My Story In May of 1973, this 15 year old was walking through the living room of our double wide trailer, my father suggested to me that I watch “this horse” who was supposed to be the greatest racehorse of all time run in the Kentucky Derby.  It was Secretariat and I sat next to […]

A Practical, Market-Ready Evaluation Tool Why a Scoring Framework Matters For mtDNA analysis to deliver real-world value, it must be usable, repeatable, and communicable. Breeders and buyers do not need another abstract theory—they need a framework that translates complex genetics into confident decision-making. The Lonestar mtDNA Scoring Framework was developed to bridge that gap. It provides a clear, […]

A Lonestar Stallions Comparative Analysis Why Stallion Success Is Defined by Daughters While stallions do not transmit mitochondrial DNA, their legacy is determined by how effectively they interact with elite mtDNA lines through their daughters. The most commercially durable and genetically influential stallions are those whose daughters become superior producers—mares that train on, remain sound, and […]

Why Female Families Matter More Than Ever In an era where stallion fashion changes by the sale cycle, elite female families remain the most reliable source of repeatable racetrack performance. The reason is simple: mitochondrial DNA does not dilute. Passed exclusively from mare to foal through the female line, mtDNA creates a permanent performance foundation that […]

Executive Summary For decades, Thoroughbred breeding decisions have focused overwhelmingly on sire lines, commercial appeal, and short-term speed indicators. While these factors influence market perception, they fail to fully explain why certain horses exhibit superior stamina, durability, recovery, and long-term genetic impact. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), inherited exclusively through the female line, plays a foundational yet […]

How Important is Sex Balancing in Thoroughbred Breeding? A study published in Reproduction, Fertility and Development in May 2015 by Xiang Lin and colleagues explored the role of maternal versus paternal influence on the racing ability of Thoroughbreds. The research analyzed 675 Australian Thoroughbreds, categorizing them into four groups based on the performance of their dam (mother) […]

Allow me to break down the report in the three sub-reports contained therein and explain each section. Let’s look at a mating we are all familiar with: 1. Cluster Profile This section works like a traffic light: green means go, yellow suggests caution or reconsideration, and red indicates stop. A few red dots—1 or 2—can […]

Analyzing the Best Stallions ATTN BREEDERS: About a year ago, I analyzed the top 50 stallions in North America, comparing their Average Earnings Index (AEI) against the Comparable Index (CI) of the mares they bred. This comparison reveals whether a stallion improves the mares' progeny performance or vice versa. Surprisingly, fewer than 20% of stallions […]

The Engine of Equine Performance Introduction Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) plays a pivotal role in the biology and performance of thoroughbred racehorses. Unlike nuclear DNA, which is inherited from both parents, mtDNA is maternally inherited and resides in the mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles within cells. This unique mode of inheritance and its specific function in energy […]

The Principles of Heredity in Horse Breeding Mendel's Discoveries Gregory Mendel (1882 -1884), an Austrian monk, discovered the fundamental principles of heredity around the year 1856. Mendel studied the results from crossing wrinkled-seed peas with round-seed peas and learned that one dominated the other. He learned that the pea has one gene for wrinkled-seed and […]

Sex Balance: The Key to Successful Mating Assisting a Breeder in Idaho Yesterday, I assisted a breeder in Idaho with his breeding plans for his broodmare band and looked at the pedigrees of his yearlings to determine which ones to sell and which ones to keep. As is usually the case, I was able to […]