An Australian researcher says he’s found a reliable way for trainers to monitor Thoroughbred racehorse fitness using global positioning system (GPS) technology measurements of velocity and heart rate during fast gallop training routines. He presented the study at the 2005 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 3-7, 2005, in Seattle, Wash.

David Evans, BVSc, PhD, associate professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, used GPS technology to study the performance of 10 Thoroughbreds that had already completed six weeks of slow training and one week of fast-gallop work under the same trainer.

The horses wore heart rate monitors and their jockeys wore GPS receivers in their skull caps during fast gallop workouts. Measurements were taken before, during, and after four weeks of race training. The gear logged five-second averages of heart rate and velocity.

He found significant increases (8%) in the velocity at which horses reached maximum heart rates (VHRmax) with training, and in the velocity corresponding to heart rates of 200 beats/ minute (8.3%)