Conference noted::equitation

1768.0. "Interesting article" by ALFA1::COOK (Chips R Us) Thu Jul 08 1993 17:38

    Copied completely without permission from the June 21, 1993 issue of
    Computerworld:
    
    Horse breeder bets on Mathcad to win
    by Michael Vizard
    Lawrenceburg, KY
    
    The sport of kings, a longtime staple of the Kentucky blugrass region,
    may be going the way of the automobile and consumer electronics
    industries.  Japanese investors have purchased the horses that sired
    some of 1993's leading racehorses -- and an American breeder is
    fighting back with high technology.
    
    To cut the odds on horses such as the sires of Sea Hero, winner of
    this year's Kentucky Derby, and Dancing Brave, winner of the English
    Derby in the UK, from breeding a champion, one Kentucky breeder of
    thoroughbred racehorses is turning to high technology.  Both sires were
    recently purchased by Japanese organizations.
    
    Using the Mathcad software package from MathSoft, Inc., in Cambridge,
    Massachusetts, Foye Equine Genetic, Inc. is sorting through the massive
    amounts of genetic information required to create a thoroughbred that 
    will hopefully one day wear the roses at the Kentucky Derby.
    
    "Pedigree information on thoroughbreds goes back to the mid-17th
    century across 23 generations.  The complexities of breeding are
    enormous," said company President David Foye.
    
    Combating Japanese, Arab threat.
    According to Foye, who was responsible for breeding 1991 Kentucky
    Derby winner Strike the Gold and 1990 winner Turf Male Itsallgreektome,
    the increased interest of Japanese and Arab investors in thoroughbred
    racing is a threat that will require the racing industry to adopt
    better analysis tools.
    
    "The Japanese in particular have a reputation for quality control.
    Today, most of the data on thoroughbreds in on-line, but it's under-
    utilized or crudely used by U.S. breeders," Foye said.
    
    Using Mathcad, Foye said he gets an easy-to-use statistical analysis
    tool that includes modeling and forecasting tools that allow him to
    forecast the effects of combining different gene pools.
    
    But Foye said that while he is impressed with Mathcad, he will not know
    how effective it is until two or three years from now.  "When I use it,
    I'm just flabbergasted.  But it takes about three years to get a horse
    up and running," he said.
    
    In the meantime, Foye said he does not expect computers to replace
    common sense anytime soon.
    
    "You have to remember that an idiot with a computer is still an idiot;
    he can just do more damage," Foye said.
    
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