Family Numbers

Today most thoroughbreds from all countries belong to English families whose foundation or taproot mares are recorded in the General Stud Book of the United Kingdom. However, there are families that can be traced only as far as existing records permit. For example, in America, records were lost during the revolution and the civil war leaving the history of some families incomplete and without connection to the General Stud Book, and these families are now classified as American families.

English families were of sufficient size to require further subdivision and these are shown as Family 1-a, 1-b, etc. Well populated families will have divisions as recent as the twentieth century, such as that of Family 14-c, headed by Pretty Polly who was foaled in 1901 and La Troienne who was foaled in 1926.

Early family tables incorporate recent research and the corrections are discussed at the bottom of such pages. While none of the tables is meant to be comprehensive, we are adding classics winners.

English Families

English Families lists the traditional taproot mares from 1 to 74, plus some families we've recently numbered. (You can also click on the button). You can go directly to the table for a specific family using the numbers below. The Summary of Corrections lists some of the known errors that have been corrected by later researchers. The letters "q" and "v" were not used by Bobinski and Zamoyski in their Family Tables of Racehorses. The taproot mare of Family 15-c, Selima, was later assigned to Family 21. The taproot mare of Family 50, Miss Euston, was re-assigned to Family 13.

1 1a 1b 1c 1d 1e 1f 1g 1h 1i 1j 1k 1l 1m 1n 1o 1p 1q 1r 1s 1t 1u 1v 1w 2 2a 2b 2c 2d 2e 2f 2g 2h 2i 2j 2k 2l 2m 2n 2o 2p 2q 2r 2s 2t 2u 2v 2w 3 3a 3b 3c 3d 3e 3f 3g 3h 3i 3j 3k 3l 3m 3n 3o 4 4a 4b 4c 4d 4e 4f 4g 4h 4i 4j 4k 4l 4m 4n 4o 4p 4q 4r 5 5a 5b 5c 5d 5e 5f 5g 5h 5i 5j 6 6a 6b 6c 6d 6e 6f 6x 7 7a 7b 7c 7d 7e 7f 8 8a 8b 8c 8d 8e 8f 8g 8h 8i 8j 8k 9 9a 9b 9c 9d 9e 9f 9g 9h 10 10a 10b 10c 10d 10e 11 11a 11b 11c 11d 11e 11f 11g 12 12a 12b 12c 12d 12e 12f 12g 13 13a 13b 13c 13d 13e 14 14a 14b 14c 14d 14e 14f 15 15a 15b 15c 15d 16 16a 16b 16c 16d 16e 16f 16g 16h 17 17a 17b 17c 17d 18 18a 19 19a 19b 19c 20 20a 20b 20c 20d 21 21a 22 22a 22b 22c 22d 23 23a 23b 24 25 26 27 27a 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74

Family 1-x, belonging to La Troienne*, was numbered by Janeen Oliver on her Mare Maps, copyrighted in 2000 and displayed in 2002 at the TIEC trade show in Lexington, and implemented by the Pedigree Online Thoroughbred Database (formerly Del Mar Pedigree Query) in 2003. You are welcome to use the number if you wish. 1x

Family 6-x is a temporary classification for the descendants of Milbanke's Bald Peg. 6x

Selima was traditionally assigned to Family 15-c, however, C M Prior discovered her true pedigree which indicated that she belonged to Family 21. Her offspring are sufficiently numerous that we have given her a page of her own, although she remains part of Family 21. Selima*

The following families were initially assigned to traditional families, however, there is some doubt about the authenticity of their pedigrees, hence they have been alloted their own pages.
Jenny Cameron*, Kitty Fisher*, Mary Grey*

The following families have been numbered by us for research purposes. You are welcome to use the numbers if you wish. The tables are presently under construction.
100 101 102 103 104

American Families

American Families lists the taproot mares of North America from A1 to a90. (You can also click on the button). You can go directly to a specific family by clicking on the number below. The tables are presently under construction. For more information on the recently classified American families a40 to a90 see Foundation Matriarchs of the Thoroughbred. There are also a few Appendix families, or mare lines with short pedigrees. You are welcome to use these numbers if you wish. Please address questions or comments regarding American Families to Christine Matthes.

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17 A18 A19 A20 A21 A22 A23 A24 A25 A26 A27 A28 A29 A30 A31 A32 A33 A34 A35 A36 A37 A38 A39 a40 a41 a42 a43 a44 a45 a46 a47 a48 a49 a50 a51 a52 a53 a54 a55 a56 a57 a58 a59 a60 a61 a62 a63 a64 a65 a66 a67 a68 a69 a70 a71 a72 a73 a74 a75 a76 a77 a78 a79 a80 a81 a82 a83 a84 a85 a86 a87 a88 a89 a90

Appendix Families
ap1

Colonial Families

Colonial Families lists the taproot mares of Australia and New Zealand from C1 to c72. (You can also click on the button). You can go directly to a specific family by clicking on the number below. Families numbered from c36 to c72 have recently been numbered for research purposes. You are welcome to use these numbers if you wish. The tables are presently under construction. Please address comments or questions regarding Colonial Families to Carole Goodwin.

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 c36 c37 c38 c39 c40 c41 c42 c43 c44 c45 c46 c47 c48 c49 c50 c51 c52 c53 c54 c55 c56 c57 c58 c59 c60 c61 c62 c63 c64 c65 c66 c67 c68 c69 c70 c71 c72 c73 c74

Half-Bred Families

Half-bred Families - lists those English families from B1 to B26 whose foundation mares were not recorded in the General Stud Book. (You can also click on the button). You can go directly to a specific family by clicking on the number below.

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13 B14 B15 B16 B17 B18 B19 B20 B21 B22 B23 B24 B25 B26

Other Families

Other Families - lists the taproot mares of Argentina, Poland and Uruguay. (You can also click on the button). You can go directly to a specific family by clicking on the number below. An Uraguayan family was identified by Gustavo Mèndez and Tom Viebke in 2001.

Ar1 Ar2 P1 P2 Ur1

History of Family Numbers and Tables

Toward the end of the 19th century Bruce Lowe and others made attempts to classify the foundation, or taproot, mares according to the success, on the racecourse or at stud, of their direct, or tail-female, descendents. At that time Bruce Lowe identified approximately fifty mares, whose tail-female lines were alive, to which he assigned family numbers, much like a numerical surname. The mare with most Classics winners was given the family number 1, the mare with the second most Classics winners was given the family number 2, and so on. These family numbers are still in use today, and in many parts of the world are considered much more significant than in North America. At the very least they draw attention to the fact that there is more to a horse than simply the sire line. For a more detailed history of Bruce Lowe and his contemporaries, and an explanation of his figure system visit The Bruce Lowe Home Page.

Later, Captain Kaziemierz Bobinski and Lt-Colonel Stefan Count Zamoyski collaborated to produce Family Tables of Racehorses. In order to accomodate more horses Bruce Lowe's numbering system was expanded as follows:

Families 1-74 trace directly to a mare in the General Stud Book
Families 1-49 are numbered according to Lowe and Goos
Family 50 has been restored to Family 13
Family 51 is comprised of the descendants of the King William IV Arabian Mare (as in Keylock)
Families 52-74 remain unclassified or without a number designation
Families Ar1-Ar2 are Argentine families
Families P1-P2 are Polish families
Families A1-A37 descend from American Stud Book mares who cannot be traced to the GSB but which are accepted as foundation mares
Families C1-C16 are described in the Australian Stud Book as approved Colonial Families
Families C17-C33 descend from Australian and New Zealand mares who cannot be traced to the GSB
Families B1-B26 trace directly to Prior's Half-Bred Studbook

Having issued some 6 or 7 updates, Bobinski took all the updates, added a year or two to them and reissued the Family Tables as Vol II in the 1963. After Bobinski's death, Toru Shirai of the Japanese Bloodstock Agency purchased the copyright and in 1988 he issued Vol III of the Family Tables, bringing the Tables up to 1987. In 2004 the Japanese Bloodhorse Breeders' Association issued Volume IV of Family Tables of Racehorses.

Tail-female Pedigrees - Explanation of the short-format pedigree