Important information

This website includes information about trotters from many different countries and there are some things we would like our visitors to know:

1) Gender definions for the horses in the library pages:
Filly - young female up to 4 years
Mare - older female or brood mare
Colt - young male up to 4 years
Horse - male 4 years or older
Stallion - male horse in stud

2) We standardize race times and distances by using the metric and American measurement systems. Kilometer Rates (KR) used as records in Europe are converted into Mile Rates (MR). Besides the obvious differences between the measurement systems, there are many very important differences how records are recorded in Europe and in North America.

Starting November 2005, all horses with their records in MR (mile rate, used in the USA, Australia and New Zealand) and KR (kilometer rate, used in European countries other than United Kingdom) are based on where the horse sets its record. All records set in MR, are set as winners as we do not have the capacity to check out each horse's best beaten time in MRs. This means that if a horse is exported to Europe and do not race there, we may list the horse with a MR record different from the best beaten time record that the horse is listed with in its new country.

We feel it is most accurate not to translate the records, based on these facts:

• In most European countries each KR is followed by a letter that describes over what distance the record was set. The horses race over distances ranging from 1600m (one mile is 1609m) to 4500m. This information is lost when we transfer KR into MR.

• There are two starting methods in many European countries. The letter "a" after KR indicates the record was set in a race with a starting gate, and "v" indicates the record was set in a race with a volting start. This information is lost when we transfer KR into MR.

• In France an "a" after the KR means the record was set in a harness race where a starting gate was used (auto), and an "M" after the KR means the record was set under saddle (called monté in Europe). This information is also lost when we transfer KR into MR.

• A horse's KR is the horse's fastest racetime. Many KRs are established without the horse winning the actual race. When a horse sets a record as a winner, there is a star (*) in front of horse's KR . Because MR's are all noted when the horses win, we have previously added the letter "b" after the KR's we have translated to MR's that are noted as best beaten time. For KR's, mostly in France and Italy we do not always have the information to know if the record is set as a winner or not.

Explanations of letters in records:

3) There are mostly half mile and five-eighths mile tracks in Europe. There is no indication in the KR of the track size so we have no letter after the MR when the record is set as a KR in Europe.

4) For users of the English version outside of North America, the letter "m" after Mile Rates means MR set on a mile (1609m) track, "f" means MR set on a five-eighths mile (1000m) track and "h" means MR set on a half-mile (800m) track, "s" means MR set on a 7/8 mile (1408m) track, "z" means MR set on a one-turn mile (1609m) and "q" means MR set on a 3/4 mile (1206m) track.

5) In North America, only a winning Mile Rate (MR) is a noted record. The MR for the horse may differ from the horse's best racetime. Therefore, the horse's record in a European Registry may be the fastest race time the horse has achieve in North America and it may differ from it's North American record (fastest win time). When a horse has raced only in North America we use the record the horse has in the United States Trotting Association (USTA) because we do not have the capacity to check out each indivuals best beaten time. For this reason, sometimes horses that has been exported to Europe but only raced in North American, may be registered with a better record in the new country's registry than on our website.

6) The lifetime earnings of the horses is given in the currency of the country where the horse was last registered. A universal currency converter can be found here.

7) We have worked hard to find the correct pedigrees for the older horses in our library, but we would like to make sure that our users realize the fact that before blood typing and DNA testing started, there are no 100% accurate answers to the pedigrees - and the older the horse, the less accurate the information will be. We have a large number of old books to aid us in our search, and we also have very good help from our partner Tom Viebke, who has spent several years mapping the most probable crosses when more than one versions of a pedigree is described in the literature.

8) Messenger (GB) is listed as grandsire to the mare Amazonia, in Hambletonian 10's pedigree in our library. This is according to the Wallace Register Vol.1, which was the first stud book for standardbreds in the United States (in the late 1800's). Later studies have made it uncertain that Messenger is Amazonias grandsire. For this reason we want to mention that the link we have to Messenger from Amazonia in Hambletonian 10's pedigree in our library may not be accurate (in i.e. the article about Messenger that is written by Bo Fransson, there are only three links to Messenger listed in the pedigree of Hambletonian 10 - not four as it would be if one also count the link from Amazonia).

9) Seely's American Star (US)** is listed in the American Trotting Register with Stockholm's American Star (US)** as sire, and this information is what we have used in the pedigree of this stallion. There has been a lot of discussion about what stallion is the real sire of Seely's American Star (US)**, and Hervey (The American Trotter 1947) is of the opinion that the Morgan stallion Couburn's American Star (US) is more likely the correct sire, although he states that Seely's American Star (US)** didn't have the qualities of action and conformation that could confirm his connection with Morgan horse bloodlines. If Seely's American Star (US)** had Couburn's American Star (US) f.1830 as sire, his grandsire would be Cock of The Rock (US) f.1823 by Sherman Morgan (US) f.1808 by Justin Morgan (US) f.1789.

10) Regarding the sire to the two French stallions Quiroga II and Quiproquo II and the French mare Quinauderie: the French stud book has Gael (F) listed as their sire. However, in 1992 it was made public by Albert Veslard’s son (Albert Veslard is the breeder of the mentioned horses) that mares owned by his father that were due to be covered by Gael in 1937 were in fact covered by the American stallion Calumet Delco. The subsequent foals by Calumet Delco were registered as by Gael because the Stud Book du Trotteur Francais was closed at the time to all outside blood. As there are no officially registered foals by Calumet Delco in the Stud Book du Trotteur Francais his line doesn't officially exist, however its existence is commonly accepted in France where the leading trotting magazine, Trot Information, refers to this line as 'Lignee Calumet Delco'. We therefore list these horses as by Calumet Delco (US) even though this differs from the French stud book.

11) We have listed Flora Temple (US) as daughter of Bogus Hunter (US). This is according to Wallace who published The American Trotting Register. There have however been discussions about paternity to this mare, and wether her sire really is One Eyed Kentucky Hunter, which is by the same sire as Bogus Hunter (Kentucky Hunter). Parlin states the following in the book The American Trotter (1905). "There is direct evidence to prove that Mr Welch (breeder of Flora Temple) took the dam of Flora Temple to the home of Bogus Hunter and had her mated with that horse, but that she failed to conceive and was sent back by a boy. Bogus Hunter was so busy the day that she was returned that his stable mate, One Eyed Kentucky Hunter, was used instead. Both were by the same sire, but Bogus Hunter was considerably larger than One Eyed Kentucky Hunter. Flora Temple bore much stronger resemblance in size to the latter than the former, and the evidence seems conclusive that One Eyed Kentucky Hunter was her sire."

12) Regarding sire to Varus (F): it is uncertain if Kozyr (F) or Embleme Royal (F) is the biological sire. We therefor list Varus (F) as son of both of these stallions.

13) About sire to Tigellin (F): it is uncertain if Kozyr (F) or Hyagnis (F) is the biological sire. We therefore list Tigellin (F) as son of both of these stallions.

14) About sire to Narold M (F): it is uncertain if Harold D III (F) or Ettlingen (F) is the biological sire. We therefore list Narold M (F) as son of both these stallions

15) We indicate the country of origin after each horse's name. This makes it easier to follow when US bloodlines become European lines.

16) Mile-rates (MR) translated into Kilometre Rates (KR)