Pounds to lengths

UnitedIrishman

I've been trying to find this out on the net for feckin' ages but can't. Could someone tell me the conversion of pounds to lengths with regards handicapping?

For example, in the Mail today they said that Henrythenavigator is 4lbs in difference with The Rock which is the equivalent to two lengths.

Of course the length will differ depending on the size of the race, but how do you calculate it?

Any help appreciated.
Cheers

Bez32

UnitedIrishman wrote: »

I've been trying to find this out on the net for feckin' ages but can't. Could someone tell me the conversion of pounds to lengths with regards handicapping?

For example, in the Mail today they said that Henrythenavigator is 4lbs in difference with The Rock which is the equivalent to two lengths.

Of course the length will differ depending on the size of the race, but how do you calculate it?

Any help appreciated.
Cheers

Simple its just a pound for every half length one horse is better than another

fourofclubs

It is not as simple as it looks, the handicapper has to take in a few variables, such as ground conditions, the distance of the race, the time the race takes to be run, the weight carried by the participants and their age, the margins separating the runners and a few other factors. The poundage allowance for margin beaten will vary according to the distance of the race as well as the time the race takes to be run. A five-furlong race run in a fast time (e.g. 55 secs or less) will result in a poundage allowance of over 4 per length. For two mile races on the Flat the allowance will usually be only a little over 1.0, while a race like the Grand National, run over four and a half miles and jumps, will result in an allowance significantly less than 1 pound per lenght.

Bez32

Ah yeah that as well, I was just keeping it simple for the OP

Pj!

Some horses prefer to battle with others while some like to pull away.

Best of luck.

fourofclubs

The theory of handicapping is that in an ideal world all horses have an equall chance as is determined by the weight each horse carries, so in theory in a handicap all horses in should cross the line at the same time!! regarding the opening post is the race in question a handicap or stakes race? If it is the former you could question if the 4lb difference is fair.