Cloned Mules to Face Off in Race

In a low-stakes mule race in a remote corner of the West, nature versus nurture will be put to the test as two of the horse family’s earliest clones challenge naturally bred runners next month in Nevada.

It’s not exactly the Kentucky Derby, but two cloned mules named Idaho Star and Idaho Gem will compete in a professional mule race in Winnemucca, Nev., where the season begins.

Idaho Gem was the first animal from the horse family cloned, and his brother, Idaho Star, was the third. Both were born three years ago and carry identical DNA taken from a fetus produced by the same parents that sired a champion mule racer named Taz.

Because Gem and Star have been separated for two years and trained separately, watching how they perform against each other will offer insight into the role played by environmental variables, such as diet and training regimens, in developing racing mules.

Though the jokes about the two clones finishing in a dead heat are legion, no one is expecting a tie. And just because they carry the DNA of a past champion, there’s no guarantee the clones will be successful.

“We know they have the genetic capability to be great,” said Don Jacklin, who leases Idaho Gem from the University of Idaho for about $1,000 a year. Jacklin has hired a professional mule trainer to prepare Idaho Gem for his racing debut.

“We don’t know if they are going to have ... the attitude to want to run and want to compete and want to win.”

There are only about 70 mules competing on the California fair circuit, the most popular venue for the sport, because it offers about $5,000 a race and a total of $500,000 in purse money throughout the summer.

The Winnemucca races will be run in two heats and a final June 2-3.