Outcross Percent Formulation

The Outcross Percentage is based on the ratio of duplicated names to unique (or non-duplicated) names within the fifth, sixth and seventh removes of a given pedigree.  The decision to count only those ancestors in the fifth, sixth, and seventh removes and not beyond was a relatively simple one based on the fact that duplications become much more prevalent the further back you go into what was essentially a very confined gene pool.  The idea (or principle) is to bring all thoroughbreds back to an easily interpreted standard, so the relative degrees of line breeding from one horse to another can easily be seen (or viewed).  Because one has to stop somewhere, the seventh remove is a reasonable point at which to make the calculation and allows for easier viewing of all the relevant ancestors, which Ulti-Mate 2000© has used to make the calculation.  There are 32 ancestors in the fifth remove, 64 in the sixth and 128 in the seventh for a total of 224 names.  This total is then searched (or scanned) for unique names (non- duplicated).   As an example, lets say we found 182 names in this pedigree that were unique.  Dividing 182 by 224 (total) equals 81%(rounded) outcross.

NOTE to geneticists or pedigree pundits:  We are aware that horses duplicated in the fifth remove will have more bearing than horses in the seventh remove.  Often Nasrullah may appear in the fifth remove on the sire side, and appear again in the seventh remove in the dam side of the pedigree.  Distribution of duplicate ancestors and their dominant traits tend to balance out.

Duplication Count Comparison

This specific term refers to the number of ancestors duplicated, comparing the sire side of the pedigree to the dam side, taken out through the seventh remove.

An example of this would be 42/52, which translates to 42 duplications within the sire’s side of the pedigree compared to 52 duplications in the dam’s side of the pedigree.

The ideal as put forth in Ulti-Mate 2000© program is to have a balanced ratio (no variance) (42/42) with a variable (or difference) of no more than 10 (59/49 or 49/59) for the best results.  

Gen II Balance

Gen II refers to the degree of balance of the line breeding of a horse taken from the second remove only.

Gen II = abs

abs – Absolute value (no plus or minus sign)

PGS – Paternal grand sire

MGS – Maternal grand sire

PGD – Paternal grand dam

MGD – Maternal grand dam

This formula evaluates the outcross percentage of the paternal grandsire (PGS), the outcross percentage of the maternal grandsire (MGS) and the outcross percentage of the paternal grand dam (PGD) and the maternal grand dam (MGD). The abs (no plus or minus sign) is taken to give a figure that is at its theoretical optimum as it approaches zero and should not exceed 17. 

A number of good handicappers have a Gen II balancing factor greater than 16, yet it is remarkable how few weight for age performers score a Gen II factor greater than 16.

GS/D%

GS/D% represents the Grand Sire/ Grand Dam pair percentages. A mammal will receive more in type from one grandparent than from the other three. This refers to the Degree of line breeding calculated in a horse’s Grand Sire pair, and is compared the degree of line breeding in the Grand Dam pair. Thus when the GS/D% equals or approaches a variant of zero, each grandparent has about the same opportunity to provide the resulting foal with an equal amount of hybrid vigor.

The GS/D% is helpful in pointing to which Grandparents a racehorse has been thrown from.  A negative percentage (i.e. –17%) indicates a stronger Grand Dam influence while a positive percentage (i.e. +17%) indicates a stronger Grand Sire influence.

This means that the GS/D% of x-sire and x-mare with a resulting foal, or a proposed breeding that results in a GS/D of –17% will have a greater potential of supplying the resultant foal with a higher dose of hybrid vigor stemming from the Grand Dams.  A GS/D of +26% would indicate a greater influence by the Grand Sire.

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