Index Numbers in Newspaper List of Entries

[Dan H]

My local newspaper lists entries for Hollywood Park on every racing day.

Here's a mix of how the horses are listed:

Index Horse (Jockey) Wt
6484 Gamblers Justice (Mglr) 116
(6568) River Glow (T Baze) 118
------ Tail Spin Topper (Rsr) 116
1485 Dr. Skimming (Gomez) 124

Before I call the sports editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune, does anybody know the significance of the Index Number? You can see from the example that some index numbers are listed as a blank line, some are in parethensis, all are four digits, and some repeat.

Just curious, DanH

[Marlin]

Guessing here, but probably the format the track sends to the newspaper. The index numbers probably refer to the entry, kind of like an invoice number. The paper is probably just printing what they get not understanding it is irrelevant.

[George Sands]

The newspaper index number is a clumsy way of giving the date and race number of the horse's previous race. Different newspapers use different starting points. The Southern California Daily Breeze, for example, gives the first race at SA on 12-29 the index number 6018. The second race that day is 6019. And so on, ending with the last race of the SA meet--index number 6767. Then, at the new Hol meet, they start with the index number 7001 and again count forward. Thus, if you are familiar with this crazy system, you can look at any index number, do the math, and pinpoint the date and race number of the horse's most recent race. Parentheses around the index number mean the horse won the race. If there's no index number, it usually means either a first-time starter, a horse off a layoff, a shipper, or a horse who was scratched last time.

[Dan H]

Thanks for the explanation.
Dan H