A new study asks whether racehorses have hit their genetic peak
But the breeders trying to improve them may be missing a trick
For decades there was an apparent paradox in horse-racing. The sport is lucrative (Mage, the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby, earned his owner $1.9m) and simple—the fastest horse wins. Horses with good results and a good pedigree are used as breeding stock for the next generation. Horse-breeders were armed with plenty of data, a single trait to optimise, and strong incentives to do so. Yet several studies suggested that, despite their efforts, race times were not improving.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Maybe she’s barn with it”
Science & technology June 10th 2023
From the June 10th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Science & technology
Does melatonin work for jet lag?
It can help. But it depends where you’re going
Training AI models might not need enormous data centres
Eventually, models could be trained without any dedicated hardware at all
How the Gulf’s rulers want to harness the power of science
A stronger R&D base, they hope, will transform their countries’ economies. Will their plan work?
Cancer vaccines are showing promise at last
Trials are under way against skin, brain and lung tumours
New firefighting tech is being trialled in Sardinia’s ancient forests
It could sniff out blazes long before they spread out of control
Can Jeff Bezos match Elon Musk in space?
After 25 years, Blue Origin finally heads to orbit, and hopes to become a contender in the private space race