The Price of Thoroughbred Yearlings in Britain

This article investigates the British thoroughbred yearling market using the hedonic pricing method to identify factors affecting the auction price of yearlings sold in 2004. Although the results are consistent with standard findings reported for North American markets, the main focus of the study is an examination of the impact of the British Horseracing Board's recent Owners' Premium initiative, introduced to provide support to the domestic breeding industry. Using quantile regression methods, the authors find only limited evidence for a premium effect on yearling price. With respect to this criterion, the policy measure proves to be somewhat ineffective.