using my canadian archive database shows that in
2007 in canada there were 202,000 racing
opportunities and 14,000 horses racing.
doing the math, the average was about 14 starts per
horse with 1/2 of the horses having 11 or less
starts. This is too few for a standardbred race
horse as they typically go 25-35 starts a year. So
how do we explain so few starts?
- could be there are too few racing opportunities
- could be the horses were incapable of racing more
- could be the horses raced a dozen canadian
starts and the rest some place else
looking at my own stable during that year (2007) ,
i raced:
| Starts | Hors | Reason/Observation |
| 1 | Gambi Girl | #2 too lame to race |
| 13 | Solar Sara | #2 lame |
| 16 | Killer Rabbit | #2 returned from
layoff |
| 20 | Cotton Briefs | #2 returned from
layoff |
| 29 | Kevin Clipper | raced all i wanted |
| 37 | Solar Neenah | raced all i wanted |
| 35 | Very Violet | raced all i wanted |
Nearly 1/2 of mine raced only part of the year and
that was horse related not industry (#2).
Not enough data to say for sure that the rest of
the industry is the same as me - but it would be a
good guess based on my experience.
Ultimately, the supply of horses will change to
match the demand - more races (more purse
distribution) will cause an increase of horses and
similarly, fewer races (less purse distribution)
will afford fewer horses.
THEREFORE, the equation gets simpler. Purse money
is fixed (whatever the slots gives us) so more
races mean more horses and less earnings for the
horses. And fewer races means we bite the bullet
now, cull the slowest horses, and the average
earnings goes up.
There are of course seasonal implications that i
haven't factored in with all the new horses coming
on line in the spring - there could be a local need
for more racing during that particular time but
scheduling our determined race dates is another
issue completely.
Just some thoughts.
