Pedigrees 360

The two new names on the GI Kentucky Derby trail each exemplify one of the principal alternatives to what nowadays feels like the ideal route, namely to exploit the imbalances of the commercial market with a breed-to-race program. Nobody having ever operated one of those on a scale as lavish as the one that produced Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the choice between these other models is strictly practical. If you can run to $2.4 million for a Saratoga yearling, as did Speedway Stable for the Into Mischief colt we now know...

I've never understood this business of Dry January--the one month when those of us who take a glass of cheer are most grateful for a little respite from the dark and cold. Okay, maybe not a problem in California, but those of you battling all that snow and ice will surely see the merit of Dry February instead. It's shorter, for a start; and ends with the days lengthening and spring tangibly in the air. It's perfectly natural, however, for stallions to have a dry January. Certainly nobody will be...

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are at the forefront of a new pedigree analysis website which has been launched by G1 Goldmine founder Leo Tsatsaronis. The Pedigrees 360 software is intended for use in helping to predict the likely success of matings by focusing on "line-breeding clusters". "Using AI and machine learning, the programme has shown a very high degree of accuracy in predicting which pedigree combinations will produce the champions and which will produce the perennial maidens," said Tsatsaronis. "Most of the existing mating tools focus on nicks...