The horse Racing Database features the w.f.a. scale for both flat horse racing and jumps horse racing. There is also a guide to all the race tracks in the U.K. As I am sure you will already know, the w.f.a. scale indicates the improvement in lbs. that the average horse will make over the different distances for a particular age and time of the year i.e. over 5 furlongs a 2 year old in early june will still improve by 34 lbs. and a 3 year old at that time will still improve by 7 lbs.

dis flg	age	jan -15	jan -31	feb -14	feb -29	mar -15	mar -31	apr -15	apr -30	may -15	may -30	jun -15	jun -30	jul -15	jul -31	aug -15	aug -31	sep -15	sep -30	oct -15	oct -31	nov -15	nov -30	dec -15	dec -31
5	2	-	-	-	-	-	47	44	41	38	36	34	32	30	28	26	24	22	20	19	18	17	17	16	16
	3	15	15	14	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	44	41	38	36	33	31	28	26	24	22	21	20	19	18	17	17
	3	16	16	15	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	2	1	1	-	-	-
7	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	38	35	32	30	27	25	23	22	21	20	19	19
	3	18	18	17	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	1	1	-	-
8	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	37	34	31	28	26	24	23	22	21	20
	3	20	20	19	19	18	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	3	2	2	1	1
9	3	22	22	21	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	4	3	3	2	2
	4	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	3	23	23	22	22	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	5	4	4	3	3
	4	2	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	3	24	24	23	23	22	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	6	5	5	4	4
	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	3	25	25	24	24	23	22	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	7	6	6	5	5

dis

age

jan

jan

feb

feb

mar

mar

apr

apr

may

may

jun

jun

jul

jul

aug

aug

sep

sep

oct

oct

nov

nov

dec

dec

	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	3	26	26	25	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	8	7	7	6	6
	4	5	5	4	4	3	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	3	27	27	26	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	9	8	8	7	7
	4	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	3	28	28	27	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	8	7	7
	4	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
16	3	29	29	28	28	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	17	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	9	8	8
	4	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	3	31	31	30	30	29	28	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	18	16	14	13	12	11	10	10	9	9
	4	8	8	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
20	3	33	33	32	32	31	30	29	28	27	26	25	24	23	22	20	18	16	14	13	12	11	11	10	10
	4	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	5	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

dist. miles	age	jan	feb	mar	apr	may	jun	jul	aug	sept	oct	nov	dec
2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	20	18	17	16	14
	4	12	10	8	6	5	5	3	3	2	1	-	-
2.5	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	21	21	19	18	17	15
	4	13	11	9	7	6	6	3	3	2	1	-	-
3	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	23	21	19	18	16
	4	14	12	10	8	7	7	4	4	3	2	1	-

dist miles	age	jan	feb	mar	apr	may	jun	jul	aug	sept	oct	nov	dec
2	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	15	14	13	12	11
	5	10	9	8	7	6	6	3	3	2	1	-	-
2.5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	16	15	14	13	12
	5	11	10	9	8	7	7	4	4	3	2	1	-
3	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	17	17	16	15	14	13
	5	12	11	10	9	8	8	5	5	4	3	2	1

Stiff tracks Beverley R Carlisle R Cheltenham L Exeter R Hexham L Leicester R Towcester R   Borderline (stiff enough to help some horses): Newcastle L Sedgefield L   Ultra-tight tracks Chester L Fakenham L Fontwell - chase L Lingfield - AW L Windsor R

Tight tracks Aintree (except National) L Bangor L Cartmel L Caterick L Edinburgh Epsom L Folkestone R Fontwell - hurdles L Haydock-hurdles L Hereford R Kelso L Kempton R Lingfield L Market Rasen R Newton Abbot L Perth R Plumpton L Southwell L Stratford L Taunton R Thirsk L Uttoxeter L Wetherby - hurdlesL Wincanton R Wolverhampton L

Galloping tracks Ayr L Doncaster L Haydock L Newcastle (counts as stiff for some) L Nottingham L Redcar L Salisbury R Sedgefield (counts as stiff for some) L Worcester L Yarmouth L York L   Ultra-galloping tracks Aintree - National L Newbury L Newmarket R

Normal tracks Ascot R Huntingdon R Ludlow R Sandown R Wetherby - chase L   Downhill tracks Brighton L Chepstow L Lingfield L   Tracks with stiff fences Aintree - National L Ascot R Cheltenham L Haydock L Huntingdon R Kempton R Newbury L Sandown R

Major tracks are:-Ascot, Cheltenham, Liverpool, Kempton, Sandown and Newbury. Major meetings at Haydock, Doncaster, Ayr and Chepstow also would fall into this category and all major, big prize money races, at any track. All the rest can be considered as minor track contests.

It is impossible to be dogmatic about the effect of the draw on particular course, since several factors can affect which side is favoured. This course-by-course list sums up the generally regarded opinion of the draw factor at all thirty-four flat courses in Britain.

Ascot	Low numbers favoured on the straight course in soft going.
Ayr	High numbers favoured in big fields on the straight course, especially when the going is soft.
Bath	Apparently little effect though the five-furlong course here is on a gradual left-hand bend which might be thought to favour low numbers.
Beverley	High numbers noticeably favoured in five-furlong races.
Brighton	Low numbers favoured in sprint races but high numbers when the going is soft.
Carlisle	High numbers seem to have an advantage in races up to one mile.
Catterick	Over five furlongs low numbers appear to be favoured except when the ground is soft when high numbers seem to have an advantage. 0ver six and seven furlongs low numbers are favoured.
Chepstow	No marked advantage either side.
Chester	Low numbers appear to be favoured, but the crucial factor here is a quick break irrespective of the draw.
Doncaster	Low numbers used to have a noticeable advantage in big fields on the straight course when the going is soft, but the effect is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.
Epsom Downs	High numbers strongly favoured over five furlongs, less so over six furlongs
Folkestone	High numbers favoured in sprint races
Goodwood	Little effect
Haydock Park	High numbers favoured in sprints, especially when the going is soft.
Kempton Park	On the sprint course a high number is advantageous when the far side (especially in softer ground), a low number when the stalls are on the stands side.
Leicester	Middle to high numbers favoured on the straight course.
Lingfield Park	Low numbers slightly favoured in sprints on the all-weather course: on the turf course high numbers appear to be favoured.
Musselburgh	High numbers favoured in five furlong races when stalls on the stands side. High numbers when stalls on the far side.
Newbury	No advantage.
Newcastle	On the straight course horses drawn towards either rail seem to have an advantage when the going is soft. Low numbers are especially favoured.
Newmarket	Little significant advantage over any distance on either the Rowley Mile or the July Course.
Nottingham	High numbers favoured in sprint races when stalls on stands side, low numbers when stalls on far side.
Pontefract	Low numbers favoured in sprint races.
Redcar	Middle to high numbers slightly favoured on the straight course.
Ripon	Low numbers appear favoured on the straight course.
Salisbury	Low numbers tend to be favoured in sprint races on soft going.
Sandown Park	On the five-furlong course high numbers have an advantage when the ground is soft and when the stalls are placed on the far side; low numbers are favoured when the stalls are on the stands side.
Southwell	No advantage in straight five furlongs: low draw favoured over six and seven furlongs.
Thirsk	Significant advantage for high numbers on the straight course, more pronounced when the ground is fast.
Warwick	Low numbers favoured in shorter races except when the going is soft, in which case the stands side tends to run faster.
Windsor	High numbers favoured in sprints.
Wolverhampton	Low numbers favoured in sprints.
Yarmouth	High numbers slightly favoured on the straight course.

York	Little effect either way.

Flat races:-

type of race	secs.per mile behind ave. time	expressed as lengths
group 1	2.0	0
group 2	2.2	1
group 3	2.4	1
listed, open & 0-115	2.6	1
0-110	3.0	2
0-105	3.2	1
0-100	3.4	1
0-90	4.0	3
amateurs cond.	4.0	0
0-80	4.4	2
0-70	5.0	3
0-60	5.6	3
selling	5.6	0

So in other words a group 2 race would on average be 0.2 secs. slower than group 1 (1 length), and a 0-90 race would be 0.8 secs. slower than a 0-105 (4 lengths). Things are based on the fact that a horse covers 5 lengths in one second.

Maiden races can vary quite a bit according to their prize value breakdown. This would depend largely on the class of race track concerned. Let's look at an approximation of 4 prize value breakdowns for maiden races. You can see where these would fit in above, as I have put in the equivalent class (in brackets) from the above table.

highest value maiden-(0-110)	3.0	-
................................(0-100)	3.4	2
................................	3.7	1.5
lowest value maiden-(0 - 80)	4.4	3.5

Fillies & Mares races:-add 0.6 sec. (3 lengths). Where races are confined to 3yr. olds, you would look at the w.f.a. scale and add time accordingly.

Remember the above tables are based on a per mile basis and are averages worked on many hundreds of races and must be looked at as a guide only. The thing is as mentioned earlier, the really high class horses just find more when it is needed.

Jumps racing:-

type of race

secs.per mile behind ave.time

type of race

secs.per mile behind ave.time

HURDLES

STEEPLECHASES

Selling	9.3	Hunter Chase (minor track)	9.5
Claiming	8.0	Selling	9.3
Juvenile (minortrack)	8.0	Claiming	8.0
Novice (minor track)	7.7	Hunter Chase (majortrack)	7.3
0-115 Handicap	6.6	Novice (minor track)	7.2
0-125 Handicap	6.5	0-115 Handicap	6.6
0-135 Handicap	5.6	0-125 Handicap	6.5
Juvenile (major track)	4.8	0-135 Handicap	5.6
Novice (major track)	4.7	Novice (major track)	4.6
0-145 Handicap	4.4	0-145 Handicap	4.4
Condition (major track)	3.2	Top Hunter Chase	3.7
Open Handicap	2.9	Condition (major track)	3.2
Grade 1 Novice	2.2	Open Handicap	2.9
Grade 1 Juvenile	1.6	Graded Handicap	2.4
Graded Handicap	1.2	Graded Novice	1.9
Grade 1 Condition	1.1	Grade 1 Condition	1.1

As before, use 5 lengths per second to calculate lengths difference. e.g. hurdle race grade 1 novice runs 0.7 sec per mile faster than open handicap i.e. 3.5 lengths per mile.

Class of tracks.

Major tracks are:-Ascot, Cheltenham, Liverpool, Kempton, Sandown and Newbury. Major meetings at Haydock, Doncaster, Ayr and Chepstow also would fall into this category and all major, big prize money races, at any track. All the rest can be considered as minor track contests.

E-MAIL:-day-at-the-races@goughinfo.co.uk

Last update:-23/1/04.

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