Daily Racing Form online archive

[RobinFromIreland]

The Daily Racing Form online archive. The University of Kentucky has partnered with Keeneland to preserve, protect, and provide access to historic issues of the Daily Racing Form. The archive now includes 71,000 pages and 265,000 articles.

http://bit.ly/Z6C68

A real treasure.

[classhandicapper]

I can't thank you enough for this link!!!!! :jump:

[RobinFromIreland]

This may very well be a momentous development in American horse racing.

The ability to search through 100 years of journalism, charts, PPs, statistics, and opinion related to the American thoroughbred scene would warm the heart of any racing fan.

Currently, I believe progress is at around 5% of the total. Some of the documents (especially those from the 1930s through to 1950 - for obvious reasons) are in a very delicate state and may take considerably longer to scan. They also need funding, which of course, is at a premium in the current climate. I've inquired as to whether they will consider public donations and will reply when I know.

As a taste for what this effort will give, consider:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3495/3984964433_bb99192f2f_o.png

Just wonderful!

[The Hawk]

I look at that chart and it's amazing that 91 years later it looks so similar. Also:

1) It's incredible that there's MORE pertinent information (the odds at the open and halfway through betting, at least that's what I think it is) than we have today.

2) 91 years later, and STILL we largely get only fifths of a second in the pp's.

3) This was 1918, and I'd bet the printed times are more accurate than Gulfstream's timer in 2009.

[Horseplayersbet.com]

I'm curious about the odds. Parimutuel betting didn't happen until 1936.
I imagine O stands for Opening odds, H for highest odds?, and C for Closing odds?

P place? S show? No idea what Man O War's odds were though.

Did the chart maker get the odds from the bookies? Did the tracks get a percentage of the handle from the bookmakers?

I wonder how it all worked.

[The Hawk]

I thought H was halfway, but you're right, it's probably "high":

So Man O' War's odds were apparently:

Open: 7-10
High: 4-5
Closing: 11-20

It looks like there was no place or show wagering allowed on Man O'War, and it looks like no show wagering allowed on the 2nd choice, Golden Broom.

[Wiley]

The weights carried are pretty amazing with 130 for Man O War and Golden Broom, giving up as much as 18 pounds to rivals this all in August as 2 year olds.
I like the line 'responding gamely to punishment'

[RobinFromIreland]

A fund raising campaign will begin soon.

[Tom]

What was the Beyer on that race? ;)

[RobinFromIreland]

PPs: Seabiscuit in a maiden (finished 2nd again):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/3993454020_0217b6e904_o.png

[Horseplayersbet.com]

He didn't have 16 starts as a 2 year old by June, or did he?

[RobinFromIreland]

He didn't have 16 starts as a 2 year old by June, or did he?

As a 2yo, Seabiscuit raced 35 times, so 16 by June certainly seems feasible!

[Pace Cap'n]

As a 2yo, Seabiscuit raced 35 times, so 16 by June certainly seems feasible!

Almost all of those races were are 5f or less--many at 4 or 4.5f.

While searching google for the Biscuits pp's (unsuccessfully), I came across this:

"I readed Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, but it was boring and didn't understand it, Can I get a understanded and intersting summary about Seabiscuit?"

[Longshot]

Use the link below for Seabiscuit's lifetime PPs.


http://www.horsehats.com/SEABISCUIT%20pp.pdf

[menifee]

If you look at the pp's for Secretariat's derby there is a number listed right after the condition and before the placing of the horses. It generally is in the 80's or 90's.

Does anyone know what this is? Was it a precursor to the Beyer?

[Tom]

I believe that is the DRF SR without the TV.
If memory serves me, the DRF had no variant - only the Telegraph.

[bobbyt62]

for much of their history, drf only had a SR, but they did eventually add a variant in about the 1980's--i collect them, and that's an approximation.

[Horseplayersbet.com]

For the longest time, the DRF put up a speed rating which was based on the track record at the distance. The number corresponded to the lengths beaten.

If the track record was 1:09 and the winner ran a 1:12, the winner would get an 83. If a horse was beaten 7 lengths in that event, its speed rating would be 76.

I'm not sure when, but sometimes in the 80's I think, the track record was changed to the fastest time for the distance within 3 years of today's race at the specific track.

[RobinFromIreland]

Support the Daily Racing Form Preservation Project with a donation: http://bit.ly/pZhGy

As worthy a cause as there is in racing right now.