BTN Lengths

[tommylorna]

Can anyone tell me how to change btn lths into time?

[DrummerBoy]

Depends on how quick the ground is

The official formula (which varies from day to day according to circumstances) is roughly 5 lengths = 1 second, but it’s approx 4 lengths on soft ground and 6 lengths on firm

But it isn’t a perfect calculation

Particularly in jump racing, if the second horse is easing down it can be misleading because it takes longer than it should for it to reach the winning line

so be careful and check the video to spot any potential for discrepancies

[DrummerBoy]

also I forgot to say that they finish slower at stiff tracks/uphill finishes (eg Carlisle and Towcester) than they do on easy courses/flat finishes

also long races compared with short races

jumps compared with Flat

so that’s something else that confuses the issue

it’s all to do with the finishing speed of the horses, so it can never be completely accurate if you do it this way

[tommylorna]

Thanks for the reply
What would that be than in maths, is it as simple as if a horse get btn by 2 lths, would I then divide 2 by 5 which would give 0.4, is that how much is added to the winning time, to know the time of the btn horse.

[DrummerBoy]

yes 0.4 seconds in your example (divide lengths by 5 to get get the time, or you can make it 4 in soft ground and 6 on firm) but bear in mind that it’s an approximation

a problem in jump racing is that the way the races are timed (ie when the first horse crosses the starting line) adds a further approximation because that isn’t the same as the time when the horse you are talking about crosses the starting line

[Author]

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