Watching the hindstrike makes it easier to spot which lead a horse is on. If the left hind hits first, then the right foreleg is leading. Experience has also taught me that racing on the wrong lead is often a by-product of pain, infirmity or sore, choppy action. Using the right fore to lead on an american turn is a bad, bad sign, as is shifting back and forth between leads on a straightaway.
On a related note, I think it looks bush and costs a horse momentum when a jock flings his weight to encourage a lead shift. That's an aspect of race riding that's probably more apparent from the pan shot than from the saddle itself.
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