Lessons from Horse Racing

   I spent Father's Day with various family members at Monmouth Park. I like attending horse racing a couple of times a year. It's an interactive experience: the research into each race, the walk to place your bet; and viewing the race itself, either from your seat, a television monitor; or, as I prefer, along the rail.
    You can watch the horses parade around before the race, and many skilled bettors (I am not!) glean valuable clues from that. They observe if a horse is sweating profusely, or, conversely, too dry. They also gauge if a horse is agitated, or perhaps too calm.
     I see a lot of similarities between all of the factors that go into a horse's performance, and a human's.
     The most important is genetics. This is obviously controlled in thoroughbreds, and for the most part, luck, in humans. Genetics is probably the most important factor in how fast or how much endurance a human or an animal has. Some people just naturally have more red, or "fast twitch" fibers in their muscles, which makes them fast for short distances. Others are born with more white, "slow twitch" fibers, which tends to make the person more suited for endurance events.
     When a horse wins the Kentucky Derby, the big money for the owner is in the breeding. The horse's superior genetics will hopefully sire (along with a gifted mare) a new generation of champion racers.
   Okay, in humans we're blessed or limited by the DNA of our parents and grand-parents. But we, like horses, still can make the best of the cards we're dealt.
   When analyzing a race at Monmouth Park, I factor in many things that I think about in my own racing, or in observing and training others.
    Past performance: Is the horse coming off a good effort, or even a couple in a row? This may indicate the horse's confidence is up, or the trainer has found the right training, rest, or diet plan that has clicked for his animal.
   Track familiarity: Has the horse run at Monmouth before? Each track has it's own unique layout, temperature, and consistency of surface. I feel it is an important factor to have a history on the track, as I find running a particular race year after year helps me in knowing where the inclines, turns, water stops, and mile splits are. Plus, I have a "past performance" to base my effort against.
   Conditions: Some horses are "mudders," and also may prefer certain temperatures to run in. Similarly, while I like warm, humid conditions to race, most runners prefer a cooler climate. While no runner looks forward to hills, some are better overcoming them. All horses and jockeys would like a dry, fast, track, but some adjust to the rain or wind better.
    Distance: Does the horse have a good history at the distance being run? There are major differences in performance for even 200 yards in a horse race. Is the horse a "speed horse" who likes to jump out in front? That may be worth a bet in a short 5 or 6-furlong race. If the horse seems to prefer a controlled pace, or is a "closer,' they might be a better bet in a mile or 1 1/8th mile race. Some runners are great at the 5-K, but falter at the 13.1-mile  or marathon distance. And vice-versa.
  Current year, previous year, and lifetime records: Obviously, the more current the history, the more relevant. Like humans, injury or illness could have slowed the horse's performance through the years. Conversely, a change in jockey, or trainers (like a change in coaches or training plan in road-racers) could have had a positive effect on recent performance.
   Grass or dirt: There is a major difference in performance in these two surfaces for horses, and some  never race on grass. And while most road-races are held on pavement, most runners got their start by running cross-country, through parks and woods. Some people thrive on the particular challenges (roots, rocks, and sometimes rivers) that cross-country racing provides.
  Layoff time: Part of the reason it's so hard for a horse to win the Triple Crown is that it's running three races, on three different tracks, with travel, in five weeks. And it's going against fresher horses in the second two legs. In a racing program, racing within 30 days is considered a short layoff. A long layoff is considered over six months. With road racers, I've read the body needs a day for every mile raced to fully recover. It's hard to mentally and physically peak for too many races in a season, and it's also risking injury. Pick your spots, and race hard when you do!      
  Workouts: In a race program, an often forgotten line is recent workouts. It will tell you significant
"speedwork" the horse did recently, and also have some comments like "breezing" or "galloping" to describe how the horse handled that test. With road-racers, recent workouts, and how we handled them, are just as significant a precursor of future efforts as a race. One interesting footnote: unlike humans, horses save a total, all-out effort for a race only!    
   Speed vs. place: If you've narrowed your choices to two horses, do you bet on a horse that has been slightly faster but doesn't have a winning history, or a horse that has won, at slower finishing times, against weaker competition? Are some horse natural winners, and others perpetual runners-up? And what about that theory, and all it's complex psychology, with humans? Because horses are of more limited intelligence (in most cases) does the psychology play as big a part?  
     You can see why horse racing can be fascinating in it's analogy to distance running competition. Now, with all my information, if I can just find a way to figure it all out!