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46zilzal
06-11-2007, 03:56 PM
I have long held that human class structure superimposed on horse ability is not valid but traditionally there as a mind game for the trainers and owners. Horses run to their abilities and form cycle mostly independent of some condition book.

I contend that if they threw away the conditon book, the better horses (speed, formful etc.) in each race would win, and NOT the horse bound to have run in such and such a HUMAN MAN MADE class level.

They usually do anyway.

Overlay
06-11-2007, 07:27 PM
I understand your point, and there are certainly many instances of horses running at inappropriate class levels, but I think there's more to it than just a mind game. The financial side of racing in the form of purse sizes and claiming prices is designed to equate a horse's ability with a given dollar amount. A horse's connections are acting against their own self-interest if they run the horse at a lower price or for less purse money than it is capable of commanding or competing for successfully, or if they run it repeatedly against a higher caliber of horses (measured again by dollars) that it has no realistic hope of beating. As you say, the better horses do win, but that success becomes the stepping stone to competition against a higher grade of opponents because it is in the connections' best interest to do so, until the horse shows that it is clearly in over its head.

Tom
06-11-2007, 07:50 PM
If they threw away the condition book, how would you determine who gets in a race? Without the class structure, you wouldn't have races to fill. You would end up with situations where Curlen races against cheap claimers,, and, of course wins. The class system prevents the best from facing the worst.
Under your scenario, all races would have to a open to all horses. The game would die a fast death. And you would se 1-9 shots win every race until then.

The class structure, while man-made, is fairly good at representing the actual abiliti4es of horses. Economics force them to fall into line. Horses are not one class all the time. They have a basic class and and a current class - which is determined by form.

There are more than enough real life examples of the improtance of the class factor. The best play in racing in the drop from MSW to MCL, or the drop to the lowest level at the track. At FL, Isee it every day.