Stupid question thread

Earendil

I'm sure there was one of these in the Horse racing section of boards, but any of the ones I could find were more than 10 years old.

Anyway, my stupid question is: On the Racing Post app, when i click on a horse and go down to pedigree it list the sire then a number in brackets and then the dam, damsire in brackets and another number in brackets. Example below:

Sire:Dark Angel (IRE) (7.6f)
Dam:Azama (IRE)
Dam's Sire:Sea The Stars (IRE) (11.2f)
Breeder:S C H H The Aga Khan's Studs Haras De S A Le Prince Aga K

What do these numbers represent?

Cheers.

BoroMan32

I believe it's the (average) distance that the horse's progeny have won over. Obviously in the above example most Dark Angel offspring would tend to be sprinters/race up to a mile whereas Sea The Stars offspring have an average winning 'trip' of 11.2f so more stamina influenced etc.

I have one...

Do you know the way that you can track Sires in your horse tracker....is there any facility to track dams? I know that there would be far fewer compared to sires but it would be fierce handy for me!

The Tetrarch

Earendil wrote: »

Sire:Dark Angel (IRE) (7.6f)
Dam:Azama (IRE)
Dam's Sire:Sea The Stars (IRE) (11.2f)
Breeder:S C H H The Aga Khan's Studs Haras De S A Le Prince Aga K

What do these numbers represent?
Cheers.

I think they are for three year old and older runners (i.e. 2yo are ignored).

You have to be very careful with these averages.
I got into an argument on the Betfair forum before Saxon Warrior ran in the 2018 English Derby.
I was a bit doubtful about the average winning distance shown on the Racing Post website for his sire, Deep Impact (JPN) (about 11f).
I actually listed all Deep Impact's winners in the UK (found them on the RP website) and their winning distances, and used that to work out the AWD. My calculation matched exactly the RP figure.
Only about 12 winners made up the Deep Impact Racing Post AWD figure, and all of them except one (Saxon Warrior) were in grade 4, 5, 6 races (very low quality).
Saxon Warrior was the 4/5 fav in the Derby, based on his "stamina", and on the fact that Deep Impact won a two mile race in Japan on firm ground on a pancake flat oval track.

A more important consideration is that the average race distance in the UK is about 9.5f.
In the example above, Dark Angel AWD 7.6f, you must remember that he was mated to mares who probably had an AWD of about 9.5f.
So his influence X (his real effect) is (X+9.5)/2 = 7.6f. X therefore is 5.7f.
My guess is Dark Angel is a 5.7f horse.
If you look at his race record it is 4 races at 5f; 4 races at 6f; one race at 7f.
(4x5)+(4x6)+7 = 51/9 = 5.66f

If I was considering a runner by Dark Angel I would use 5.7f, not 7.6f, and add the best winning distance of the dam to 5.7f, say (5.7f+7.0f)/2 = 6.35f.
In your example you might be tempted to add 7.6f to 11.2f and assume the foal will get (7.6+11.2)/2 = 9.4f. Don't do that.

ON ZEE BRIDLE

I have one.Whats the difference between a normal fence and an open ditch?

ON ZEE BRIDLE

ON ZEE BRIDLE wrote: »

I have one.Whats the difference between a normal fence and an open ditch?

Steeplechase fences must not be less than 4ft 6in in height, the only exception to this is the water jump. Fences fall into two types, plain and open ditch. An open ditch is a plain fence with a ditch on the take-off side, thus forcing the horse to make a longer jump than at a plain fence. There are at least six fences to each mile of a steeplechase, one of which must be an open ditch.

source: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/qa-fencing-rules-1354041.html

The term ‘open ditch’ is used to describe a type of obstacle jumped during a steeplechase race. As the name suggests, an open ditch consists of a shallow ditch, several feet wide, in front of what is, effectively, a ‘plain’ fence. Like other plain fences, the fence consists of compacted birch cuttings, bound and placed in a rigid wooden or steel frame, and must be at least 4’6” in height. However, a plain fence typically has width, or spread, of about 8’, but the addition of the ditch increases the spread to about 11’, requiring horses to jump further than at a plain fence. Under the Rules of Racing, one in six of the obstacles in a steeplechase race must be an open ditch.

source: https://racingquestions.co.uk/what-is-an-open-ditch/