Pedigree is something which is quite objective, in that the performance of the offspring of a particular stallion or mare can be tracked. Yet, for all its objectivity, pedigree popularity is subject to all kinds of rising and falling tides of fortune, and is therefore almost more subjective than objective.
Someone called it “present expectation of future success based upon the past performance of the parents and grandparents.” That’s not a bad definition, because the key word is expectation, not guarantee. Assume three bay Thoroughbred yearling colts are standing in a row. They all look and move essentially alike. Yet one is worth $1,500 at a Thoroughbred auction, the second will sell for $15,000 and the third will fetch a staggering $1,500,000. This is entirely based on the pedigree, since they are all three very correct individuals. Their buyers have reason to expect that these colts will run to their pedigrees, that the two inexpensive babies will race in the claiming ranks, while the gold plated youngster has the potential to win graded stakes.
