Premier Information: In The End It's Down To Race Conditions

As we mentioned previously, The Grand National is going to be well underway this weekend! Getting back to our regular blog series, we have previously been looking at important factors that lead us to making a betting selection. It's not as easy as many would lead you to believe!

Today we are taking a look at Race Conditions.

Distance

A horse’s ability to “stay” a distance cannot be accepted until proven by the test of a race.
Most horses tend to excel at one particular distance – often referred to as the “trip”.
However, in looking at a race, one can get a feel for whether a horse may stay further or
improve for a drop in trip. Often, the trainer will experiment with a horse in terms distance
until they find out what is best for the horse. Of course breeding can give some clues but
that is not an exact science.

GOING!

This is the term referring to the ground conditions of the racecourse. Most horses have
a going preference. Some horses can turn out to be mudlarks and need soft to heavy
ground conditions to show their best. Others may need good to firm going. One can never
under estimate how important ground conditions are. If a horse with a liking for good to
firm runs in heavy ground then the form book may as well be thrown out of the window.
Many people grossly underestimate just how important this is. One of UK’s most feared
professional gamblers once told me the three most important factors in assessing a horse is
No1 The going. No2. The going and No3 The going! It is vital that any horse you choose
to carry your money has the ground in its favour.

WEIGHT

The more weight a horse carries then the slower it will run. Weight is the leveller of ability.
Enough weight will eventually stop a train. Conversely, they do not put weight on donkeys!

In handicap races, the weight of a horse is constantly reassessed and changed to correspond
to their performance. Penalties of weight are given to horses after they have won a
race. The weight a horse carries has to be carefully taken into account. Has the horse
successfully carried such a weight before? Is the horse being asked to do more than it
has done previously in its career? Perhaps the context of the weight in relation to the
opposition means that what appears a burden may in fact be perfectly acceptable?

Next time we will look at a few more factors to do with Race Conditions.

Remember, we have a new Premier Information Twitter account, so please follow us!