Pace

[the believer]

Pace: Pace makes the race." This old racing expression points to another element to consider when bet on horse racing-- the pace of the race. A horse generally can't have it both ways. That is, he can't run extremely fast early and still have enough left in reserve to run fast late in the race. A fast pace generally means that the horses on the front will tire out and thus help the horses that are closing ground. If the past performances indicate that there are several horses that love the front end in a race, it might be a good idea to consider a horse that likes to rally in the stretch. On the other hand, a slow pace will help the horses near the front because they should have something left for the end of the race. In studying the past performances, you might find only one legitimate speed horse in a particular race. If that horse gets loose on the front end and has the pace all to himself with no pressure being applied to him, he figures to have something left for the homestretch and should be hard to overtake.
***This was written with Thoroughbreds in mind,but it still may yield some weight in handicapping the harness races.