There Is only one way to succeed in winning. You must keep accurate records race to race year to year. I chart each race and each pigeon along with the pair. Upon arrivial I mark all the pigeons in the top 5% of the birdage in each race. After the first year I check my records any pair not producing I remate. I do the same the following year. If a pair fails I cull them regardless of cost or pedigree.
    One day in my office I was chatting with two pigeon fliers.One being a woman who tops the sheet in her club that is most respected by her dedication and results. I asked a simple question would you want a young bird that was lost brought into a local pigeon store lost by an unknown flier and this pigeon was from his best.Being sold for $2.50 that went on to breed winners year after year. Or purchase a young bird from an Ace pigeon for $1,500.00  that never bred a competitive pigeon.. Both responded the $2.50 bird store pigeon.
    What happens a flier dreams of breeding champions,steps out spends a lot of money for a pigeon proberly three times more then he wanted to. But to achieve a solid family he buys a pigeon from the lofts that have strong ads. Ace Bird The best in Europe along with a heavy pedigree. you take this pigeon mate it to four or five different mates looking to click. After you have 40 or 50 worthless foundation pigeons that did not produce one single winner.
      So the following year you start again with another fancy pigeon. The problem in this country the average flier does not know about the result sheets. When they advertise winner of 6 prizes.That pigeon might not have been in the top fifty positions. In Holland they give a prize 1-10 so if the race has 250 birds 25 prizes re given out. Ninty percent of the ace pigeons never won a race ace pigeons are based upon distance & average speed. In Holland a young bird only flies to the 250 mile station.
         Another example is the distance more than 80% of the races are short to middle distance 80 miles to 150 miles.Each kilometer = 6/10th of a mile. Only today I was reading an ad of a 15year old cock supposedly still filling his eggs,He is the Champion winning @Creil 243 kilometers-137 miles these youngsters are only $1500.00.

      I feel if you need new blood in your loft as everyone does. Get to a local flier that wins his share of races at all distances. Purchase two or three pigeons at a reasonable price select your inbred pigeons from your loft and introduce the new blood. It Has been proven all champions are bred from an inbred out cross.

       Getting back to the system I use is simple. I mate the best fliers I have to the best again giving them two years to earn a perch. I inbreed & line breed from all of my producing pairs. The only problem with this is you get the best of the best or the worst of the worst if the genes do not click

       When You cull as I do and I cull heavly show no mercy regardless of cost or pedigree. If you follow the families I created you will see how strong the gene pools are. I have never sold a cull if the pigeon is up to my standards how could it produce for you.

 All of the champion fliers have a simple rule of thumb if 10% of your racing team iscores in the top 10% in the races you have an excellent loft.

Donna Barcelona   1st Joe Parkway Memorial Race   7:11 in Front A M Loft 2nd&3rd 3 On the drop      (The Bronx Tal )      Father is  " Ricky Boy "a 1/2 Bro.to Arnold 1st Int. Barcelona 1997 24,494Pig.