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The Jockey Pace Instructions |
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We will try to further explain how the jockey pace instructions work. Lets start by taking a look at the example below.
Each instruction has been used in the past and it is determined the horse's opening 1/4 with each of the instructions at 6f on the dirt at a certain track are:
Fast: 22-0 to 22-2
Above Average: 22-2 to 22-4
Average: 22-4 to 23-1
Below Average: 23-1 to 23-3
Slow: 23-3 to 23-5
Horse Lead: 23-0 to 23-2
The horse is put in a 6f dirt race and above average is selected. The horse runs an opening quarter of 23-0. It was determined the horse should have ran somewhere between 22-2 and 22-4 with the instructions so why did it run a 23-0? Below are some of the reasons why this may have occured.
Track Layout Difference - The race was run on a different track than the track above. The track the race was run on had a turn starting at 4 1/2 furlongs to the finish compared to a turn starting at 3 1/2 furlongs for the track in the calculations above. So the last half furlong of the opening quarter was in a turn for the race which would normally yield a slightly slower time.
Surface Difference - The race was run on a differenct track than the track above. The surface of the track the race was run on was a slightly slower surface for opening quarters.
Positioning - The horse was in post position 10 and out wide early in the race. To get inside the jockey had to hold the horse up a little which caused it to be slightly outside the scope of the above average pace.
Traffic - There was some traffic in front of the horse that slowed it down on the opening quarter.
Bad Start - The horse got off to a slow start and it affected the time of the opening quarter.
Bad Race - The horse had an off race and the jockey was never able to get the horse up to the desired pace.
Let's look at a couple other questions:
Q.My horse typically runs in opening half at 1 mile on the dirt at 46-2 with horse lead. I selected above average as the pace and the opening half was 47-0. How could my horse run slower with above average pace?
A.Your horse's natural tendencies with horse lead are faster than the above average pace.
Q.I selected above average for one of my horses in a a race at 1 1/16 mile on the dirt. The horse led the race in the opening half with a time of 46-3. I then entered the horse in another race at 1 1/16m on the dirt and selected above average for the pace again. This time the opening half was 47-1 but my horse trailed the field by 10 lengths. How could this be so different?
A.You will need to look closer at each of the races and consider some of the factors like mentioned above of track layout differences, surface differences, positioning, traffic, bad start, and bad race. If the tracks were different in the 2 races track layouts or surface differences could have been a factor. The horse may have been urge outside the scope of the pace in the first race or restrained outside the scope
of the pace in the second race for positioning. Traffic may have slowed the horse in the 2nd race. The horse may have gotten off to an exceptionally fast start in the first race or a bad start in the second race. The horse may have just had a bad race in the 2nd race and the jockey was never able to get control of the horse.
Q.Does the class of the race effect the pace or instructions?
A.Yes. The average pace in a higher class race on average is going to be faster so selecting average in a higher class race will result in a faster pace for your horse.
Q.What class would a workout be?
A.It is similar to a lower class race.
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