From the very beginning of my Thoroughbred studies and research, it had disturbed me that it was so difficult to find useful continuity in the Thoroughbred reference materials available. I set out to create a unified source in which the reader would be able to locate a Thoroughbred name, place it in its genealogical context, and trace it back to the beginning of its sireline, all in one book.

The "Thoroughbred Pedigree Reference Sourcebook" is the end result of that effort. It lists more than 39,000 Thoroughbred names, from the early 1700s to the late 1980s, each properly placed in its sireline, and traceable back to the founding stallion without leaving the page. The 39,000-plus Thoroughbred names make up 539 pages, all fully indexed in a 132 page index. Both female and male offspring of stallions are listed, with females shown in italic type to easily differentiate. Where such females are noteworthy dams, their offspring are shown, and in some cases female lines are carried several generations.

Of course the book does not contain all Thoroughbreds from all time, as there have been millions. Its contents reflect my subjective judgement as to which names were to be included. Most of the names are noteworthy stallions and mares which have changed the breed by their contributions. Others are names which cause pedigree researchers problems because they are duplicates or very similar to others, are simply very obscure, or are necessary to show the development and decline of particular sirelines.

Among its many uses, the Pedigree Reference Sourcebook enables the you to:

1. identify and locate in their sirelines any of nearly 40,000 specific Thoroughbreds from almost three centuries of the breed
2. learn of significant siblings and offspring of specific stallions and mares
3. in many cases, especially from the early years, discover the intersection points between different sirelines as mares from one sireline produced important sires in another sireline
4. trace the rise and decline and disappearance of sireline branches in the tail-male heirarchy
5. discover the comparative numerical impact on the breed of different sires and sirelines
6. in many cases, see the geographical dispersion patterns of different sirelines and their branches
7. spend time you don’t have, just browsing through the wealth of material, reminding yourself of horses and facts you already know, and finding new and interesting details and Thoroughbred relationships.

The book is spiral-bound to open easily and lay flat for convenient usage. This format also makes it easy for users to make quality copies of single pages which contain information significant to them or to a client. I not only give my permission, but encourage purchasers of the book to use it in that way when it serves their purpose.

The book has been well-received by those who have seen it. I was especially gratified by Mary Simon’s review of it in the Thoroughbred Times of August 15, 1998, in which she stated,

"This ambitious endeavour should be appreciated by those who are intrigued by the fine tapestry of Thoroughbred pedigrees from historic times to the present. The Sourcebook’s 500-plus pages of meticulously researched pedigree lines constitute an easily accessible, fingertip resource with its 132-page index".