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The Daily Double! GRASP and
GSV [Updated May 4, 2015]
- GRASP: The BEST Tool
for Measuring ACTUAL
Genetic Strength of a Thoroughbred.
- GSV: A tool for PREDICTING
the Genetic Strength of a
Thoroughbred. The GSV score is the
average of the Male and Female half GSV scores. This
Matchmaker tool has been especially designed for
all track surfaces. It is easy to use by
all involved in the thoroughbred business. This
information will give you a much better idea of
how a GSV number compares to other GSV numbers
by location, class and type. The GSV includes
all horses within 5 generations: sires and mares
in the 2012 product.
- GSV2: The GSV2 is
also hypothetical score, not necessarily
reflecting the actual genetic ability of a
particular individual. The GSV2 is the GSV
score plus the UP score [up to a maximum of 5
points]. It is commonly used in
broodmare analyses and handicapping, etc.
- UP: The UP score
measures whether the GSV is higher [a positive
number] or lower [a negative number] than the
average GSV score produced by that sire.
Since the sire's half of the pedigree stays the
same, the more Genetic Strength in the female
half, the more positive the UP
Score.
GRASP: A Must for Breeders, Buyers and
those who Breed-To-Race
|
=Genetic:
Measures performances of males & females
within 5 generations, pedigree construction,
tail-female line strength, etc.
|
25% |
|
=Racing
Ability:
Measures individual racing brilliance, class,
earnings, blacktype events, speed vs stamina,
type, etc.
|
25% |
|
=Stud
Performance: Measures success
as
a sire or broodmare, % of
runners, winners, SW's, 2yo winners, Average
Winning Distance, etc.
|
50% |
GSV:
"A Must for Handicappers, Stud Farms, Owners and
Breeders"
|
The GSV predicts
thoroughbred performance before the foal is born
based on the Genetic, Racing Ability and Stud
Performance (GRASP) of all horses in its 5
generation pedigree. Prior to 2009, the GSV
omitted the first five dams in tail-female line,
which made it a great tool to be used with a sales
catalog page as the GSV measured the rest.
The GSV can change according to the recent stud
performance of individuals in its pedigree and is
updated yearly.
|
UP:
How the GSV score compares to the average GSV score
produced by that sire
U
P
|
Another breeding and
handicapping tool has been added to my GSV
numbers. I now generate an UP score based on
how the GSV number of a horse or hypothetical foal
compares to the average GSV number of a sire's
average foal. An UP score of +2.00 indicates
the generated GSV number is 2 points higher than
GSV average by that sire.
|
Originator: George William Smith:
email thematchmaker@shaw.ca
Understanding
the GSV and GSV2
Do you believe that the pedigree of a thoroughbred can be an
indication of it's potential?
If you answer "NO ", then the
GSV/GSV2 can't help you. Thank you for your interest.
If you answer "YES",
then you will be able to use the GSV & GSV2 to help
you. Keep reading to learn all about the GSV &
GSV2. The answers to your questions
about the GSV
& GSV2 that led you to this page should
be found below or linked to this page.
Brief Review:
GSV & GSV2
are numerical scores developed by George William Smith, known for
his pedigree analysis skills that led to two Eclipse Champions,
Farda Amiga and Vindication; European Horse of the Year, St.
Jovite; and connected to hundreds of stakewinners.
Throughout my career I have constantly been asked about the
strength of pedigrees. Clients ask if they should purchase
or sell a certain horse, breed this mare to that stallion to
produce a certain type of foal, etc. I usually answer that I
need to take an in-depth look at the pedigree, race record and
stud performance so that I might be as accurate as possible about
the potentials of the pedigrees involved.
For over 25 years I have been generating a score for their
thoroughbred so that my clients may more easily be made aware of
the strength of the throughbred I am researching for them compared
to other thoroughbreds. It is called my GRASP score. GRASP stands for Genetic, Racing Ability and Stud Performance.
The Genetic
score arrives with the foal at birth, but may change throughout
its lifetime as its parents and 5 generations of ancestors do
better or worse at stud as time goes by. The change can be
dramatic if both parents are in the early stages of their stud
career or slight if both have been in the stud a long time.
Usually, the foal can not do a thing about it's Genetic score, but if the foal
is very, very good it might have some impact on the stud career of
its parents.
The Racing Ability score is earned during
it's racing career and once retired does not change. The Racing Ability score can help you
understand you whether the horse got its fair share of the good
genes or not. If a horse has a high Genetic score but cannot outrun
a fat man, the Racing Ability score will reflect that
it did not get much of the 'good stuff' from its parents. On
the other hand, if the foal has a high Genetic score and runs like the wind, the Racing Ability score added to the Genetic score will be
very high, predicting that there is much potential in this horse
when sent to stud. Thus, I use the GRA score as a guide on how much potential there is
in the horse before it produces a foal. I always publish the
GRA scores of potential
stallions so that my clients know ahead of time who I predict will
succeed and who are likely to fail.
The Stud Performance score is earned
during the stud career of the horse and until it no longer has
foals from its producing daughters racing on the track.
Depending on how many foals and the length the horse stood at
stud, this score often changes even after the death of the
horse. The older a horse is or would have been, the less
this value changes.
The GSV &
GSV2 are derived from the GRASP scores of the 31
thoroughbred sires found within 5 generations and weighted
according to how close up they appear, but is not male dependent
like dosage, etc. The GSV actually measures the
Genetic Strength of 57 of the 62 horses within those 31 sires,
beginning with the sire of the horse and the next four
generations. The horses currently not measured are the 5
dams of the tail-female line and these can be found on a catalog
page. The GSV &
GSV2 is a perfect supplement to catalog page of
a horse for sale as the GSV & GSV2 objectively measures
the genetic strength of the horse, whereas a catalog page is
highly biased toward the best ancestors in a horse's tail-female
line pedigree.
The Daily Double: GRASP and
the GSV
My
GRASP databank has over 400 fields of data, of which some are
not weighted or weighted according their apparent benefit in
producing better thoroughbreds while racing and/or later in the
stud. The GRASP score is
earned by actual performance.
My GRASP databank now generates two scores, which I call GRASP1
and GRASP2. My GRASP1 score is used when the stallion
appears through a son and my GRASP2 score is used when he
appears through a daughter. The GSV/GSV2 is
now role specific.
GSV stands for Genetic Strength Value. It is based on five
generations of GRASP1 or GRASP2 scores. It is a
hypothetical score. The horse does not earn its GSV
score. It is the score that an average hypothetical mating
between a stallion and a broodmare generates. The actual horse
might be far better or worse than what the GSV score indicates
depending on the combinations of genetic material actually
received in the mating. The GSV2 now includes a small
compatibility factor called the UP score. If the GSV score
is 65.00 and the UP score is 2.00, the GSV2 score is
67.00. Note: The UP score has a maximum positive score of
5.00. Minus scores are not subtracted from the GSV to get
the GSV2 score. In the above example, if the UP score is
-3.12, the GSV2 score is still 65.00.
The GSV scores are calculated by adding the GRASP scores of each
generation and getting an average for each generation for the
male half of the pedigree and then doing the same for the female
half of the pedigree. I then average the male
and female scores to get the GSV score. By calculating
both halves of the pedigree separately, using both sires and
mares, the GSV of 2009 is more reliable than the old GSV score,
which used to be calculated by averaging each generation
separately, thus giving the sire of the horse more weight as it
is the only sire in the first generation.
Through May, 2015, the GSV is proving reliable as a
handicapping and breeding tool.
Remember
1. You have to think of the GSV & GSV2 as a
hypothetical mating.
2. It only measures the genetic strengths of a 5 generation
pedigree.
3. Think of it as the sperm is still in the stallion, the
egg in the broodmare.
4. The GSV &
GSV2 theoretically combines them, but just as
two bays may produce a chestnut what is wishful thinking may not happen. The
foal may get a certain set of genes and its full brother might
have received a lot of different ones. But the GSV &
GSV2 score will
be the same for both. It is a theoretical score.
a. The GSV & GSV2
score is produced before the birth of the foal, but may change
as the stud performance within 5 generations changes.
b. A yearling with a high GSV &
GSV2 and legs that go in each direction
should be ignored.
c. A yearling with a low GSV &
GSV2 and correct legs with a balanced
individual may be a good buy.
d. A yearling with a high GSV &
GSV2, correct and a good walk should never be
ignored.
5. Once the foal hits
the ground, the foal begins to accumulate points toward its own
GRASP score. Thus, full brothers may have radically
different GRASP scores achieved in their lifetime and thus
generate entirely different GSV & GSV2 scores for
their foals.
6. Only GRASP values are handed down to the next
generation, never the GSV & GSV2!
So what
is the value to you of the GSV & GSV2?
It allows you to make better
decisions using hypothetical matings, etc., all other things being
equal, in choosing the right broodmare, stallion for your mare,
weanling, yearling and 2YO's-in-training sales, along with normal
conformation checks, etc.
The GSV & GSV2 is showing
good value as a handicapping tool, regardless of the class of
field or race track. However, using Graded/Group Stakes and
Stakes at major world-wide tracks may yield the most value.
A validation study that was done on the GSV2 that showed the
higher the GSV
& GSV2, the greater the likelihood of a
better stakewinner. This study used over 10,000
thoroughbreds and races from throughout the world.
[the
databank now contains over 112,000 horses racing, the average
GSV is 65.65, May 2015]
The GSV Use Is Only Limited By Your Imagination And
Application
Email The Matchmaker for
use of his services.
The Matchmaker is the
originator of the UP, GSV & GSV2 and GRASP scores.
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go to my home page click here
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