Post by the believer on Nov 5, 2006 17:11:42 GMT -5
Post Position: Generally speaking, the inside post positions (numbers one through five) are an advantage, especially on half-mile tracks in horse track racing. Horses who do not have good post position risk the possibility of being "parked out" (marked by the "0" symbol in the program) and losing considerable ground while racing on the turns. The inside post position bias is most pronounced on half-mile tracks, where there is a short distance between the start and first turn. The bias still exists on five-eighths-mile and mile tracks, but to a lesser extent. Most programs list the number of winners coming from each position, making the job of evaluating post positions easy. It's also important to check the racing style of a horse and figure out his likely racing position throughout the mile. If there are many horses whose past performance show early speed in a race, they may wear themselves out fighting among themselves, and a fast-finishing horse may catch them before the wire. Similarly, a good come-from-behind horse from a bad post position may find other fast finishers in a better position than he is when he starts to make his move. That horse may not be able to make up enough ground on his rivals to win. Finally, a horse who raced either spectacularly or poorly from a bad post position last week may have a better chance of winning from an inside starting slot tonight.