Putting the Race Together - Example
Let’s put a race assessment together, From A to Z. I have done thousands of these so I may forget to explain something, if I do, drop a question in the Dischord thread on I will answer it there. There is also an email address on the bottom of each page of this site.
Most of this first Table is pretty much the basic stuff until we get to the right hand side.
Additionally, keep in mind I am a bit of a contrarian. I might write that some aspect is not important in one area and in another area say it is important for me to look at. A perfect example is where I say one of the reasons I chose maidens as you can put a line through a few runners immediately, however when doing the actual assessments it is important to assess every runner. Feel free to point out my contrariness if you have a query.
| No | Recent Form | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barr. | Date of Last Start | Days Since Last Start | A | ZRR | Mgn. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOLD JESTER (NZ) | Patrick Payne | Billy Egan | 4 | 18-Jun-26 | 0 | ||||
| 2 | 6x46 | DIAMOND MILA | Damien Walkley | Jason Maskiell | 9 | 12-Jun-26 | 6 | E | 0.26 | 1.16 |
| 3 | 58x70x8x | GHAZI (NZ) | Logan McGill | Brad Rawiller | 12 | 25-Mar-26 | 85 | |||
| 4 | 7 | GOSTUMPYGO | Cliff Murray | Ms Sheridan Clarke | 3 | 17-May-26 | 32 | D | 0.48 | 15.77 |
| 5 | 0 | MONOLITHIC | Enver Jusufovic | Lachlan Neindorf | 1 | 22-May-26 | 27 | C | 0.57 | 9.36 |
| 6 | 6747x | ROYAL STORM | Lyn Tolson & Leonie Proctor | Luke Cartwright (a0/51kg) | 6 | 08-Nov-25 | 222 | E | 0.12 | 3.99 |
| 7 | 0x40680x | THE TORONADO KID | Chris Calthorpe | Luke Nolen | 5 | 20-Feb-26 | 118 | 4+ | 0.41 | 8.06 |
| 8 | 23x | TOO TOUGH | Cindy Alderson | Logan Bates (a0/52kg) | 13 | 28-Nov-25 | 202 | D | 0.50 | 2.05 |
| 9 | 3 | VIPERSTRIKE | Mathew Smerdon | Will Gordon | 7 | 01-Jun-26 | 17 | D | 0.42 | 2.00 |
| 10 | 850x664 | KARUMBA GIRL | Dale Short | Ms Jackie Beriman | 2 | 12-Jun-26 | 6 | 0.16 | 2.31 | |
| 11 | 6x | MERITATEN | Ben O'Farrell | Jason Webb | 8 | 29-Mar-26 | 81 | F | 0.01 | 8.56 |
| 12 | 6068x86785 | MISS GOSSIP GIRL | Steven Noble | Ms Samantha Noble | 10 | 09-Jun-26 | 9 | B | 0.58 | 6.00 |
| 13 | 57 | BOURNE LEGACY | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Daniel Stackhouse | 11 | 04-Jun-26 | 14 | |||
| 0.00 |
Days Since Last Start - comes into play during final deliberations. I record it here as I am looking at that data to complete the next 3 columns. This column will only be blank for first starters.
A & ZRR
A - this column has little relevance to the over all ratings. If I am deciding my selection between 2 runners with a similar or same final ZZR I may use this figure. Different maiden race types are stronger than others yet may have the same ZRR. In this instance the lower the letter (A is best) the better the rating. For the this to come into play, the margin must be similar. A better example will be pointed out later.
ZRR - This is measure of the strength of the last race the runners contested. The higher the number the better. The ZZR are calculated by each runners perfromance in the categories,
SP last start, beaten margin last start & prize money last start. I weight these 3 categories differntly and then add them to get the final ZRR.
And the figure 0.00 at the bottom of the table? This will be the figure for the ZRR once we get a bit further along the process.
Other - You will notice that 4 boxes are empty in the column labelled A
Runner number 1 is a first starter
Runner number 3 has not competed in a ratable race at its last 3 starts
Runner number 10 has been rated on its start 2 back, I do use a letter for F&M nor 4+ maidens. Experience tells me that in the majority these types are naturally weaker than 3yo, 3yo F and Open maidens.
Below is table and I suppose it would besmilar to that of most Tables that use the excel format,
| Today's Race | Yesterday's Race | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Sex | Prep Stage | Race Type | Distance | Starting Pr. | Beaten By | Prize Money | ||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
the different details associated with each runner are entered in the yellow columns and the resulting values, from the calculations in an another area are displayed in the green columns. The Headings show the different criteria I mentioned on the thread the other day, they are broken into subsets,
| Age | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8+ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | F | COLT | M | H | G | ||||||||
| Prep | FS | FU | 2 | Other | |||||||||
| Type | FS | 2M | 2F | 3M | 3F | 4+ | F&M | OM | PIC | OBM | MM | MS | LG |
| Dist. | FS | 1000 | 1100 | 1200 | 1300 | 1400 | 1500 | 1600 | 1800 | 2022 | 2400 | 2500 | |
| SP | FS | Odds On | $2 range | $3 range | $4 range | $5 - $7.50 | $8 - $10 | $11 - $15 | $16 + | ||||
| LM | FS | 0.1- 0.99 | 1.01-1.99 | 2 - 2.99 | 3 - 3.99 | 4 - 4.99 | 5 + | ||||||
| PM | FS | 20 - 26k | 27 - 40k | 40 - 59k | 60 - 75k | 80 - 170K | 175 - 220k | 225k + |
Let’s enter some data and I will have an updated version of the second table and a further table from one of the criteria from the above table.
With the data entered for all runners, Table 2 now lloks like this. Note, the former green cells turn blue as soon as the entry becomes less tha 19%. They remain green when 19% or above.
The dat entered is not the actual date but a figure I use that matches the headings in the criteria, this to make the excel formulae easier to work with. The below is still in saddle cloth order.
| Today's Race | Yesterday's Race | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Sex | Prep Stage | Race Type | Distance | Starting Pr. | Beaten By | Prize Money | ||||||||
| 3 | 8% | G | 8% | FS | 6% | FS | 6% | FS | 6% | FS | 6% | FS | 6% | FS | 6% |
| 4 | 7% | G | 8% | O | 7% | OM | 8% | 1000 | 3% | $5.00 | 14% | 5.00 | 6% | 20 | 6% |
| 4 | 7% | G | 8% | FU | 13% | OM | 8% | 1600 | 7% | $16.00 | 3% | 5.00 | 6% | 20 | 6% |
| 4 | 7% | G | 8% | 2 | 4% | OM | 8% | 1000 | 3% | $16.00 | 3% | 5.00 | 6% | 38 | 6% |
| 5 | 8% | G | 8% | 2 | 4% | OM | 8% | 1300 | 13% | $9.00 | 7% | 5.00 | 6% | 27 | 8% |
| 3 | 8% | G | 8% | FU | 13% | OM | 8% | 1300 | 13% | $11.00 | 7% | 3.00 | 9% | 27 | 8% |
| 4 | 7% | G | 8% | FU | 13% | 4+ | 7% | 1400 | 16% | $16.00 | 3% | 5.00 | 6% | 27 | 8% |
| 4 | 7% | G | 8% | FU | 13% | OM | 8% | 1400 | 16% | $3.00 | 33% | 2.00 | 8% | 38 | 6% |
| 4 | 7% | G | 8% | 2 | 4% | OM | 8% | 1100 | 7% | $11.00 | 7% | 2.00 | 8% | 27 | 8% |
| 4 | 7% | M | 6% | O | 7% | OM | 8% | 1200 | 8% | $11.00 | 7% | 2.00 | 8% | 20 | 6% |
| 4 | 7% | M | 6% | FU | 13% | OM | 8% | 1300 | 13% | $16.00 | 3% | 5.00 | 6% | 27 | 8% |
| 4 | 7% | M | 6% | O | 7% | OM | 8% | 1200 | 8% | $16.00 | 3% | 5.00 | 6% | 27 | 8% |
| 2 | 22% | G | 8% | O | 7% | OM | 8% | 1200 | 8% | $16.00 | 3% | 5.00 | 6% | 27 | 8% |
A couple of green cells are here and they indicate a “standout“ value for that criteria. This immediately says to me that 2yo’s have a good record in this type of race and that horses that had a SP in the $3 range at their previous appearance do as well.
I probably shoud have mentioned this earlier but the criteria I am using for this race is All Open Maidens over 1200m competed for on a Heavy 9 or Heavy 10 rated track. 52 races, 496 starters, one of the smaller samples I have but the most accurate for today.
Smart people like yourselves will anticipate that the next column on the right of the Table above will give us the Total per runner. I will now sort by that column, highest to lowest.