The Thoroughbred industry has become increasingly concerned with the range of potential negative health consequences from accelerating levels of inbreeding, both at an individual horse level and for the breed in general. Recently published research led by the Royal Veterinary College (UK) showed an association between higher genomic inbreeding levels and abortions and stillbirths. Pregnancy loss is a critical concern for breeders given the impact of a foal lost late in gestation on the health of the mare and the success of the farm.
High levels of genomic inbreeding have also been shown to significantly impact durability for racing. Published studies led by University College Dublin and Equinome show a clear link between genomic inbreeding and the likelihood of a Thoroughbred horse to ever race.
Checkmate is a world-first enabling breeders to reduce the risk of foal loss before a final breeding decision is made. Checkmate provides real-time predictions of genomic inbreeding in a hypothetical foal by matching the DNA profile of a mare with the genetic profile of up to 10 stallions of the breeder’s choice. Using proprietary bioinformatics algorithms, it calculates the potential impact of each mating on a foal, returning a risk score and flagging high-risk matings.
In 1000 matings for 28 stallions it was found that had Checkmate been used to flag and avoid high risk matings, the percentage of live foals per stallion could be increased from 59% to 76%.
