The effect of simulated censored data on estimates of heritability of longevity in the Thoroughbred racing industry

We examined the impact of censored data on estimates of heritability of longevity. Longevity, defined as the length of productive racing life of an individual, is influenced by many factors. A simulated data set, modelled on the Irish Thoroughbred industry, was used to estimate heritabilities of longevity. Several scenarios representing various levels of censoring of performance data were created. The heritability of longevity was estimated for each scenario and compared to the estimated heritability of 0.120 for the complete data set. It was found that the estimates of heritability (0.107, 0.106, 0.082) were biased downwards with (10, 20, and 25%, respectively) censoring of data from poor-performing animals. We found that for a complete reporting it is necessary to reduce bias in the estimation of heritability of longevity.