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Warwick M. Bayley, provost and executive vice president of Washington State University, announced Thursday that he’s stepping down in May to further his work on race horse research.

Bayley, a veterinarian by training, has been involved in developing a device at WSU that would measure a race horse’s potential to perform on the track. The device, which is worn over the horse’s nose, includes a recording device that a jockey wears to measure metabolic and performance data while the horse is exercising. That could help horse trainers predict a young horse’s potential on the track.

Bayley, who was previously dean of WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has been provost for five years. He said he’s ready for a change of pace and joked that a provost year “is a bit like a dog year,” because it feels like it’s longer than 12 months — especially during the economic downturn, when state universities were forced to make tough budget cuts because of revenue shortfalls.

“I’ve got a few good years in me and I’ve been thinking about this for a fair while,” said Bayley, who is 61. “It’s intellectually very stimulating and very exciting. It’s the thing I’m thinking about as I’m driving my vehicle.”

He said he hopes the device can be commercialized through the university, which would benefit the school financially.