A Pattern of Success can be as simple as the position in the pedigree tree of certain ancestors or as complicated as counting up the number of times the pedigree traces back to some obscure ancestor that you consider important. In fact when you get familiar with pedigrees you will find that, just as in handicapping the races, the patterns of success inevitably have exceptions. It is important to remember, however, that success in owning Standardbreds, like all other sports, is a game of percentages and those who play the percentages in their favour will be the ones to succeed.
To play the percentages you have to know them. One key measuring stick to use in assessing pedigrees is the percentage of performers by a sire that earn $100,000 or more. Typically a successful sire or broodmare sire will average 15% or better. A yearling is clearly much more than just a combination of a sire and a broodmare sire and indeed every sire has a profile, or pattern, in relation to the mares with which he has most success.
One of the most important things you can do when choosing a sire is to create the profile of what works with respect to the mares that produce their top performers. Creating a stallion profile is the first step in making correct stallion choices. A typical profile of the top twenty performers by any sire will show the combination of sire lines in the mare and the extent to which any sire line or indeed individual sire is common across the pedigree.