The objective of this study was to characterize breed differences using SNP available on commonly-used marker panels compared to using genome-wide SNP haplotypes derived from the same markers. The percentage of breed-specific segregating haplotypes was much higher than that of SNPs. Principal components of haplotypes characterized breed difference better than SNP genotypes. Results indicate that haplotypes characterize breed differences more adequately than SNP genotypes and hence offer promise to improve genomic prediction and fine mapping in multi breed populations