Researchers have uncovered a possible link between coat color and harness racing performance. | Photo: iStock

An old adage says a good horse doesn’t come in a bad color. But recent study results might rewrite that saying. Researchers have uncovered a possible link between coat color and harness racing performance.

“We believe that there may be a connection between color and performance,” said Kim Jäderkvist Fegraeus, PhD, of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, in Uppsala.

Specifically, Fegraeus and colleagues noted a potential link between cold-blooded trotter performance and the pangaré coloring. Also known as the “mealy” coloring, pangaré features a lighter-colored muzzle, belly area, eye area, and flanks. This new study suggests pangaré coloring and racing performance could be coded on the same gene