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So I was at Wolverhampton today with the Mrs and she made a 'so obvious' remark that got me wondering. The race was the 5f opener and the horses basically ran towards the start which was a full 5f away, instead of going the other way round which would've made it only 3f to the post. The same was done for the 6f start (6f away when they could've just gone 2f the other way), and some of the horses/jockeys made it more than just a light stroll to post.
For the 7f races, the horses ran up to the 1f pole past the grandstand and then back again to the 7f 'chute' start, which is only about 100 yards away from where they enter the racetrack.
Mrs comment for the first race: They'll be knackered by the time they get to the start!
Which had me thinking, as it's not something I've noticed before and I wondered if at different courses the actual run/jog/canter/gallop to the off post were at different distances and how much this potentially took out of a horse. Are some distances truer to what they should be running i.e the point where the horses enter the course is only a few 100 yards from the start?
Example (using drawbias):
The 12f starts at Haydock and Beverley don't appear to be too far from the stands, but the 12f starts at Goodwood, Epsom and Newmarket Rowley appear to be a lot further away.
For the 7f races, the horses ran up to the 1f pole past the grandstand and then back again to the 7f 'chute' start, which is only about 100 yards away from where they enter the racetrack.
Mrs comment for the first race: They'll be knackered by the time they get to the start!
Which had me thinking, as it's not something I've noticed before and I wondered if at different courses the actual run/jog/canter/gallop to the off post were at different distances and how much this potentially took out of a horse. Are some distances truer to what they should be running i.e the point where the horses enter the course is only a few 100 yards from the start?
Example (using drawbias):
The 12f starts at Haydock and Beverley don't appear to be too far from the stands, but the 12f starts at Goodwood, Epsom and Newmarket Rowley appear to be a lot further away.
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I've always assumed each horse is different, by that I mean some may need a gallop down to the start to warm them up, whereas others would require a slow walk to ensure they don't get too hot or knackered. Also have always assumed, rightly or wrongly, that the trainer & jockey discuss this pre race and decide on which method of approaching the start to go with depending on the horse at hand.
We can injure ourselves by exerting when we're cold. Pull muscles and all sorts.
I assume that applies to horses as well.
I assume that applies to horses as well.
And to add to Crippen's point, horses can't warm up and stretch like humans can so the jog down to the start is more important for them than it would be in a human race.
Yep, and that's all fair enough but at some courses it appears that the 'warm up' looks relatively short but in others it looks a fair way! And as we have races that are won regularly by less than a length this warm-up distance surely must have some effect?
would need someone involved with horses to answer you there as my knowledge is limited on the matter
That's why people watch horses going to post to see if some are too keen and will take a bit out of themselves. Coasting down to post wouldn't take anything of a horse any more than the warm up in tennis would knacker a top pro (im0
Maybe. But with a horse who barely gets 12f would we back it knowing that in today's race it's a 1 mile jog to the starting post as opposed to all its other 12f wins where it's only been a couple of furlongs or less?
depends on how fast it goes to post, if it sprints there then maybe it won't give its true running, but if it's just a light canter than it's unlikely to take anything out of the horse
If they go to post in a controlled manner it makes no difference at all.
Fair enough, I'll go with the consensus on this one. Cheers.
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