Understanding the Data
Pace Bar
Each segment represents one furlong of the race, showing how fast that section was run compared to par (standard time for the track and conditions).
- Dark green — much faster than par (>0.5s faster)
- Light green — faster than par (0.2–0.5s)
- Yellow — at par speed
- Light red — slower than par (0.2–0.5s)
- Dark red — much slower than par (>0.5s slower)
Early: FAST/PAR/SLOW — summarises the first half of the race. Race FSP — average Finishing Speed % across all runners. Par varies by distance and course; higher values indicate a faster overall finish.
Running Style
Classifies how each horse was positioned in the field throughout the race:
- FR Front Runner — led or raced in the first 15%
- PROM Prominent — raced in the front quarter
- STK Stalker — tracked leaders then made a move
- MID Mid-Division — raced in mid-field
- CLO Closer — came from behind late
- HU Held Up — raced at the back of the field
Position Track & +/-
Position Track shows the horse's position at 4 key points: early in the race, mid-race, 2f from home, and the finish.
+/- is the net change from starting position to finishing position:
- +5 means the horse gained 5 places from start to finish
- -3 means the horse dropped back 3 places
- 0 means the horse held position throughout
A horse with a large positive +/- but a poor finishing position may have been inconvenienced early on.
FS 2f, FS 1f & FS Fin
Finishing Speed Difference vs par at three points approaching the finish line. Shows how fast a horse was travelling relative to the par speed for that distance and course.
- FS 2f — at 2 furlongs from home. The most reliable effort indicator — horses are still racing hard at this point.
- FS 1f — at 1 furlong from home. Strong indicator of genuine late speed.
- FS Fin — at the finish line. Use with caution — winners easing down show misleadingly low values, and beaten horses giving up show exaggerated negatives.
Hover over any FS value to see the horse's actual speed in mph at that point. This puts the percentage difference into real-world context — you can see exactly how fast a horse was travelling and compare raw speeds between runners, regardless of their FS Diff relative to par.
Colour coding:
- ≥ +4 much faster than par
- ≥ +2 faster than par
- -2 to +2 at par
- ≤ -2 slower than par
- ≤ -4 much slower than par
What To Look For
Inconvenienced Horses
A horse that finishes mid-field or worse but has a high FS 2f value (green, especially +4 or more) was likely still travelling well 2f out but ran into trouble. Look for horses that gained multiple places (+3 or more) but still couldn't finish in the first few — they may have had further to come.
Pace Bias
When the meeting shows a strong pace bias (e.g. "Front-Runner Bias"), horses that raced from behind against the bias deserve extra credit. Conversely, front-runners winning on a strong-pace day may have had an unfair advantage. Check the pace bar — lots of green early sections mean a strong pace that benefits closers.
False Results
Slow-early races (red/yellow pace bar sections early, green sections late) can produce misleading results. Front-runners get an easy lead and the finish becomes a sprint, punishing closers who have too much ground to make up. FS Fin values here are particularly unreliable.
Genuine Speed Horses
Horses showing high FS 2f and high FS 1f values are producing sustained finishing speed. If this comes in a strongly-run race (green pace bar throughout), it is particularly noteworthy. A horse with +5 FS 2f in a strong-pace race is doing something exceptional.
Draw Bias & Stall IV
The Draw column shows each horse's stall position. The number beneath is the Impact Value (IV) — a measure of how that stall has performed historically at this course and distance over the last 5 years.
- IV = 1.00 — the stall wins exactly as often as expected
- IV ≥ 1.30 — significantly advantaged stall (green)
- IV ≤ 0.70 — significantly disadvantaged stall (red)
The IV calculation uses the independent events method: for each stall, only races where that stall existed are considered. This correctly accounts for the fact that higher-numbered stalls only appear in larger fields, avoiding the misleading results of naive strike-rate comparisons.
The meeting-level draw bias badge summarises the day's results:
- Low Draw Bias — majority of winners from low stalls (at or below the field midpoint)
- High Draw Bias — majority of winners from high stalls
- Draw Advantage — winners came from stalls with high historical IVs
- No Draw Bias — even spread of winning draws
Low/High is relative to the field midpoint of each race. In a 10-runner race, draws 1–5 are "low" and 6–10 are "high".
Using Draw Data
Combined Bias
When a meeting shows both a pace bias and a draw bias, the combination is especially powerful. For example, a front-runner bias with a low-draw advantage at a straight course suggests that inside-drawn speed horses had a significant edge on the day.
Against The Bias
Horses that won from a historically disadvantaged stall (low IV, red) deserve extra credit. Conversely, winners from stalls with very high IVs may have been flattered by their draw rather than showing genuine superiority.
Course & Distance Specifics
Draw bias varies hugely by distance at the same course. Sprint races at straight courses often show pronounced low-draw advantages, while longer races on round courses may show little bias at all. The stall IVs are calculated per distance band for this reason.
Sample Size Caution
Stall IVs require a minimum of 5 races to be shown. Higher stall numbers inevitably have fewer races (they only exist in bigger fields), so their IVs can be more volatile. A single day's meeting draw bias from 6–8 races should be considered alongside historical IVs, not in isolation.