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General Category => Ask the Experts => Topic started by: Michael D. on October 23, 2006, 09:48:10 AM

Title: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: Michael D. on October 23, 2006, 09:48:10 AM
in feet.

anybody?
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: P-Dub on October 23, 2006, 10:03:33 AM
About a foot and a half.
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: NoCarolinaTony on October 23, 2006, 11:06:51 AM
The average is said to be 10ft.

NC Tony
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: richiebee on October 23, 2006, 11:18:11 AM
Michael:

Laura Hillenbrand, in footnote 2 to Chapter 8 of Seabiscuit, states that the average thoroughbred is 8.5 feet long. I do not know and she does not mention how this measurement is taken.
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: bobphilo on October 23, 2006, 11:26:16 AM
In \"Handicapping Speed\" Charles Carrol says that the commonly accepted measure of 10 feet only applies if you\'re racing Clydesdales. Thoroughbreds are closer to 8 feet. Which also corresponds to how much ground a horse losses for each extra path on a turn.

Bob
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: Michael D. on October 23, 2006, 11:28:44 AM
thanks guys.

Tony, so you\'re going with 10 trakus feet = 1 length ...


P,

i originally wrote \"when fully extended\", but erased for obvious reasons.
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: miff on October 23, 2006, 12:19:01 PM
Eight feet is the figure I have always heard and I believe that is also what one length is valued at.
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: NoCarolinaTony on October 23, 2006, 03:26:46 PM
what about a fully extended moving horse gents?

NC Tony
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: bobphilo on October 23, 2006, 07:08:26 PM
Tony, The 8 foot measurement is based on mid-stride for a running horse. Remember, a running horse spends only a fraction of a second in full extension and as much time in flexion as extension. High-speed photography shows that, even when in full extension, horses don\'t really run stretched out as shown in the old paintings.

Bob
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: NoCarolinaTony on October 23, 2006, 07:13:34 PM
Ok it\'s 8 feet.

I give.

NC Tony
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?
Post by: bobphilo on October 23, 2006, 08:10:58 PM
Thanks Tony. Of course, it could be 8 1/2 feet. LOL. :)

Bob
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?- TRAKUS
Post by: NoCarolinaTony on October 24, 2006, 11:43:47 AM
Bob,

Actual kudo\'s to you, I just read an article by Trackus where they suggest to their users to use an estimate  average of 8 feet per length based upon all the data they have compiled so far.

So I\'ll admit it the old 10 feet per lenght probably works better for harness horses including the sulky.

So that would mean that meribel who won the Turf feature this past friday beat my horse by a head, but my horse traveled 30.3 more than the winner Meribel.Had precious kitten not been ridden in the 5 path all the way around and ran the same path as meribel she would have won by 3.8 lenghts.

One of these days the Jockeys will get to undestand the concept.

NC Tony

Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?- TRAKUS
Post by: bobphilo on October 25, 2006, 01:45:35 PM
Thanks again Tony. This also means that the old beaten lengths formula of 1 length equals 1/5 second is also wrong. That is too slow and also more appropriate to harness racing. There is no set conversion formula because it varies with how fast a horse is running, which varies with distance, class and stage of race. Using average velocity, I find that multiplying beaten lengths by 0.15 tells me how many seconds to add to leader's time to get the other horses' times.
Your Precious Kitten example shows why a horse can earn the top TG figure without winning the race. I can definitely sympathize with betting on horses whose riders don't seem to get that point

Bob
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?- TRAKUS
Post by: miff on October 25, 2006, 02:20:34 PM
\"Your Precious Kitten example shows why a horse can earn the top TG figure without winning the race. I can definitely sympathize with betting on horses whose riders don't seem to get that point\"

Bob


Hi Bob/NC Tony,

...except that the horse was ridden by one of the best jocks on the planet, Bejarano and the winner, Meribel, was even wider than Kittens Joy on the last turn.Did TRAKUS have KJ travelling more distance than the winner, Meribel? If so, the first turn must have been the place where KJ lost the extra ground.

Mike
Title: Re: how long is the average t'bred?- TRAKUS
Post by: NoCarolinaTony on October 25, 2006, 03:03:28 PM
Yes it did and you can find all the distance info on the Keeneland site.

Most of the time Bejerano does a great job, but if their was one criticism he has a bad habit of staying wide on turf thinking he\'s MTB, except he\'s not better than GGomez at saving ground. Yes the horse ran the 3-4-5 path just about all the way around and meribel sat on the inside until the last turn.

Yep I can tell you, quite clearly as I needed PK and would have scored Big. Me being one of the Guiness Stout Boys was \"Brilliant\" trying to beat Meribel.

NC Tony