The idea of racemares improving once in foal is probably destined to remain unanswered but should it be denoted as an official 'gear change'?
Around this time every year a selection of mares will be served and put back into training up until 120 days of the gestation period.
The rules of racing in Australia currently require trainers to notify stewards once a mare has tested positive – information that is usually disclosed to the public via a steward's report before the mare's next race start.
But when reading the formguide there is currently no indication of when a mare is in foal.
If we accept that gelding a horse is a gear change then there must be consideration given to placing pregnant mares in the same category.
"We started advertising geldings several years ago because there was significant interest in it," Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel said.
"So if it is something punters want to be armed with then we'll probably discuss it at the next national chairman of stewards conference."
Many studies have been conducted on the 'mares in foal' theory but nothing conclusive has come of it – partly because of the practical issues with accurately determining when a mare has fallen pregnant and when a possible miscarriage has occurred.
But in our search for robust statistics to vindicate anecdotal evidence, we might be overlooking the simple fact that any given mare has the potential to improve her racetrack performances once in foal.
Temperamental mares, or ones particularly sensitive to the oestrous cycle, can benefit from being in foal due to the associated physiological and hormonal changes – specifically a spike in the calming hormone progesterone.
A mare's 'fight or flight' instinct can also be heightened when pregnant which lends strength to the notion that mares run faster to protect the young they are carrying.
Scientifics aside, we live in an age where too much information is never enough. Technology has facilitated punters in ways that could never have been predicted.
If the experience of the customer/punter is indeed priority then should information regarding mares in foal be made easily accessible by denoting in form guides?
