average earnings index (AEI)

[Joltman]

Not sure where I fetched that number. Clearly off... Late night maybe...

But ATG is still ahead of the game. Horses that overcome a low CI are valuable. It makes you wonder when a horse could get 1.5AEI with 1.0 CI what they could do with 2.0 mares.


jm

[da hossman]

It is also important to note that once a stallion becomes one of the very best (i.e. Storm Cat, AP Indy) that horse is bred to the best mares, which have huge CI numbers. So the very best stallions may have AEI greater than CI early in their career but as they get increasingly better mares their CI becomes greater while their AEI may not change - eventually the very best stallions have an AEI less than their CI.

Similarly stallions that start with very good mares (Giants Causeway, Lemon Drop Kid) have a hard time ever getting their AEI above their CI.

AEI & CI are very valuable tools, but must be understood to be used best. Stallions that start their careers at modest stud fees (Distorted Humor, Dynaformer) often have AEI greater than CI throughout their career because of the poor quality of their initial books of mares. They have truly improved their mares.

It would be pretty tough to improve mares like Words of War, Silvery Swan, Myth To Reality, etc. but that is what the elite stallions must do if they are to have an AEI greater than their CI!

[mightyhijames]

DH, that's a very good point. after reading this thread, i began looking at the AEI / CI and find it very useful. i did notice that the AEI rarely seemed larger than the CI and sort of wondered about that. good post, thanks.

[Rahy85]

Another angle on the AEI...

http://www.thoroughbredreview.com/AEISIComparison.htm