Do racehorses and Greyhound dogs exhibit a gender difference in running speed?

Entin, Pauline (2007) Do racehorses and Greyhound dogs exhibit a gender difference in running speed? Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology, 4 (3-4). pp. 135-140. ISSN 1479-070X

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Abstract

At any level of competition, men run faster than women. Consequently, a male speed advantage is often presumed for other species. This assumption was tested in two animals bred for speed: horses and dogs. Results from Thoroughbred (TB), Standardbred (STB) and Greyhound (GH) races were analysed by ANOVA to compare the speeds of victorious males, neutered males (TB and STB only) and females. Separate analyses were run for shorter (TB: ≤1609 m, GH: 503 m) and longer (TB: >1609 m, GH: 603.5 m) TB and GH races. All STB races (trotters and pacers) were 1609 m. In TB races, intact males were 0.7% faster than females at ≤1609 m (n=305; P<0.01) and 1.4% faster at >1609 m (n=194; P<0.01). The speed of neutered males was equivalent to that of females at both distances. Gender accounted for 3.8 and 10.7% of the variance in speed at short and long distances, respectively. In STB pacers, intact males were 1.5% faster than females and gender accounted for 10.1% of the variance in speed (n=96; P<0.01). Gender was not a significant predictor of STB trotter (n=95) or GH speed at 503 m (n=146) or 603.5 m (n=23). In conclusion, gender has a significant effect on speed of TBs and STB pacers. Although the effect size is small, it may be significant for racing; in a 7 furlong (1408 m) TB race, the 0.7% difference translates to an advantage of several lengths.

Item Type:	Article
Publisher’s Statement:	© 2007 Cambridge University Press.
Keywords:	Animal Physiology and Biochemistry (Excluding Nutrition) (LL600); Animals; Canidae; Canis; carnivores; Chordata; dogs; Equidae; Equus; eukaryotes; Fissipeda; Greyhound; greyhounds; horses; mammals; Perissodactyla; race horses; racehorses; racing performance; Running; sex differences; SPEED; Sport Animals (LL075) (New March 2000); Thoroughbred; Vertebrates
Subjects:	Q Science > QL Zoology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Faculty/Staff
Department/Unit:	College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > Biological Sciences
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2015 22:18
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/587

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