Animal Bioscience

Asian Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies (아세아태평양축산학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

National genomic evaluation of Korean thoroughbreds through indirect racing phenotype

  • Lee, Jinwoo (Korea Racing Authority (KRA)) ;
  • Shin, Donghyun (Department of Agricultural Convergence Technology, Jeonbuk National University) ;
  • Kim, Heebal (Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2021.09.06
  • Accepted : 2022.01.14
  • Published : 2022.05.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Objective: Thoroughbred horses have been bred exclusively for racing in England for a long time. Additionally, because horse racing is a global sport, a healthy leisure activity for ordinary citizens, and a high-value business, systematic racehorse breeding at the population level is a requirement for continuous industrial development. Therefore, we established genomic evaluation system (using prize money as horse racing traits) to produce spirited, agile, and strong racing horse population Methods: We used phenotypic data from 25,061 Thoroughbred horses (all registered individuals in Korea) that competed in races between 1994 and 2019 at the Korea Racing Authority and constructed pedigree structures. We quantified the improvement in racehorse breeding output by year in Korea, and this aided in the establishment of a high-level horse-fill industry. Results: We found that pedigree-based best linear unbiased prediction method improved the racing performance of the Thoroughbred population with high accuracy, making it possible to construct an excellent Thoroughbred racehorse population in Korea. Conclusion: This study could be used to develop an efficient breeding program at the population level for Korean Thoroughbred racehorse populations as well as others.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported in resources and funded by the Korea Racing Authority (KRA).

References

  1. Bower M, Campana M, Whitten M, et al. The cosmopolitan maternal heritage of the Thoroughbred racehorse breed shows a significant contribution from British and Irish native mares. Biol Lett 2011;7:316-20. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.0800
  2. Park J-E, Lee J-R, Oh S, Lee JW, Oh HS, Kim H. Principal components analysis applied to genetic evaluation of racing performance of Thoroughbred race horses in Korea. Livest Sci 2011;135:293-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2010.07.014
  3. Ricard AC, Bruns E, Cunningham E. Genetics of performance traits. In: Bowling AY, Ruvinsky A, editors. The genetics of the horse. Oxford, UK: CABI; 2000. pp. 411-38.
  4. Langlois B. Heritability of racing ability in Thoroughbreds-a review. Livest Prod Sci 1980;7:591-605. https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-6226(80)90073-1
  5. Hintz RL. Genetics of performance in the horse. J Anim Sci 1980;51:582-94. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas1980.513582x
  6. Sobczynska M. Selected environmental factors influencing racing time, rank at finish and earnings by Thoroughbreds in Poland. Prace i Materialy Zootechniczne. Monografie i Rozprawy 2003;61:49-59.
  7. Mota MDS, Abrahao AR, Oliveira HN. Genetic and environmental parameters for racing time at different distances in Brazilian Thoroughbreds. J Anim Breed Genet 2005;122:393-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2005.00551.x
  8. Bakhtiari J, Kashan NEJ. Estimation of genetic parameters of racing performance in Iranian Thoroughbred horses. Livest Sci 2009;120:151-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2008.05.007
  9. da Gama MPM, Borquis RRA, de Araujo Neto FR, deOliveira HN, Fernandes GM, da Mota MDS Genetic parameters for racing performance of Thoroughbred horses using Bayesian linear and Thurstonian models. J Equine Vet Sci 2016;42:39-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2016.03.021
  10. Nolte W, Thaller G, Kuehn C. Selection signatures in four German warmblood horse breeds: Tracing breeding history in the modern sport horse. PLoS One 2019;14:e0215913. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215913
  11. McKenzie E. Foundations of performance-factors that contribute to excellence in equine exercise. Comp Exerc Physiol 2017;13:127-35. https://doi.org/10.3920/CEP170022
  12. Lopez BI, Lee SH, Park JE, et al. Weighted genomic best linear unbiased prediction for carcass traits in Hanwoo cattle. Genes 2019;10:1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10121019
  13. Castro Dias Cuyabano B, Wackel H, Shin D, Gondro C. A study of genomic prediction across generations of two Korean pig populations. Animals 2019;9:672. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090672
  14. Macedo FL, Christensen OF, Astruc JM, Aguilar I, Masuda Y, Legarra A. Bias and accuracy of dairy sheep evaluations using BLUP and SSGBLUP with metafounders and unknown parent groups. Genet Sel Evol 2020;52:47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12711-020-00567-1
  15. Silva APA, Curi RA, Langlois B, Silva JAHV. Genetic parameters for earnings in Quarter Horse. Genet Mol Res 2014;13:5840-8. https://doi.org/10.4238/2014.August.1.2
  16. Arnason T, Van Vleck LD. Genetic improvement of the horse. In: Bowling AT, Ruvinsky A, editors. The genetics of the horse. New York, NY, USA: CABI Publishing; 2000. pp. 473-97.
  17. Misztal I, Tsuruta S, Strabel T, Auvray B, Druet T, Lee DH. BLUPF90 and related programs (BGF90). In: Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production; 2002 August 19-23: Montpellier, France.
  18. Ojala MJ, Van Vleck LD. Measures of racetrack performance with regard to breeding evaluation of trotters. J Anim Sci 1981;53:611-9. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas1981.533611x
  19. Ojala M, Van Vleck LD, Quaas R. Factors influencing best annual racing time in Finnish horses. J Anim Sci 1987;64:109-16. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas1987.641109x
  20. Park K-D. Genetic parameters of finish time in Korean Thoroughbred racehorses. Livest Sci 2011;140:49-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2011.02.006
  21. Oki H, Sasaki Y, Willham RL. Genetics of racing performance in the Japanese Thoroughbred horse: II. Environmental variation of racing time on turf and dirt tracks and the influence of sex, age, and weight carried on racing time. J Anim Breed Genet 1994;111:128-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.1994.tb00446.x
  22. Oki H, Sasaki Y. Estimation of genetic trend in racing time of Thoroughbred horse in Japan. Anim Sci Technol (Japan) 1996;67:120-4.
  23. Taveira RZ, Mota MDS, Oliveira HN. Population parameters in Brazilian Thoroughbred. J Anim Breed Genet 2004;121:384-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2004.00472.x