Do race horses peak at age three?

Question

It seems that the horses racing in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness & Belmont are always three-yearolds. Is this a rule and do horses peak at this age?

Answer 1

The age at which horses "peak," i.e., are at their best, is a highly variable thing.  

While the earliest age at which Thoroughbreds can race is at age 2, and some of the most important Thoroughbred races are restricted to 3-year-olds, you have to understand that all Thoroughbreds are to a degree immature until they are 4,5, or even 6.

At 3, a Thoroughbred is somewhat analogous to a human at age 18, 19, or 20.  While he/she may be pretty close to his/her mature height, there is still the possibility of some growth.  And the Thoroughbred will not have filled out and muscled up completely.  If you look at a picture of a Thoroughbred early in its 3-year-old season, and then look at a picture of it late in its 4-year-old season, you'll be astounded to see the difference in physique:  the horse will have grown into its frame better and will have muscled up through the shoulders, neck and hindquarters.  (This is more so for colts than for fillies, but both sexes fill out.)

This gets into the issue of "peaking."  Some Thoroughbreds which may be late developers are awkward and undeveloped until they reach maturity.  Others, which fill out more quickly and are balanced and mature-looking early on, may become thicker and heavier and less "racy" as they age.  It just depends.

Some bloodlines are noted for precocity.  The offspring of the stallion Storm Cat tend to come to hand early and do well as two-year-olds, but they tend not to be on the racetrack anymore by the time they are four or five.  This is partly because the Storm Cats aren't the world's soundest horses, partly because if they do well as two-year-olds and three-year-olds they're usually whisked off to stud by four, and partly because slower-maturing horses have caught up to them by the time they're four or five.

Some bloodlines are notoriously slow to develop.  The stallion Pleasant Colony wasn't noted for siring precocious offspring, and the "book" on his offspring was that it was better to not push them at two or early at three, and that if you waited on them they'd do well late at 3 and on into 4 or 5.

Smart trainers know that horses develop at different rates and won't push a horse that seems immature.  Charlie Whittingham was outstanding in this respect.  On the other hand, there are trainers like D. Wayne Lukas who take a very pragmatic approach:  the big money to be made is with horses that are precocious and brilliant at two and early at three, and if a horse has managed to win some Grade I stakes by June of his 3-year-old year, it didn't matter if he was a breakdown, because he'd won a ton of money and established his value as a stallion.  Lukas had the name of being a "butcher" because if a colt couldn't stand up to a regimen of training that was all about precocity and speed, Lukas wouldn't wait for him.  

The economic drivers today are all towards breeding Thoroughbreds that have precocity and speed up to 9 furlongs.  Stallions whose offspring don't show their best until late at 3 or older are in disfavor.

I wouldn't say that most Thoroughbreds peak at three, but the economics place more value on horses that can do well at three, more so than horses that do better at four and five.

Answer 2

a horse must be 3 years old to run the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont.  It is a rule.  You only get one shot at it.  I don't think horses really peak at age 3, but a lot of them get retired shortly after that, so we don't see a lot of older horses (Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex were both retired shortly after running the Belmont).  As long as the horse stays healthy, they keep them racing.  There's many races for 4year olds and older every day...  there just happen to be more races for 2 and 3 year olds...  the horses always start young (ok not always, but usually) so there's a lot of races for the younger horses.  if they prove themselves, they continue racing; if they're a loser, they find a different discipline (a lot of thoroughbred racers are sold to be show horses).

3 year olds don't usually face older horses until the Breeders cup at the end of their 3 year old year.  if older horses could run the triple crown, they'd probably beat the 3 year olds just because they've had more experience with the distances...  the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont are the first time that those 3 year olds have to run a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half (respectively).  with a little more experience over those distances, the horses get better.  But you only get one shot at the crown.

Answer 3

No. They peak at about the age of 5, and have comparable ability until about the age of 8.

Answer 4

Most do!

Answer 5

The Triple Crown races are only for three year olds so that's why horses are most famous at age three.

However, three year olds are far from their peak.  Last year, Bernardini was the best three year old after Barbaro got hurt.  He went into the Breeder's Cup and got dusted by the best older horse in the world, Invasor.  That happens a lot more often than not.  Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex were retired before they had a chance to face older horses (they would not have beaten the best 4 and 5 year olds had they raced them while still at age 3).  

A male thoroughbred race horse reaches his peak at five, while a female thoroughbred race horse could reach her peak at age four or five.

Answer 6

no it is not a rule. it is usually because they are ready to race at that age. if they think they are ready before that they will try them in a small claims or stakes race.

Answer 7

There are quite a few good answers up there, I will add to them.  It varies, some horses do their best running at 2 and can never duplicate their form once they grow older, same with some 3 year olds.  However the summer of the 4 year old year is when I find horses hit their highest level of competition, some can maintain it over a few years, some can't.  Most of the horses I race are claimers, and when I claim I look to find a 3 year old who has been competitive in open company (running against older horses) and put them back in with 3 year olds then, when they get to be 4 you expect that with their development and confidence over the year they should peak and do better, even though you know they were already competitive last year while they were more immature.  I claimed one last year in Kentucky for $15,000 that was 1 for 23, he went 4-2-1 in 11 starts since then (just over 1 year) including an allowance win and he ran his best speed figure ever in his last start.  So long story short the 3 year old races are kind of like college football very entertaining, but once they get to 4 they turn into pros.

Answer 8

no, those particular races were written long ago, just for 3 year olds, thats why they are that age... race horses generally peak between 4 and 6 sometimes later...