Sha tin

[lamboguy]

the dirt races there are almost the same as harness races without the cart. the races are all about the trip with or without cover and keeping away from blind switches.

this can easily lead to some very random results.

[whodoyoulike]

Do you know what is the approx. mix of races i.e., mdn, mcl, cl, alw and stkes per card? How many turf races per card? What are the purse value ranges? And, what time do the races run in the US (eastern time)?

If anyone knows, thanks.

[biggestal99]

Do you know what is the approx. mix of races i.e., mdn, mcl, cl, alw and stkes per card? How many turf races per card? What are the purse value ranges? And, what time do the races run in the US (eastern time)?

If anyone knows, thanks.

Most if not all the races are handicaps. Purses appox 80-250 usd per race.

Almost all horses are geldings. Very few females and entire horses.

Allan

[Hoofless_Wonder]

The analogy to harness racing is not restricted to Sha Tin's all weather surface. Trip, with cover, is HUGE there along with the bias of the turf course they're running over. Early in the meet, the inside has been good, and I logged in long enough to catch the last race this morning and the commentators were mentioning how speed was ruling the day.

There are no "maiden" or maiden claimers, per se. They occasionally run a "Griffin" race, which is essentially a maiden race. However, most maidens appears to start their careers in one of the classes, which range from 1 to 5 (or 6), with 1 being a mix of stakes horses. Here's some more info:

http://www.sha-tin.com/raceclass_hk.htm

As biggestAl mentions, almost all the races are handicaps, with the program numbers being assigned from top to low weights like in Australia. Do NOT confuse this with the post position (draw), which is critical to trip.

Sha Tin runs most of their races on one of three turf courses, but does have some AWT "days" where most races are on the "dirt" track, especially while Sha Tin does double duty with construction going on at Happy Valley until late next month. Here's the link to their racing calendar:

http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/Fixture.asp?calMonth=9&calYear=2014

[whodoyoulike]

Most if not all the races are handicaps. Purses appox 80-250 usd per race.

Almost all horses are geldings. Very few females and entire horses.

Allan

Thanks, I recently viewed some races and it appeared they were all hdcp races on the turf.

[whodoyoulike]

The analogy to harness racing is not restricted to Sha Tin's all weather surface. Trip, with cover, is HUGE there along with the bias of the turf course they're running over. Early in the meet, the inside has been good, and I logged in long enough to catch the last race this morning and the commentators were mentioning how speed was ruling the day.

There are no "maiden" or maiden claimers, per se. They occasionally run a "Griffin" race, which is essentially a maiden race. However, most maidens appears to start their careers in one of the classes, which range from 1 to 5 (or 6), with 1 being a mix of stakes horses. Here's some more info:

http://www.sha-tin.com/raceclass_hk.htm

As biggestAl mentions, almost all the races are handicaps, with the program numbers being assigned from top to low weights like in Australia. Do NOT confuse this with the post position (draw), which is critical to trip.

Sha Tin runs most of their races on one of three turf courses, but does have some AWT "days" where most races are on the "dirt" track, especially while Sha Tin does double duty with construction going on at Happy Valley until late next month. Here's the link to their racing calendar:

http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/Fixture.asp?calMonth=9&calYear=2014

Thanks, I haven't read the links yet. But, are the mdns racing against non-mdns? Otherwise, where do the horses break their mdn races? I've been reading that HK races were a closed racing circuit which made it easier to hdcp races since they frequently competed against each other or within certain classes.

And, is it just me or are they running backwards?

[Hoofless_Wonder]

Thanks, I haven't read the links yet. But, are the mdns racing against non-mdns? Otherwise, where do the horses break their mdn races? I've been reading that HK races were a closed racing circuit which made it easier to hdcp races since they frequently competed against each other or within certain classes.

And, is it just me or are they running backwards?

:D

Yes, the courses are run clockwise, so they're backwards compared to what you're used to seeing. Just pretend it's a race down the hill at Santa Anita or at Kentucky Downs, where the finish line is in the north parking lot or rest area, respectively.

Yes, the maidens race against winners. What I don't know is why some maidens start in class 5, others in class 3 or higher - perhaps the trainer is on the hook to guess that, or maybe they just go for the purse they think they can get.

And yes, it's a pretty closed circuit with each horse being assigned a value in "the ratings". Since many of the horses compete on a regular basis, you definitely have an ability to compare how they finished against various levels of competition, which translates to easier handicapping.