Thomas on Horses
Thomas on Horses: Introduction
The first thing that stands out to me about this year’s Kentucky Derby is depth. From a herd dynamic and emotional conformation standpoint, there were only two truly high-level horses in last year’s Derby — Animal Kingdom and Dialed In. This year there are at least eight, and these horses are still developing!
Of those eight, three have nearly perfect emotional conformation profiles — Union Rags, I’ll Have Another, and Went the Day Well. The next five horses I list are very high level, but they have one thing or another within their profile that led me to rank them just below the top. None of the top eight would surprise me if they won.
Last year’s Derby split into two herds and was a cleanly run race. Animal Kingdom dominated from a herd dynamic standpoint. With so many high-level horses in this field, I would expect to see a lot more battles for space in this year’s edition.
Just as the physical pace of the horse is important to consistently win races at classic distances, a horse also needs to have a good psychological pace. Because of all the high herd dynamics in this field, it’s going to be a very demanding race, a battle of wills.
The result could have a lot to do with how the pattern of motion fleshes out. Like some past Derbies, this could be a race where a horse with a good forward focus finds itself in a position to win by avoiding the early and mid-race battles. The highest level horse doesn’t always cross the finish line first.
To view a contender profile, click on a horse’s name in the right column.
Kerry Thomas is a groundbreaking researcher of behavioral genetics in horses. He created emotional conformation profiling, which measure’s the mental and emotional capacities of the equine. Horse owners around the world use him to profile and unlock the minds of their horses both in training and pre-purchase evaluations. Thomas’ work in the field of equine behavioral genetics has pioneering applications in all the sport horse industries, including Thoroughbred racing and breeding. 
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