HORSE ID

The New Zealand Stud Book (managed by NZTR) keeps hold of the breeding and racing information of registered New Zealand Thoroughbreds. A New Zealand Thoroughbred is defined as any foal born in New Zealand that is registered.

Thoroughbred foals are eligible for registration only after they have been branded, micro-chipped, parentage verified and an official identification certificate has been completed by a vet. Micro-chipping was introduced in 2004; horses born before that were only required to be branded.

Below you will find a guide to finding out more information about your thoroughbred:

I ONLY HAVE THE HORSE'S BRANDS

Information on how to read brands can be found at the bottom of this page. If you only have the horses brands but don't know it's race name you will need download and fill out the 'Request for Identification of a Thoroughbred' form. There is no longer a search/admin fee. Once you have completed the form sent it to New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and if the horse is identified, their details will be sent to you.

NZTR, PO Box 38386, Wellington Mail Centre, New Zealand
OR email: studbook@nztr.co.nz

Request for Identification of a Thoroughbred pdf

I KNOW THE HORSE'S RACE NAME

If you know your horse's race name you can search for it in the online studbook: Stud Book Search - Race Name

I ONLY KNOW THE DAM'S NAME

You can search for a dam's progeny at Stud Book Search - Dam Name. You can find your horse from the results based on age, colour and sex or if you click into the horses shown you will see the brands.

I ONLY KNOW THE SIRE'S NAME

Thoroughbred stallions typically have a lot of offspring so in most cases the best option is to fill out the 'Request to Identify a Thoroughbred' form near the top of this page. However if you have the time you can search for the stallion and all of his progeny at https://loveracing.nz/stud-book/search. Once you have located the stallion click into his page and then go to the tab 'Stallion Produce' from there you can narrow down your search by year.

LOOKING FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFO?

Sometimes, when you've identified your thoroughbred horse, you'll want more detailed pedigree and race record information. At this point www.arion.co.nz can help you. Register as a Member (for fee-payable services) or a Guest (for free services only); then visit the Services Page for the menu of services available from Arion's website. Free services include 4 x 4 pedigrees and last five starts. Other services, e.g. catalogue-style pedigrees and full race records, are available at reasonable fees.

HOW TO READ A THOROUGHBRED'S BRANDS

Thoroughbred foals are eligible for registration only after they have been branded, micro-chipped, parentage verified and an official identification certificate has been completed by a vet. Micro-chipping was introduced in 2004; horses born before that were only required to be branded.

The brands comprise:

On the near shoulder, a registered cipher brand (a letter or combination of letters, or symbol). Examples are Cambridge Stud's S inside a C and The Oaks' acorn brand.
On the off shoulder, two numerical brands, one beneath the other. The bottom number is the last digit of the year in which the foal was born. The top number indicates the individual horse registered by the cipher brand owner in that particular year. So, for instance, a horse carrying the numerical brands 28 over 5 was Horse No. 28 branded by the cipher brand owner in the year 1995 or 2005. It's usually not too difficult (with the help of a vet if necessary), to determine if a horse was born in 1995 or 2005.