Descriptive statistics and the pattern of horse racing in New Zealand. 1. Thoroughbred racing

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to describe the pattern of flat and jump races and starts, including temporal trends, in Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand. Data on all race starts between 1 August 2005 and 31 July 2011 were supplied by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data at both race and start level, stratified by flat and jumps races. In total, 96% of races run were flat races and most races and starts occurred in the Northern region. There was an even distribution of flat races across season of the year, whereas most (60%; 514/863) jumps races were run in winter followed by autumn (21%; 183/863), with no races run in summer. Irrespective of region or season, most flat races were run on Good (37%; 7505/20 091) tracks and most (45%; 384/863) jumps races were run on Heavy tracks. There was no change in the number of horses per race or starts per horse across the years studied, and the median number of starts per trainer was 14 (interquartile range 6–38) for flat races and 3 (interquartile range 2–6) for jumps races. The results showed there is a relatively consistent product offered for Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand, which is primarily focussed on flat racing. The study provided baseline data on the pattern of Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand, which can be used as background for future industry-related studies.