atmospheric conditions

[so.cal.fan]

How much significance do they have on the results of races?

[Rick Ransom]

I read somewhere that extreme temperatures, either high or low, favor stretch runners but I can't prove or disprove it. Wind might dry out a track and depending on the direction either help or hinder stretch runners. Low barometric pressure might make some horses feel better, as it does in humans. High humidity might cause a decline in performance for an old broken-down claimer, as it does for arthritic humans.

Another thing to consider is that the track maintenance crew makes changes according to the weather forecast, and most of the changes have been made before they know for sure whether it will rain or not. So the threat of rain will cause some of the same changes as actual rain.

[so.cal.fan]

How about wind and heavy air pollution?
Seems all of the factors Rick mentioned would have an effect on performance.
Does anyone know if any of these conditions are factored into any numbers, either pace or speed or both?
How about the sheets? Seems that a shipper from a cold climate into a hot and humid one will "bounce"????????

[Rick Ransom]

Arrgh! Don't remind me about smog. I grew up near Santa Anita, and in the summer I could hardly breathe and my eyes hurt. That was before 1970, so it was worse then than now, but I still can't go over there without getting a headache. If it does the same thing to horses, I'm surprised that any of them can run.

I once heard of a guy picking greyhounds when it was a hot day by eliminating the ones that were having trouble breathing. Maybe you can do the same with horses.

[so.cal.fan]

How about Del Mar? Many handicappers think the tide has something to do with the speed of the tracks, both turf and dirt.
I have never been able to satisfy myself on this belief, but I could be missing something.
I know before three o'clock in the afternoons down there, it is often very warm and humid, many horses wash out in the first race. I have noticed this since the 1960's.
I have always thought that on very hot days, the speed always holds, but again, I could be wrong.
It would be interesting if someone wrote a well researched book on how the atmospheric conditions effect races.
Remember the Breeder's Cup run at Gulfstream Park?
Most of the winners came from Santa Anita, and most had been running and/or training at Del Mar. The European shippers washed out very badly and did not run true to form, for the most part.
I am pretty sure that atmospheric conditions do play a larger part in determining winners and losers than most of us pay attention to.
If anyone has done some research on this, I sure would be interested in reading it.

[Rick Ransom]

I do very well at both Santa Anita and Del Mar and not so well at Hollywood, so there might be some similarities between the two. They used to say the same thing (tides) about Golden Gate when I was in the Bay area. I think the horses generally like the mild weather at Del Mar (compared with elsewhere in the country in summer) and run pretty true to form. But that's just my opinion based on my method. Others hate Del Mar. It all depends on what you're emphasizing in your method. I don't think the pace players will like it that well.

[Aussieplayer]

Charles Carroll mentions it very briefly in his book (about some study that some guy did). As an unknown factor, he uses it to support his dislike of daily variants.

Cheers
Aussieplayer

[entropy]

[Handle]

I was recently thinking about the same thing. I came to this conclusive and definitive epiphany:

I have an Australian Cattle Dog (a blue heeler). He's incredibly energetic and loves to play soccer and catch frisbees. When the temperature is less than, say, 65 degrees he will run non-stop. When it raises above this he'll run for about 10 minutes and then will find shade to lie down in. When I prompt him with the ball, he jumps up to play, but he's definitely fighting the heat (strange, since he is an Australian breed...).

My automobile doesn't suffer (noticeably) from this problem.

So, does the weather, temperature, etc.., have an effect on the performance of horses? I would definitely say yes. Does it have the same effect on every horse? I doubt it, but I need another epiphany to understand that <g>.

-Handle

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by Handle
I was recently thinking about the same thing. I came to this conclusive and definitive epiphany:

My automobile doesn't suffer (noticeably) from this problem.

So, does the weather, temperature, etc.., have an effect on the performance of horses? I would definitely say yes. Does it have the same effect on every horse? I doubt it, but I need another epiphany to understand that <g>.

-Handle

Your Blue Heeler doesn't have the built in computer to adjust fuel mixture etc. I think it all comes back to conditioning. The ones in the best condition seem to take the heat better. I often wonder about racing in Florida or CA during the summer. I don't normally play FLA and CA in the summer, any tips on CA or FLA tracks in the Summer?

[Handle]

Maybe his carb needs to be cleaned <g>?

No doubt, conditioning is a factor in all sports. But, to my dog example, the wife runs 5 miles a day with him (in the summer he doesn't like this much). He's 55 pounds of muscle and teeth and can leap up over my outstretched arm (though I'm not too tall at 5' 9") to catch a frisbee. That's a feat considering the Blue Heeler isn't that tall of a an animal. The thing is - the heat just kills him. Not in so much that he can't operate in it, but that he just doesn't want to. It strikes me how much more active he is when its cool. BTW, he also hates to walk on muddy ground. Definitely not a slop canine. Maybe the form should start listing personality traits of the horses - "likes carrots pet peeves people who offer apples and deep tracks...."

-Handle

[ridersup]

so. cal. fan

We have had several discussions about the effect of the wind on this board in the past. It has always been my contention that in areas where the wind is constant it should be taken into account.

At my track the wind is pretty much constant and you can almost look at your pace figures and tell which way the wind was blowing.
The track runs north to south and when the wind is coming from the south the pace figures will usually show F4 F3 S1. The wind assists the horses down the backstretch and slows their speed when turning for home . This scenario usually allows for front running wins. If the wind switches to the north for the next racing day the pace figures will show S4 S3 F1 and generally under this scenario closers usually prevail.

Without pace figures the horses running on the south wind day will appear to be running faster to the second call than the horses running on the north wind day. So I guess what Im saying is that if you don't have daily variants that include pace figures it is pretty hard to determine who the fast pace horse is when horses from the two different days meet.

There is also a school of thought at my track that the tide has a definite effect on the outcome of the race. There are two ponds in the middle of our track and you can easily see when the tide is in as the level of the ponds raise. A lot of the old timers believe that when the tide rises water gets into the running surface and slows it down and then favors closeres. I have not bought into this theory but have done no studies to disprove it.

[so.cal.fan]

Interesting point, Ridersup.
Here in So. Cal. we don't have too many days with wind, but there are a few, and I have witnessed the very conditions you mention.
The tides are interesting at Del Mar. Many say they do have an effect.
I just read an interesting article in Throughbred Times about the
"sheets" TT is going to feature the Ragozin figures in it's
Buyer's Guide to help prospective buyers assess the quality of the runners produced by a mare.
Ragozin explains how they use the wind as a factor in their variant. It is interesting.

[wes]

Three dogs racing across a fresh plowed field after a big rain. The first dog was kicking mud in the second dogs face and the second dog was kicking mud in the third dogs face. The second dog looked back at the third dog and said this is a bitch. The third dog said it better be.

wes

I would think all types of weather affect most all horses in some way where it be good or bad. Sore feet in the mud may be a big plus for some trainers. Only if the horse likes the mud.
Hot weather would affect fat folks like myself and perhaps the age would also. I run fast but stay in one spot too long. I can't get out of bed (Gate) as fast as I once did. :--)

[karlskorner]

At GP you can actually see the "ripple" effect across the track from the change in tide.

Karl