Correlation of racing performance with fitness parameters after exercise tests on treadmill and on track in Standardbred racehorses

Abstract

Fitness parameters of racehorses were investigated after standardized exercise tests on treadmill and on track, and correlated with race-time. Twenty Standardbred trotters were divided into two groups (A and B) based on the time recorded during five national competitions carried out before the test. Five horses of group A were tested on a treadmill 3.5% slope and 5 horses were tested on a flat sandy track. The same procedure was carried out for group B horses. VLa4 (speed producing a lactate concentration of 4 mmol/L) and VLal (speed at which the mean variation of lactate was 0.2 mmol/L for an increasing velocity of 1 m/s) of group A and B were compared. The data of this investigation confirmed that different test protocols cannot be easily compared. VLa4 and VLal obtained with both tests seem however to be useful parameters to evaluate fitness in trotters.