Why Should Breeders Run a Pedigrees 360 Report?

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 be considered a soft stop for review, but when you see 3 or more, it signals a firm stop. Each dot represents an attribute identified as having an impact on a horse's success, both on the track and in the breeding shed. While I can't disclose the specifics of these attributes as they are proprietary, I can evaluate a report and provide a general thumbs up or thumbs down. Additionally, after running thousands of reports, we've identified certain trends that we can discuss during your consultation.

2. Amplification of Breed-Shaping Sires and Blue Hen Mares

Through analyzing over 5,000 validation reports, we've found that horses who generate a profit for their owners often have a minimum of two key breed-shaping sires appearing at least 20 times in their nine-generation pedigree. For example, if Nearco appears 24 times and Northern Dancer appears 22 times, you've met the baseline for a potentially successful runner and breeder.

The same rule applies to blue hen mares. Since a mare can only produce one foal a year, versus a stallion who can sire over 100, a profitable horse typically has at least two occurrences where a blue hen mare appears 8 or more times in the pedigree.

3. Sex Balance Report for Breed-Shaping Sires and Blue Hen Mares

Sex balancing in pedigrees is crucial. Studies consistently show that when genetics are passed predominantly through sons rather than daughters, it often results in a horse that lacks brilliance—referred to as a "plodder." On the other hand, when genetics are passed through daughters in at least 33% of the instances, it is a major indicator of success. Our system flags this for easy analysis by turning the box blue when these conditions are met.

In fact, over a year ago, I conducted a study comparing the top 50 stallions in the U.S. (based on their Average Earnings Index or AEI) versus the Comparable Index (CI) of the mares they were bred to. The AEI measures how well a stallion’s progeny perform compared to others, with an AEI of 1.00 being average. The same scale applies to mares using their CI. What many people don't realize is that only 20% of stallions have an AEI higher than the CI of the mares they’re bred to. This discrepancy is the best way to identify true top-performing stallions. For example, a stallion with an AEI of 1.28 might seem impressive, but if the mares he’s bred to have a CI of 1.98, it shows that the stallion is benefiting from high-quality mares rather than improving their offspring’s performance.

Of the top 50 stallions in my study, about 80% had 5 or more instances where genetics were passed through daughters (5 or more blue boxes in the sex balance report). By contrast, the bottom 25% of stallions had 4 or fewer such instances. The average low-performing stallion had only 2 instances where genetics were passed through daughters at least 33% of the time.

When evaluating the sex balance for blue hen mares, I look for at least two blue boxes indicating that the genetics were passed down through the daughters at least 33% of the time. Why is this so important? Because daughters can pass on the X chromosome, which contains mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The mtDNA controls crucial traits like heart size, lung capacity, and vascular efficiency—factors that greatly impact a horse’s athletic performance. Sons can pass mtDNA down to their daughters, but not to their sons.

A prime example of the importance of this concept is Secretariat. While his sons—like General Assembly and Risen Star—were champion runners, his daughters had a much more significant impact as broodmares, producing successful sires like Storm Cat and Gone West.

Final Thoughts

This is the foundation of the Pedigrees360 report, which leverages the breeding philosophy of the legendary Federico Tesio, enhanced with modern computer programming, Artificial Intelligence, and pedigree expertise. What took Tesio months to calculate, Pedigrees360 can do in 30 seconds. While there are other trends in the report too detailed to cover here, rest assured I will bring them to your attention if they appear in your mare’s report.

If you're interested in how your mare matches with one of our stallions, visit our  Mating Reports Page. Take advantage of our guarantee: if one of our stallions is not a good match, we’ll help you find the best match for your mare at no cost. If you'd like to run a report using outside stallions, we charge $25 per outside stallion.