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I recall someone here recently requesting that the actual weight of horses should be available prior to racing, in order to detect potential improvement or deterioration. At first glance, one imagines each racecourse having to go to the expense of installing a weighbridge for the horses to have to stand on.
However, am I right in thinking that, as with humans, the weight can be determined by throwing a tape measure around part of the horse’s anatomy and using a mathematical formulae to come up with a near accurate weight?
If so, I would imagine this to be a fairly simple exercise that could and should be performed on racedays
KThis has been mentioned many times on here and of course the idea that the BHA’s new website should be a form of communicating this sort of information has raised it again.
Tapemeasuring is used on some pleasure horses in order to get a rough estimation so they can give them the right amount of feed etc. I don’t think it would be accurate enough for the purposes of going forward in the racing (and betting) industry.
Weigh scales are becoming more portable and cost effective but it would still be a costly business to have one at each meeting and to pay somebody to operate it.
I’ve seen them in action in Hong Kong and Singapore but these are countries where they only have 1/2 tracks.
The biggest drawback as I see it is that, unlike these Asian tracks, we don’t deal with a population mostly consisting of mature geldings.
Here you’d have to take into consideration that young horses grow – and therefore put on weight – which would make finding an optium racing weight more tricky for punters. Similarly we have mares who go through monthly cycles and therefore their weight also changes.
You also have to realise that horses arrive at racecourses here at varying times – some over night whilst at places like Newmarket only within an hour of the race so new rules on arrival/weighing times would have to put put in place.
Given that technology exists to get the results out to websites etc we’d also need a way of letting all racegoers know the weights of each horse – something that is put on the big screens in Asia.
The biggest drawback as I see it is that, unlike these Asian tracks, we don’t deal with a population mostly consisting of mature geldings.
Here you’d have to take into consideration that young horses grow – and therefore put on weight – which would make finding an optium racing weight more tricky for punters. Similarly we have mares who go through monthly cycles and therefore their weight also changes.
I see your point but why not let the individual punter make up his/her mind if the weight of a horse is a factor in how they bet much like the draw or the going does for others. It seems to me if owners, trainers & jockeys were lobbying for this it would only be a matter of time before it was implemented however you get the distinct impression that there would be few trainers clammering for this. Can’t understand why myself [/color:2nck6yqf]:shock:
You also have to realise that horses arrive at racecourses here at varying times – some over night whilst at places like Newmarket only within an hour of the race so new rules on arrival/weighing times would have to put put in place.
[b:2nck6yqf]This would be the main issue to be addressed as I see it however surely in this day and age something could be sorted[/color:2nck6yqf][/b:2nck6yqf]
Please no more talk about confusing the poor old punter.
Most of us are adults and do not require further patronising. We have also lived with WFA estimates for over a Century.
Do talk about providing information that stops dead one major area of cheating.Portable weigh bridges are quite inexpensive and several trainers already have them. They can be towed to other courses along with the starting stalls. The clerk of scales can supervise the on-course weighing. A trainer can declare his horse’s weight at the declaration stage plus a final check going into parade ring. Punters then would only be concerned with the difference.
Impractical, a waste of time and a waste of money when prize money is already a pittance.
Where would you expect to get these reams and reams of horses weights from everyday? The current broadcasters are unable to even pass on jockey changes and overweights with any regularity.Absolutely essential precisely because prize money is a pittance.
How is UK racing supposed to market itself abroad without weights? They won’t even bet on cartoon racing in Japan without this information.
Ever wonder why the Premier league has been so succesful? It’s because the integrity of its product, compared to the likes of Serie A, attracted the Asian market.
Time to stop giving handouts to bandits and divert the levy to investing in racing’s future. Let owners race for their own stakes below a certain class and invest in some proper infrastructure.
Absolutely essential precisely because prize money is a pittance.
How is UK racing supposed to market itself abroad without weights? They won’t even bet on cartoon racing in Japan without this information.
Ever wonder why the Premier league has been so succesful? It’s because the integrity of its product, compared to the likes of Serie A, attracted the Asian market.
You’ve got to having a laugh, they apparently need 48 hour decs to have a bet on our racing abroad, would you send the horses weights with the decs?
As for the Premiership, any match I see is full of cheating and diving.Weights could be sent in advance and confirmed, within a certain margin of error, on the day.
I don’t see how players diving is a sign of poor integrity from a betting perspective – it shows they are trying to win. It’s akin to using the whip too many times in the final furlong – cheating, but not the sort of cheating that I was referring to that puts bettors off the game.
A far cry from the scripted heats at the end of Serie A or on many of our low class races.
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