Basic Guide to Reading Pedigrees

erally speaking, the more
Grade I winners/champions in a pedigree, the better bred a horse is, especially when they show up in
the dam's side of the pedigree. Note that most sires today have had fairly succesful racing careers and
are often Grade I winners. It's not uncommon to see a good sire in a pedigree, but it's a lot less
common to find mares who have done well.
Racing Records/Earnings
Many horses in the database will show up with a career racing record and earnings next to their names.
For instance Really Blue has the following numbers under her name. "21-3-5-1 $31,920". This means
that she raced 21 times in her career, won 3 races, finished second 5 times and third 1 time. During her
career, she earned $31,920 in earnings. Horses that haven't raced may show up with "Unraced" under
their name.
Chefs and Dosage Certain sires in a pedigree may show up with letters in brackets after their year of
birth. Fappiano is an example below "[IC]". These letters signify the Fappiano is a chef-de-race horse
and they are used to calculate the dosage numbers above the pedigree "DP = 14-12-12-0-0 (38) DI =
5.33 CD = 1.05". Chef-de-race horses on this site are designated by Steve Roman and more
information about dosage and how to use it as a breeding tool can be found at http://www.chef-de-
race.com/.
Genetic Strength Values (GSV)
Genetic Strength Values are another system to evaluated a horse's pedigree and try to quantify the
pedigree. Below Believe It's name, you'll see a number in braces "(54.30)", this is Believe It's Grasp
Rating. Above the pedigree, you'll see the GSV number "GSV = 71.10". GSV ratings and Grasp
numbers were developed by George William Smith and you can find out more information about using
these numbers at his Understanding the GSV page.
Reines De Course
Ellen Parker is a pedigree researcher who has spent lots of time studying famous mares. She's comes
out with a list of the 500 or so most influential mares of the last century. These Reine De Course
(Queens of The Turf) mares are highlighted in the pedigree with a green star. For instance Gay Hostess
is a Reine De Course mare. If you are serious about pedigrees, check out her site for some good
articles and also some great books about famous broodmares.
Photos & Information
We have photos and extra information for a great number of horses in the database. These will be
noted in the pedigree with small icons ( ). The pedigree below isn't a working pedigree, but on the
site, you can run your mouse over these icons to get photos or additional information for the horse in
question. Tail Female and Family Numbers The Tail Female pedigree is one that goes from dam to
dam. So Real Quiet's Tail female pedigree includes Really Blue, Meadow Blue, Gay Hostess, Your
Hostess, Boudoir,... etc. On the right side of the pedigree, you'll notice a column of numbers and letters
that looks something like 5-f, 8-f, etc. These are female family numbers and trac