Association between the purchase price of Thoroughbred yearlings and their performance during the 2- and 3-year-old racing seasons

Abstract

Objectives Describe the association between the purchase price of Thoroughbred yearlings sold in Australia and racing performance as 2- and 3-year-olds. Methods Race performance data of 2773 Thoroughbred yearlings sold at auction during 2003 were collected. Associations between purchase price and the probability of starting, the number of race starts and the prize money earned were examined. Results In total, 2206 (79.6%) horses started a race. The mean number of race starts was six and the mean prize money earned was A$24,420. A total of 1711 (61.5%) horses earned prize money, 402 (14.4%) earned more than their purchase price, 312 (11.2%) earned more than A$40,000, the estimated cos..