Relative influence of the sire and dam upon the inheritance of speed in standard trotting horses

Abstract

Since the study of the transmission of character began, a diversity of opinion has existed and some data have been secured upon the relative influence of sire and dam in the production of offspring. From the limited data collected various conclusions have been drawn, but as yet there is needed more accurate information before the problem will have been solved. This work then is presented in an attempt to throw some light upon the relative importance of the sire and dam in the production of trotting horses with records of 2:30 or better, and pacing horses with records of 2:25 or better. It is also hoped that it will show whether or not there is any correlation between the speed of the get and the speed of the sire or the speed of the dam, and if so, in which respect the correlation is the greater.