Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Handicappers Blog (Flat - UK)

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  1. SOPL Writing Team2 April 2010 at 11:18

    Ratings -

    The ratings for your horses will in some cases yo-yo a little for the first couple of runs. It is hard to get an accurate reflection of your horses ability or level after just one or two performances, but after a couple of runs, your horses should stabilise around a certain mark.

    Handicaps:
    Horses that finish clear of the pack will receive harsh rises but most of the field will receive smaller moves up or down if the run warrants it. Don't expect to be dropped large amounts for one or two bad runs, as in real life, dropping down the handicap will be gradual while rising up will be sharp.

    Maidens, Listed and Group races:
    Horses who under-perform in maidens will only receive slight drops at best as the aim is to push a lot of these horses into handicap company.
    Listed and Group runners will be judged on the company they keep and are likely to receive harsh moves up the ratings. Be sensible when entering horses into these races, just because you can enter one horse per race doesn't mean you have to. Most horses who run in these races, especially Group races, will end up with ratings that will rule them out of a lot of handicaps in the future and leave them high in the weights for the ones they can enter. Be sensible with your entries, especially if you have a good horse with a good handicap mark. The schedule isn't designed for every horse to run every week so look ahead a couple of weeks, make sure your horse is entered in the most suitable race to give it the best chance.

    Appeals:
    I try and take as much info into account as I can when decided on a rating but with over 500 horses running every week, I can't consider everything and of course mistakes can be made. If you feel your horse has been hard done by, or a mistake has been made with it's rating, you can notify us stating your case and we will look into it if merited.

    Odd Entries:
    Horses entered in overly unsuitable races, ie a 10f horse running over 6f, will not be dropped no matter how bad it's performance and may even incur a penalty. A stewarding team is in place so it will not go unnoticed.

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