Field Size

[bdw0617]

how do you feel about the size of a given field? most handicappers love the bigger or the better, but, and i know i am very much on the opposite end of this one, I rarely wager on races with more than 8 or 9 horses in it.

My thing is, I don't want 4 horse fields but at the same time what I go for or what I look for in a race, is, and I mean it's horse racing you can never guarantee anything, but the more variables that i can control or predict, the more predictable the race is.

I think if people kept accurate tabs of the numbers of races they won versus the size field they woudl be very surprised. I do this and it's not even close. Yeah my bigger scores come from big fields, but i don';t hit those enough to be profitable. i hit a 66 dollar winner 2 years ago at hollywood in 15 horse field. but shoot if you go chasing that horse all meet you are going to be broke.

my meat and potatoes wager is a 5-6 to 1 shot in a 9 horse field. I will take that all day long.

and then, most races where there are 15 horses in it, you are dealing with either maiden races, or very cheap state bred horses and in those races not only are you dealing with cheap horses those are the races that the bugs get to ride or the key stable of like delta downs where anything goes once you get on the track lol. jockeys falling off horses, getting boxed in, losing whips, you name it

I just never did understand the love of these super huge fields. sometimes you can't get around it.. breeders cup derby, etc. but they aren't profitable and i would imagine more chases of something bad happening in a race.

[Dave C]

For wagering, my preferred field size is 7 horses. Enough horses to ensure that you can get some odds, but not big enough that you are going to lose because of traffic. Nothing more annoying than watching the best horse not getting a chance to run to its' ability because of traffic.

From the perspective of the sport, the large fields are definitely better because they drive handle. All the people chasing the 20:1 money, all the people hitting the 'all' button on their exotics, leave a lot of money at the track.

[TJ]

Hi bdw,
I'm heading for Saratoga soon, so I checked in to see if there's anything new going on. They must have heard you, because they will be limiting the amount of entries in 2YO sprint races for the first time ever. In the past as many as 14 were entered in the body of the race. This season they will limit the field to 8 starter's. The entry limit for 2YO two turn dirt and turf races will stay as 10 starter's. If a two turn turf race comes off the turf and it has a full field of ten, the race would then be switched to dirt...a one turn sprint going seven furlongs. They may allow that sprint race to be run with ten starter's under that scenario only. The main objective for restricting the field size was to help create a more cleanly run race since large fields of inexperienced 2yo's could create an unfair situation for some starter's during the running. TJ

[bdw0617]

if every track in america limited their field size to 8 horses, in particular on turf races my personal handle would triple. and i am not exaggerating.

i cherry pick turf races (that's what i am most comfortable with) and all weather races, i try to stay away from dirt if i can, and like, gulfstream every turf race 15 horses, evangline downs 15 horses, belmont/saratoga 12-15 horses... i end up playing a lot of fair grounds, santa anita, tampa bay (who limits to 10)...

I know i am different from most but still.