V200 is the speed, or velocity, that your horse is travelling when his/her heart rate hits 200 beats per minute. Many studies worldwide have correlated this number with racing performance and earning potential. It's amazing that studies in Japan, Australia, Europe, and the US all exhibit similar findings.
Now a disclaimer, horses are skittish and their heart rates are not always indicative of their level of conditioning. Some horses heart rates settle to an accurate number within seconds, others take a few minutes. So, it's not as simple as checking your GPS for speed when you see the heart rate hit 200. To be accurate, it takes some collecting of data and graphing tools.
I think we can all agree that faster is better. If we can pinpoint an intensity level of exercise, let's say 85% of maximum, then the faster a horse can travel, the fitter he is. V200 is based on a maximum heart rate of 230 - but your horse may differ and need adjustments - it's a bit of work to find this out.
Anyway, to the meat of the post:
V200(mph) class
under 20 not fit enough to compete safely
20-22 struggling to break maiden
22-24 $10k claimer
24-25 $25k claimer
26-27 allowance level
28-30 stakes level
30+ graded stakes performer
Some notes to add here:
These figures are from dirt tracks and collected during gallops slower than 2 minute licks.
The longer the race, the more these numbers mean. A true sprinter at 5.5F can outperform his V200 easier than a miler, for instance.
While comparing V200 across different horses is certainly valid, the real benefit is comparing V200 numbers over time in each individual. If V200 is moving up, that is good - moving backwards is bad.
You can see from the above, that very small changes in V200 can mean the difference between a money losing horse and a big time earner.
Perhaps most importantly, when you know V200 - you can determine Ideal Gallop Paces that elicit the best conditoning effects, more on that next post.
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