Wind On the Track

[Kews11]

Does anyone think wind speeds affect the outcome of races? Like closers having an advantage with a strong tailwind? I was wondering how to find out track orientation, so I could use it in my handicapping.

For example, today at New York there are 13-15 mph winds, with 33 mph gusts.

Could this, in your opinion, nullify some of the track bias?

Thanks. I value the information, tips and sense of humor on the forum.

[Tread]

It absolutely does.

Horses that exert themselves into a headwind end up spending more energy than they normally would. A tailwind on the homestretch means E E/P runners have been running into a headwind on the backstretch. Should provide a lift to closers.

[lamboguy]

it does, but i don't know how to find the knowledge or use it even if i did find it

[Valuist]

Maybe Cuomo will try to convert Aqueduct into a wind farm.

[Tread]

Pretty simple stuff really.

If there are 30mpg wind gusts (15-20 sustained) and the flag is trying to pull away from the pole on the right side of the pole, there is a tailwind for the homestretch.

On this day if you are torn between 2 horses, you look at pace figures and see who exerts less early energy and take the horse that does more running late. Or if you see a borderline longshot who is a late runner, you feel a little better about him.

Conversely, a horse that normally runs near the lead and has a bad effort on a day like that, you put a mark next to him and look on his next time out for normal conditions. The odds on him will be better because the general betting public wont realize he had a very legit excuse running into a 30mph headwind that was contrary to his running style.

[Jay Trotter]

Kews,

I'm just spitballing here but I believe "wind" is used as an important factor in the Quarter Horse races (ie. Los Alamitos). If you wanted to apply this factor to your handicapping it might be a good idea to look at these types of races as a starting point.

My two cents worth,

Trotter:ThmbUp:

[harness2008]

Wind also plays a very important role in harness racing especially during the winter. I can tell that Trackmaster does not incorporate the wind factor into their pace past performance calculations which can cause problems if you follow the fractional figs blindly.

[CBedo]

When I was in college, I used to see a guy at the track with an anemometer (wind measuring device). I think you can buy a cheap one for 50 bucks.

If you trust a weather service for direction and general speeds, you could use Google Earth to get the exact alignment of the track itself.

Also, don't The Sheets use wind in their figures?

[Cratos]

Does anyone think wind speeds affect the outcome of races? Like closers having an advantage with a strong tailwind? I was wondering how to find out track orientation, so I could use it in my handicapping.

For example, today at New York there are 13-15 mph winds, with 33 mph gusts.

Could this, in your opinion, nullify some of the track bias?

Thanks. I value the information, tips and sense of humor on the forum.

Wind is the single greatest environmental force that affects a racehorse ability to perform. It has far greater impact than any of the inane variants that is conjured by some.

Sometime ago I published a wind effects chart on the forum which showed the effect of wind at various velocities.

In my opinion crosswinds has a far greater impact than headwinds or tailwinds because of the “sail effect” on the horse.

[Tape Reader]

In my opinion crosswinds has a far greater impact than headwinds or tailwinds because of the “sail effect” on the horse.

As a sailor I would agree with this. A "beam reach" (wind from the side) is a powerful point of sail.

The problem would be on the turns, when the jockey would have to decide whether to jibe or tack.:)

[ronsmac]

It's hard to say how much it affects the race, but it makes a mess of speed and pace figures if you don't know the direction and approximate strength of the wind.

[BCOURTNEY]

I would like to confirm that wind is a very large factor in horse racing in general terms. Head and tail winds do matter and can have the effect of increasing the contention in certain portions of the track depending on strength and direction. It is interesting when you consider races that the wind stifles the speed horses from the break and assists the closers ... surprises can happen. Another interesting factor is a horse getting mud or dust kicked up in it's face trailing the lead horses these are animals.

[Kews11]

Thanks for all this great info...I am definately going to start researching this. The research is one of the best parts of this game. The best of course if watching my pick cross the line first.

[Kews11]

:lol: Thanks, I had not thought about the turns.

AQ...is supposed to have wind from the north today. Breezy, 21-33. From a picture of the track I found at the NYRA website, that would be a headwind in the stretch. I gather from the responses that this should favor the E/EP runners.

[Kews11]

Gee, never even considered crosswinds, since I "assumed" this would have an equal effect on all. But I can see how this would have an effect on where a horse is on the track...inside, or outside posts maybe, factoring in the running style. Thanks.

[jotb]

:lol: Thanks, I had not thought about the turns.

AQ...is supposed to have wind from the north today. Breezy, 21-33. From a picture of the track I found at the NYRA website, that would be a headwind in the stretch. I gather from the responses that this should favor the E/EP runners.


You sure that's not a tailwind..If you are running down the backside at Aqu and the winds are out of the North then the horses are running into the wind. Maybe I have my North and South mixed up..

[Cratos]

Thanks for all this great info...I am definately going to start researching this. The research is one of the best parts of this game. The best of course if watching my pick cross the line first.

If you look up the racetrack in question on Google Earth you can get its geographical orientation and if you go to the Weather Underground website (there are others which are also good) you can get wind velocity and direction by the minute at any zip code. I hope this help in your research

[Coleman]

The problem would be on the turns, when the jockey would have to decide whether to jibe or tack.:)

Hmm, with the jockeys I bet on, the choice appears to be jive or tank.

[Coleman]

With a crosswind, a horse on the inside/outside (depending on wind direction) is drafting the same way a trailing horse is into a headwind.

I remember a route race at Bay Meadows several years ago with a serious crosswind where two horse were out in front side by side, the inside horse shielded from the wind. On the turn Baze dropped the inside horse back a length, swung to the outside, and won by a neck. I would have loved a chance to bet a windless rematch between those two...

[Cratos]

With a crosswind, a horse on the inside/outside (depending on wind direction) is drafting the same way a trailing horse is into a headwind.

I remember a route race at Bay Meadows several years ago with a serious crosswind where two horse were out in front side by side, the inside horse shielded from the wind. On the turn Baze dropped the inside horse back a length, swung to the outside, and won by a neck. I would have loved a chance to bet a windless rematch between those two...

Although the understanding of drafting in thoroughbred racing is still under test, some concepts from other forms of racing can be applied to horseracing using computer simulation; and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) is a tool which can be used to analyze the drafting effect on racehorses.

Without going into the complexity of numerical methods and algorithms to illustrate the aforementioned postulation, it is true that headwinds are the most effective use of drafting in horseracing and is most effective when the cooling effect of air resistance is not greater than the drafting benefit. Additionally, headwind drafting yields about 4 times the impact of crosswind drafting.