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Hi Folks,
Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Would you characterize a 7 furlong race as a sprint?
Brian
I wouldn’t quite call it a sprint but you need plenty of speed to race at 7f, it’s quite a specialist distance i would say
Agree with tbracing. 5f and 6f are sprints whereas 7f borders more on the Miling division than sprinting division in my mind. I think 7f is a good distance to give any horse its first run over.
The BHA (or their race planning / handicapping team) would only characterise races up to six and a half furlongs as ‘sprints’.
6f isn’t actually a sprint either, as the horses don’t go full out the whole way. It is just convenient to call it a sprint.
I thought that might be the case, David.
I suppose Sprints can be defined either by which kinds of muscles are used, or what kind of energy release system is used, although horses are different from humans as they can suddenly release extra quantities of something into their bloodstream, though I can’t remember what.
I wouldn’t quite call it a sprint but you need plenty of speed to race at 7f, it’s quite a specialist distance i would say
What he said.
Looking forward to Paco Boy returning to that trip again. Guess I have to wait for the Prix de la Foret?
Often refered to as an extended sprint either way a horse needs a fair amount of speed to compete.
Gerald wrote: as they can suddenly release extra quantities of something into their bloodstream, though I can’t remember what.
I can’t remember either, Gerald, but was it the same stuff that a Captain Price(?) horse initially failed a drugs test in the Schweppes Trophy a few years back but was subsequently found to naturally produce an abundance of ?
Wouldn’t be dextrose/adrenalin or something similarly sounding would it?Think you’re referring to Endorphins – natural opiates produced to combat the discomfort of muscle fatigue. Horses being flight animals produce more – or a more potent type – than humans allowing sustained speed beyond the ‘pain barrier’
Daresay endorphins, adrenaline and a host of other biochemicals synergise one another
the runner’s high
I think the difference between sprints and longer-distances is judged on use of anaerobic and aerobic systems.
I’m not sure whether the following passage from a Sports Medicine website about humans running complicates matters but:
An all out sprint, which requires a great deal of power output in a short period of time, uses the anaerobic system. The energy is quickly available, but the anaerobic pathways are not very efficient ; short term energy stores are rapidly depleted, lactic acid builds up, and exercise soon comes to a halt. After a brief rest, the system is recharged and ready for the next sprint. Distance running, which requires a steady power output over a long period of time, uses the aerobic system. These pathways can’t generate the speed of the anaerobic, but they do possess a great deal more efficiency and endurance. Depending upon the distance, and effort, the body can use different proportions of both of these systems. Those who have raced the 800 meter know it’s too long to be a sprint, but too short to be distance. This is right at the cross-over between the aerobic and anaerobic systems.
While running at a comfortable pace you use both systems, but the anaerobic:aerobic ratio is low enough that the lactate generated is easily removed, and doesn’t build up. As the pace is increased, eventually a point is reached where the production of lactate, by the anaerobic system, is greater than its removal. The AT, also known as the lactate threshold, is the point where lactate (lactic acid) begins to accumulate in the bloodstream.
Essentially horses would use the same two systems when galloping, and in a nutshell sprinters use the anaerobic system and stayers the aerobic system. I suspect seven furlong runners split the two.
Rob
I was thinking that horses can release more red blood cells into their bloodstream, but I was wanting someone to say that, rather than me suggest it.
7f is the Athletics eqivalent of racing over 300m.
A specialists trip without a doubt and horses such as Warningford and Quito where better at 7f.
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Thanks guys, I knew I could rely on you for informative answers. What I take out of your answers is that 7 furlongs is a specialized distance requiring special attributes of the horses involved.
If that is indeed the case, would I be correct in also surmising that following 7 furlong racing to the exclusion of any other would qualify as specializing, in terms of punting, and that, if one were to keep records, based on speed figures for that distance, one would be able to exclude the need to keep such records for any other distance?
(Sorry for the mouthful).
b
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