Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Aust Vet J. 2023 Jul;101(7):265-274. doi: 10.1111/avj.13242. Epub 2023 May 9.
The social licence of the Australian thoroughbred (TB) industry relies on the general public's perception of how they manage the animal in their care.
This study examines the horse, race and activity records for the 37,704 horses racing and training in Australia from 1 August 2017 to 31 July 2018. Three-quarters (75%, n = 28,184) of TBs started in one of the 180, 933 race starts that occurred during the 2017-2018 Australian racing season.
Horses participating in the 2017-2018 Australian racing season had a median age of 4 years, with geldings more likely to be aged 5 years and older. The majority of the TB racehorse population were geldings (51%, n = 19,210), with 44% (n = 16,617) females and only 5% (n = 1877) entire males. Horses aged 2 years were three times more likely to not start in a race in that year compared with older horses. At the end of the 2017-2018 racing season, 34% of the population had an inactive status recorded. Horses aged 2 years (median two starts) and 3 years (median five starts) had fewer starts than older horses (median seven starts). Eighty-eight percent (n = 158,339) of race starts were over distances of 1700 metres or less. Race starts by horses aged 2 years (46%, 3264 of 7100) were more likely to have occurred at a metropolitan meeting compared with starts by older horses.
This study provides a national overview of the racing and training activities and TBs participating in the 2017-2018 Australian racing season.
澳大利亚纯种马（TB）产业的社会许可取决于公众对其动物管理的看法。
本研究检查了 2017 年 8 月 1 日至 2018 年 7 月 31 日期间在澳大利亚参加比赛和训练的 37704 匹马的马、比赛和活动记录。四分之三（75%，n=28184）的 TB 参加了 2017-2018 年澳大利亚赛马赛季期间发生的 180933 次比赛中的一次。
参加 2017-2018 年澳大利亚赛马赛季的马的中位年龄为 4 岁，公马更有可能为 5 岁及以上。TB 赛马的大部分是公马（51%，n=19210），44%（n=16617）是母马，只有 5%（n=1877）是全雄马。与年龄较大的马相比，2 岁的马当年参加比赛的可能性低三倍。在 2017-2018 年赛马赛季结束时，34%的马被记录为处于非活跃状态。2 岁（中位 2 次比赛）和 3 岁（中位 5 次比赛）的马比年龄较大的马（中位 7 次比赛）比赛次数更少。88%（n=158339）的比赛开始距离不超过 1700 米。2 岁（46%，3264 次比赛中的 7100 次）的马的比赛开始更有可能在城市比赛中发生，而年龄较大的马则更有可能在乡村比赛中发生。
本研究提供了 2017-2018 年澳大利亚赛马赛季中比赛和训练活动以及参加比赛的 TB 的全国概况。
