The Track Philosopher

The home stretch begins at the end of the far turn and comprises the last eighth to quarter mile of the race. It is important that the jockey has his horse in position for this final leg of the race. The inside of the track will save ground and cut out a fraction of the distance but it is often the slower part of the track. Many jockeys prefer to swing to the outside after the turn and head down the middle of the track.

The perception is that some horses are picking up speed toward the finish line. The reality is that some horses are slowing down and running out of energy which makes the others look like they are going faster.

This is also the time that the jockey will use the whip to urge the horse. Sometimes the jockey will just show the horse the whip and it will react but most cases a few taps on the horse’s hind quarters will let the animal know that the finish line is near. Some jockeys also use the whip to deter other horses who are coming up from behind. As they approach, a few waves of the whip in the face of the oncoming horse tends to startle and confuse the animal. Rules state that the whip should be used on the opposite side of an oncoming horse, but when that jockey switches hands is a judgment call.

The home stretch is the most exciting part of a horse race. The horses are in full stride, the jockeys are guiding them through the traffic, trainer’s and owner’s hearts are on overload and the fans are going crazy. One of the most famous sentences in horse racing was originated by the late Dave Johnson, announcer for the New York Racing Association, and used by many track announcers today. “And DOWN the stretch they come!!”, will always remain a part of horse racing.

The backstretch is the length of track furthest from the grandstand. It is also the longest straight stretch in a horse race. It is here where jockeys are are getting their horses into position for the “far turn” and sub sequentially the “homestretch”. This is also where the term “jockeying for position” was no doubt born. In any type of racing pace is a key element. Jockeys help pace the horse during the early part of the race so that when it is time to kick it into high gear the horse has some energy stored up.

Each horse has it’s own style and with the communication between the jockey and trainer before the race a plan is devised. Some horses run most efficiently when they are out front, others like to stalk from only a couple lengths back down the backstretch and a few like to lay back from the pack and even trail the field saving all it’s energy for the final couple of furlongs.

Before the common use of TV monitors at the track spectators equipped themselves with binoculars to watch the action that takes place on the backstretch. Pictured above is the Triple Crown winner Citation of Calumet Farms in Lexington, Kentucky pacing himself down the backstretch.

Today, large flat screen TVs and even Jumbo-trons allow spectators and bettors a great view of the backstretch strategy.

Races are classified as two types, sprints and routes. Sprints are usually any distance under a mile and routes are any distances a mile or more. Fifty years ago or so the distinction was more obvious since sprints were 6 furlongs and routes were one mile, a mile and 70 yds., a mile and a sixteenth, a mile and an eighth, quarter or three eighths and so on. There were many route races but basically one sprint.

Today the difference is somewhat blurred with the introduction years ago of the five furlong, five and a half furlong, the six and a half, seven and seven and a half furlong races. It’s now a matter of opinion whether a seven or seven and a half furlong is a sprint or route.

Since most tracks are a mile, horses pass by the grandstand twice in races of more than a mile. The first turn in such a race is called the clubhouse turn. With sprint races the starting gate is located across the track, or even down a short runway, so the horses only have one turn to maneuver.

Races also have several mediums or types of racing surfaces. Dirt is the most popular, the newest and safest surface, polytrack and the turf track like the above photo. The clubhouse turn shown above, by the way, is located at the beautiful Del Mar Race Track in California.

Before the electronic starting gate horses were lined up across the track behind a chalk line and when it seemed all the horses were ready the starter dropped a flag, a bell sounded and the horses took off. Many times a horse was in the process of backing up or the bell and flag startled the horse and caused it to rare up, hence loosing ground right from the start.

Sometimes races would have several miss-starts and cause the event up to a half hour delay. Something had to be done. Several attempts in the twenties and thirties were made to develop a safe and fair starting system but it wasn’t until July of 1939 in Vancouver when Clay Puett’s electronic gate system let 12 horses take off at the same time with a touch of a button. Puett, a horse trainer from Texas, had been working on the idea for 7 years. He understood the need for the horse and jockey to be as comfortable as possible while other horses were loaded. He knew that horses could be trained to accept the confines of the cubicle and could get a fair and safe start since all the gates would open at the same time.

Throughout 1939 Clay Puett promoted his electric gates at Hollywood Park and the first electric start in the U.S. took place at Bay Meadows in San Mateo, CA in the fall of that year. Churchill Downs ordered a 14-stall Puett model, which was used to start the 1941 Kentucky Derby. Many of the original features in Clay Puett’s starting gate are still used today.

“You can’t tell the players without the program!”, as the old saying goes. And, you can’t tell which horse is which or which horse has the best chance to win without up to date statistics of their past performances.

Each horse has a code tattooed under it’s upper lip. When the horses are in the paddock (prep area) they are checked to see if the right horse is wearing the correct corresponding program number.

Horse racing allows about 30 minutes between races and for several good reasons. One, so the jockeys can clean up and prepare for their next race and two, so the fans can sift through all the statistics to find who they want to win the next race. This is the ultimate challenge… picking the winner.

To attempt to do so one must be armed with scads of information i.e. number, jockey, weight, sire & dame, owner, trainer, age, winnings, distances, past races including times, place in the race, pace of the race, types of races and on and on and on. There is however one necessary tool available with all the above information and even more, and that is the Daily Racing Form.

On their website the DRF describes them self thusly: Daily Racing Form, “America’s Turf Authority Since 1894,” was born in Chicago on Nov. 17, 1894 when it first appeared as a four-page broadsheet. Over the last 113 years, DRF has been the country’s only daily national newspaper dedicated to the coverage of a single major sport. DRF is the most complex newspaper in North America, publishing up to 2,000 unique pages of statistical and editorial copy every day, in as many as 25 daily editions, 364 days a year (with the exception of Christmas Day).

Carefully deciphering and comparing all the information on all the horses in a race might give you the horse with the greatest potential to win, it doesn’t guarantee a winner. There is many unseen variables that may or may not play a major role in a race. One of those variables is appropriately called “Luck”.

Wagering is as much of horse racing as the oat bag. Without it racing would be a state fair attraction at the most. With the many introductions of quick mathematical computations comes the never ending wide array of ways to wager on each race.

Sixty years ago it was win, place, show, across the board, daily double, exacta and trifecta. Today that list has become very creative with the late double, pick 3, pick 4, pick 6, Quinella and Derby Futures bets.

Terms like wheel, key, straight, over and with are all used when bets are coming into the cashier. The next time you are waiting in line, take a moment and extend your listening antennae to the front of the line and how fast some of these bets are made. The cashiers, most of the time, keep right up with it like a courtroom stenographer at a divorce hearing.

The best bet to make in horse racing is one that you are comfortable with and one in which gives you the best chance of winning. Some rules of thumb, don’t place too many different bets because you are betting against yourself, always check your ticket and your change before leaving the window and never tear up a ticket after a race, there might be an objection or an inquiry.

And finally, only bet what you can afford to lose and only bet big when betting with the track’s money.