Letter To The Editor: Geldings Compromise The Pattern

[Wandering Eyes]

It is time BHA race planning and the TBA conduct a review of the increasing number of pattern races won by geldings. Their findings should be presented to the International Grading and Race Planning Committee (IRPAC).

The number of stallions at stud in the UK has now decreased to an alarmingly inadequate level. The choice of sires and sire-lines available to breeders has become chronically polarised. The increasing incidence of geldings winning so many pattern races is just exacerbating an already desperate situation that breeders find themselves facing and highlights the paucity of colts/prospective stallions retiring to stud.

Geldings are undoubtedly less complicated to train than colts/full horses for too many reasons to list here. In order to encourage owners and trainers to race more colts, should they be given some sort of incentive to do so? This could either be through a greater distribution of prize-money to winning colts and less to geldings. A more complicated option, might be for geldings to carry a penalty in all pattern races to reflect an easier individual to train.

Geldings by even the most expensive stallions in Europe are of little or no long-term consequence to the breeding industry. Are there any better suggestions out there to resolve this urgent conundrum?

–Richard Frisby

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