Dosage Index & first time starters

[harness2008]

Does anyone even look at these figures anymore except for the Triple Crown races? Not sure how many follow the dosage profiles these days but wouldn't a high dosage index bode well for a possible first time out win in a short sprint?

It's a different way at looking at the DI but I would think that if a horse has a DI of say below 2 or 3, that horse wouldn't have much of a chance first out in a sprint. Another horse with a high DI of say 5 or 6 would lead you to believe that the horse may fire first time out. What does everyone think? Are these numbers even valid anymore? They were the rage back in the day.

[WinterTriangle]

Originally Posted by harness2008

Does anyone even look at these figures anymore except for the Triple Crown races?

I am a big pedigree nut. I only use for classic races and maidens.
But I don't use it shallowly. Talking about di and cd in shallow terms doesn't work and then people will get to say "oh pedigree handicapping doesn't work." and that's because they are not doing a full workup on the pedigrees. There a LOT of information and indexes that can be computed from those numbers, like stamina indexes, and they need to be done on sire and broodmare sire as well, etc. and distances and surfaces have to be part of the research.

If you're interested I could link you to some topics I have on here about it?


I guess what I want to say is that it is just *another tool*. It depends what you enjoy doing. I hit a nice 30-1 maiden the other night at HOL 7/2 race 8 along with a 20-1 maiden in the mix, a $1 trifecta paid $1,300.....I don't think I could have done that using traditional handicapping....but that's just me. ( was on another board that evening where I posted it.)

I just do it because I enjoy doing it, in addition to looking at data on PPs. But I certainly disagree with people who say it is the road to the poorhouse.

[harness2008]

IMO anything else that helps is a plus, especially considering your hits in the races that you mentioned in your post when conventional handicapping may steer you in another direction or even pass the race.

It's not the most prominent of factors in every race but in certain races can be a big plus in nabbing that winner such as in maiden races and some stakes races as you mentioned.

There is usually value in betting on first time starters and having more information besides the workouts would get you into that comfort zone when plunking down hard earned cash on horses with no race figs to go by.

I love betting first time starters since you will usually get a fair price, and besides looking for certain races where they can win through workouts, having the DI's add another positive piece to the puzzle and we all need more pieces to this racing puzzle. Any links that you may have are most welcome.