

Reader question: Hi, Scot. I have read the history behind and understand what the DP, CD, and DI figures stand for but my question is: Why does it seem that good or higher DP numbers are sometimes in conflict with the nicks? In nicking my mare with stallions I'll get higher or better DP numbers with a "C" nick then with an "A". I guess the follow-up question... Read More...

by sgillies | 1 comment(s)

Filed under: Other Breeding Theories, Readers' Questions

READER Q&A - Should I Breed My Mare?
Thursday, January 22, 2009 5:37 AM

Reader's question: My mare Pebbles Delight has an A++ wih Corinthian. She has been accepted to his book for 2009. However, since she doesn't have a lot of black type up front, I probably won't make any profit on the resulting foal. What are your thoughts on this mating? I love the mating, but my pocketbook needs to rule rather than my heart. Sally. Byron's reply... Read More...

by brogers | 24 comment(s)

Filed under: Hypothetical Matings, Pedigrees and Breeding, Other Breeding Theories, Readers' Questions, Sires

Cherokee Run and Rahy -- A Blushing Groom Nick
Monday, January 05, 2009 3:12 PM

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by aporter | 6 comment(s)

Filed under: Sire Lines, Other Breeding Theories, Emerging Nicks, Sires

Parallel Series
Thursday, August 07, 2008 12:21 PM

We've frequently mentioned, in this and other columns, varieties of what we call "Parallel Patterns." There are variations, but a general description would be where a sire and a mare or broodmare sire are bred on a similar cross (we also have inversion of this, which we've christened "Reverse Parallel Patterns"). A couple of recent 2-year-old races threw up a... Read More...

by sgillies | with no comments

Filed under: Recent Winners, Other Breeding Theories, Emerging Nicks

A Perfect Show
Saturday, July 26, 2008 2:07 PM

With the Australian racing season winding to a close, the final stakes race of the winter was run at Eagle Farm last Saturday with the Glenlogan Park-owned mare Perfect Feeling claiming the listed Tattersalls Mile. Perfect Feeling is a daughter of the Coolmore stallion Spinning World, who in this author's opinion is one of the best value stallions to stand in... Read More...

by admin | 1 comment(s)

Filed under: Recent Winners, Other Breeding Theories, Mares

One Horse Wonders
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 8:05 AM

Looking through some recent results, we noticed that another nicking program had rated Elite Squadron - who took the May 3 Churchill Downs Stakes (gr. II) - as an A++ nick. A cross check with TrueNicks revealed that Elite Squadron is rated D . Naturally, we wondered what could have caused such a discrepancy. A little research revealed that Elite Squadron is the... Read More...

by admin | with no comments

Filed under: Recent Winners, Validity, Other Breeding Theories

To Region or Not to Region
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 2:04 PM

We were recently forwarded an e-mail containing an advertisement from another pedigree consultancy that mentioned "... other pedigree information services that attempt to dazzle you with vast database resources without discriminating the information that matters from the information that doesn't ...." It also asserts that it chooses not to include the results... Read More...

by admin | with no comments

Filed under: Products, Validity, Other Breeding Theories

Reader Q&A: Inbreeding to Alydar
Monday, March 31, 2008 2:03 PM

Jeri from New York asked: I'm pleased to see Empire Stud signed up! Could you ask Alan Porter if there is any value to tying to inbreed to Alydar. I do not see his name come up in pedigrees anymore and I have mare by Western Expression whose bottom has Alydar mate of third dam. I may be going back to far, but I could not help but think of the great horse himself... Read More...

by admin | 1 comment(s)

Filed under: Sire Lines, Pedigrees and Breeding, Other Breeding Theories

Research is a Mare Owner's Best Investment
Thursday, March 27, 2008 4:03 PM

Amy from Lexington asks Alan: I work for a small farm in Lexington and have been helping to plan matings. I really enjoy pedigree research and learning all the theories behind different nicks / crosses inbreeding / outcrossing, etc. The main problem I have run into had been finding a way to figure out what lines broodmare sires cross with. I was hoping you could... Read More...

by admin | 1 comment(s)

Filed under: Products, Hypothetical Matings, Other Breeding Theories, Mares

Compare and Contrast
Sunday, March 16, 2008 10:03 PM

It has been a little over two months, ten weeks to be precise, since we launched TrueNicks into the marketplace and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming. With a large roster of stallions subscribed to the complimentary subscription service that allows users to generate their own ratings via either this Web site or www.StallionRegister.com, we have... Read More...

by admin | with no comments

Filed under: Announcements, Recent Winners, Validity, Other Breeding Theories

Curiouser and Curiouser
Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:01 PM

"Curiouser and curiouser" cried Alan. The anomaly of widely differing nick ratings on an identical cross is a very strange one. When TrueNicks rates Unbridled's Song ( TrueNicks , SRO ) with a Miswaki mare, the result is a "D," based on the direct cross of Unbridled's Song with Mr. Prospector-line mares, as there is insufficient evidence (opportunity) to rate... Read More...

by admin | with no comments

Filed under: Products, Validity, Other Breeding Theories