| Michael, As a potential auditor I am sure you know to look behind the published figures. Despite all the work they put in, the GCA data is highly questionable, especially that related to breeding. 1. Everything is confined to 12 months or less, meaning that the lifetime performance of a sire or dam will not be shown.
2. I understand why they concentrate on Group racing only but the progeny of a sire or dam will always be measured on the basis of wins anywhere, not just over 500s in town.
3. Injury can cause a dog to jump in and out of any of the rankings at any time.
4. Luck and box draws also play a part. That is why I called for our authorities to grasp the nettle and modernise the statistical relationship between breeding and racing form and then publish it regularly. EG as a non-expert, I would want to know whether Fernando or Barcia progeny deliver 10%, 20% or 30% winners from their litters. So, too, with dams (how about Sobbing Sal?). In that context the GD racing info is never complete so cannot be used for analysis - as I have advised Tony. There will always be a host of other queries which warrant discussion - for example, why are Fernando and Barcia figures in a different order from state to state? A comparable issue is that prize money rankings need to be corrected for inflation (go Rapid Journey!). This is not hard to do. And while you are at it, you could do the same for prize money levels over the years (which VGOBTA has pointed to recently). GA is obviously not competent to do any of this so it is time to create a special unit which can do the job properly. It's critical to the advancement of the industry.
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Do you have questions about greyhound racing?
