Past Performances
Columns
- Date: date of the race.
- Course: course at which the race was run.
- Nr: race number in the track program.
- Class: class of the race, as measured by our own class measure. The scale of this class number is exactly the same as the scale of the predictive ratings: it goes from 0 to 100.
When a race has a class rating of 74, it means that the winner of the race would have been expected to run a 74. The class rating is intended
to give you an idea of what the class of the race is, so if a horse wins a race with a rating much higher than the designated class rating, it could be a sign that the horse is ready to step up in class.
Alternative explanations must, however, always be considered. Maybe the track was very quick that day, or maybe even for just part of the program. Or maybe the electronic equipment failed and some recorded times are simply wrong!
- Type: describes the type of the race. There are many different types, but the far majority of races can be classified as "ST" (stakes), "AL" (allowance), "CL" (claiming), "MS" (Maiden Specialweight) and "MC" (maiden claiming). A very brief summary of types of races can be found here.
- Purse: the total purse of the race. The winner usually gets at least 50% of the purse.
- Tag: the price of the horse (horses who run in a CL or a MC race are for sale, the "TAG" is the price of the horse).
- Surf: surface over which the race was run.
- Dist: distance over which the race was run.
- Going: ground conditions of the race.
- Early: speed rating for the first two furlongs (see the paragraph at the end of this section for more information).
- Middle: speed rating for the middle part of the race.
- Late: speed rating for the last two furlongs of the race.
- Rating: speed rating for the full length of the race.
- Result: finishing position for the race. For example, 3/9 means that the horse finished third of nine finishers. 10/9 or 0/9 means that the horse was pulled up.
- Jockey: the jockey who was riding the horse in this race.
- Trainer: the trainer of the horse at the time of the race.
The scale of the numbers in the Early, Middle, Late and Rating columns is from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the better the performance.
If you wish to convert these numbers to lengths, a guide can be found on our general help page.
Note that all numbers take weight and age into account, which can have some unexpected consequences. Here is an illustration: if a 4 year old who carries 110 lbs beats a 4 year old carrying 124 lbs
in a tight finish, the horse carrying the bigger weight will get a higher rating than the winner. I realize that weight is a sometimes hotly debated factor, but our research has unequivocally shown its effect to be limited but not negligible.
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Happy Handicapping!!!
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