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¹ Yeşiloba Hipodromu, Adana
² Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Zootekni Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
³ Ankara Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Ankara - In this research, the influence of the hoof size on the racing performance in Arabian and Thoroughbred horses was examined. The data for 912 and 949 racing records were obtained from 104 Arabian and 136 Thoroughbred horses, randomly selected from the horses which had 3 times the first rank at least in the years between 2003 and 2018. The horseshoe number was taken into account as a measure of the hoof sizes of the horses. The overall averages of the racing performance in the horses with horseshoe number of 5, 6 and 7 were 14.344±0.048, 14.310±0.033 and 14.591±0.043 m/sec (P<0.05) for Arabian horses; 15.841±0.058, 15.899±0.043 and 15.687±0.037 m/sec (P>0.05) for Thoroughbred horses, respectively. It has been determined that the effects of hoof size on racing performance in different gender, age, running type and racing distance in Arabian and Thoroughbred horses was insignificant (P>0.05). On the other hand, when all horseshoe numbers were taken into consideration, racing performances on the in turf racetrack were higher than in dirt racetrack (P <0.05, P <0.01, P <0.001). In conclusion, it was found that the hoof size in Arabian and Thoroughbred horses did not affect racing performance on turf and dirt racetrack by sex, age, running type and racing distance. However, when racing performance was evaluated in general, it was determined that horses with the largest hoof size had a tendency to have the highest racing performance in Arabian horses, but the lowest racing performance in Thoroughbred horses. Keywords : Arabian horse, Thoroughbred horse, racing performance, hoof size