title: Using quarterly earnings to assess racing performance in 70 thoroughbreds after modified laryngoplasty for treatment of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To validate and then use quarterly earnings to assess racing performance of Thoroughbreds after modified laryngoplasty for treatment of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thoroughbred racehorses after modified laryngoplasty (N = 70), and untreated cohorts (N = 210).
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical (2005-2008) and race records of 70 Thoroughbred racehorses treated by modified laryngoplasty were reviewed. Postsurgery data were collated as the number of starts and the dollar race winnings for each quarter after the date of surgery. Comparisons were made to an untreated cohort population. Initial comparisons were made between subgroups of the untreated cohort to ensure that one randomly selected group of untreated horses would not differ significantly from another untreated group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the last race before surgery, treated horses performed significantly (P < .001) worse than untreated horses. When data were examined by quarter, with the exception of the first quarter after surgery, there were no significant differences in race starts or dollars earned between treated horses and untreated cohorts. All treated horses had at least 1 race after surgery and there was no difference in cumulative survival up to 40 races after surgery between treated and untreated groups
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quarterly earnings can be used to provide a more detailed longitudinal assessment of a racehorse's performance. Horses treated by modified laryngoplasty for recurrent laryngeal neuropathy return to similar level of performance as their untreated cohorts by the second quarter after surgery, and continue to compete as long as their cohorts.
authors: Department of Clinical Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, PA, USA.
authors: Helen
authors: H
authors: Aceto
authors: Eric J
authors: EJ
authors: Parente
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006736:Horses; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D007830:Larynx / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012420:Running; D013177:Sports / Q000191:economics*