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Published:
April 12, 2015 11:18 am EDT
Trainers and drivers discuss the precision of race times in this week's Standardbred Canada video feature.
Effective January 1, 2016, race times in the U.S. will be announced and recorded down to a hundredth of a second. One year ago, the SC website posted an article and web poll asking for feedback on how precisely a race should be timed.
How precisely do you think races should be recorded?
(video not loading? click here. Mac user? click here)
(Note: If you are having difficulty loading the SC Video Features in HD quality, you can adjust the settings to a lower quality and quicker web stream by clicking on the red 'HD' symbol near the right hand corner of the video.)
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I agree with Kathy McBride we
I agree with Kathy McBride we have better technology to measure time and distance. Take a good look at Trakus and you will see for your self how lost ground in a race is critical in a game where winning is often decided by a nose and the averaage distance the winners travel is 5,682 feet, that's way over the distance of a mile of 5,280 feet. " That all horses records are based on "
Ok you don't need to change the way you call a race and most of the horse people are fine keeping past practises the same which is what most horse people were refering to on the video. However the need for a measurement change might make a big difference, in a race measured by Trakus it is somewhere aroung four hundred feet during a one mile race and it seems to be alot of lost ground on a race track calibrated for one mile, someone should check it out, I know I will.
Oh and incidently on the same note when it comes to the integration time and distance with the OLG I think we are getting a "BUM STEER" knowbody will back a loser or a portrial of the same....
Regards, Len Campbell Jr.
The hit the quarter in
The hit the quarter in 27.823
The half in 55.908
Three quarters in 1.23.659
The mile 1.50.379
Seriously
To quote Mr Shakespeare "much
To quote Mr Shakespeare "much ado about nothing". If they want to make the change its fine with me. If they don't its also fine. I've been a fan and a bettor for well over half a century. I can say without absolutely any doubt that I wouldn't have bet a dollar less or a dollar more whether the times were listed in fifths or thousands of a second during that time period.
I will say however if even one fan thinks it will make a positive impact, then go ahead and change it. Its just like giving a sick person chicken soup to make him feel better - it can't hurt.
Does anyone really think
Does anyone really think handicappers are crying out for this? That knowing a horse's last quarter was in 27.378 instead of 27.2 is going to make a difference? Chris Bush is exactly right - there are a million other improvements that could be made to provide better information for a handicapper. As he also notes, for many people this might even be a negative because it unnecessarily complicates the data without providing any meaningful benefit. But this is what the sport's "leadership" comes up with. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns...
Why in the world would you
Why in the world would you ask this question of industry participants? Did you really expect, based on past history, that participants want to change anything?! The question should be asked where it matters - to handicappers, bettors and the public (potential new fans). It's ridiculous in this day and age to have the top 3 or more horses in a race finish with the same time. If you watch any pro sport, the statistics are crazy. We have better technology to measure time and distance, let's use it and perhaps draw in more interest in the sport.
Yes lets look at the big
Yes lets look at the big picture here. Of the top 20 things that could be improved to make a better customer experience this ranks about 2000. We have a simple standard that works. We tried hundredths years ago and it failed miserably. It needlessly complicates an already complicated program, especially to those that aren't familiar, not to mention the race call. No handicapper(the mouth that feeds you) I know is asking for such a change because they realize there are a million more relevant factors that go into picking a winner. ie track condition, temp, wind direction, current form, trainer changes, post position, class changes, driver changes and on and on. Hundredths of a second is on no ones radar. Instead lets focus on the more significant issues affecting the industry. They'll be the ones that produce tangible results.
Let's take a look at the big
Let's take a look at the big picture here.
This business all depends on the wagering public ! True???
Everyone is welcome to their opinion but listen to each and every answer. Ahhhh, wellllll, maybe......
Doesn't every mili second count to today's handicapper? Yet it sounds like in the comments from everyone it's a secondary thing or something that doesn't really matter. Shouldn't the industry be doing everything it can for the wagering public? What's the big deal every other sport goes by the hundredth of a second !!!
Just another example of the mind set that the industry has about the betting public and why the wagering public has the image it has about the industry
I have many friends within the industry but enough is enough. Either help out the mouth that feeds you or stop complaining about the decline in the industry!!!
Just my 2cents
In reply to Let's take a look at the big by TrottinTurk
Awesome post Steve. Isn't it
Awesome post Steve. Isn't it ironic that people outside of the business see what those inside of the business do not. Nothing but blame since the removal of SARs. Perhaps there should be a percentage of the purses taken out for a promotional initiative. I'm sure the top drivers and trainers could survive with say 4% instead of 5. The industry needs to protect the public and also find ways to get new people to the races. Look at this week... 3 more positive tests from participants. They need to start by ridding the business of those who continually break the rules.
In reply to Let's take a look at the big by TrottinTurk
You hit it exactly Mr
You hit it exactly Mr Turkosz. You will see around here, that I get chastised, even insulted that I am "not in the industry, so what would I know"?
Every possible detail that can easily be installed, should be. The encouragement should be there to get the fans every last detail, from the hundredths of a second, to every last equipment change, to the explanation in detail about why the judges make the calls they do on the inquiries. Even NBA and NFL and NHL went from the norm to include 10ths of a second. In a sport where a horse can lose by a milimeter, why not go to 100ths of a second.
It's just more of the people in the sport, disconnecting with new trends in sports and catching up with the technology age.
Ive even had friends that came to the track for the first time, as why the announcer calls the race in 5ths, but the tote shows up in 100ths at some tracks?
Your 2 cents Mr Turjosz, should be worth about $100 million dollars should people listen to the bettors.
As a fan of racing, I believe
As a fan of racing, I believe we should keep times in fifth's. It will be much easier for new fans to measure distances. Come May 2nd, 2015, time may change and we may have a new track record for the Kentucky Derby.