Horse weights

i suspect the issue was years ago that it was cost related to those scales....

Weigh bridges are a once off cost, with low maintenance, so I don't think too expensive. I take time to teach each horse to go on the scale, as they are often petrified of this hollow sounding black patch on the ground. They are often surrounded with walls or poles, and must look similar to the confines of a starting stall. Even the most seasoned horses can have a good fresh on the scale and hurt themselves. And once those hooves thunder on the plate, the whole yard is set off, and I sometimes have to cancel the afternoon's weighing session and try again at a later stage. So I think the risk of injury to fresh and well runners is quite high. It also depends on the time of day that they are weighed. Some horses can differ as much as 13kg from morning to afternoon. So they would have to be weighed at a consistent time, for each race. It would have to be policed by an official to make sure it is accurate etc. There are scales at Summerveld and Turffontein, for everyone to use. I'm not certain what is at other centres, but I imagine they would also have. There are also dusty, unused scales at all 3 KZN courses. I think it would be a logistical nightmare to build a database of correct weights for them to be useful as a punting tool.

They did weigh horses in Kzn for awhile but only when the horses got on course so most of the time the weights were only available an hr or so before the race and this did not help your exotic punters. Trainers got the needle sometimes as as RC says the horses now know they going to race and mess around going on and some were injured in the process. If it going to be done then it must be done the day before at home and then put in the media.The problem with that is that most trainers outside the big training centres dont have scales.

Craig would you know if any other country in the world publishes weights? If not surely SA can be world leaders in this regard - I have heard De Kock and Tarry say that they'd expected a good run from a horse because the horse's weight was right so I respect it's merits(My doctor weighs me every six months so why we don't use this BASIC info I will never know)

SLICK JET runs at Ken on Wed
won twice at 569 (base) and 572 (+3) and then ran 9th by 5.60 at 576Kg (+7)
Doesn't look that hard to build a database, if you gave a damn that is.

[code:tunvagel]
3 ch g
Jet Master - Fair Maiden by Western Winter (USA)
Lammerskraal Stud (Nom: Mr M L P Rattray)
Red and white quartered, red sleeves, quartered cap
Bred by Lammerskraal Stud (Nom: Mr M L P Rattray)
Career Record : W3 P2 R8 Stakes:R126900


Vref Date G Type g Dist Jockey Kg MR Ht S Draw Pos Length Winner*Second Hwght Time O/B S/P
K634 03Jun12 G MR88 0 1200 B Fayd'Herbe 59.0 87 A 12-15 9 5.60 Roaring Wind 576.0 73.72 5/1 75/20
K547 14Apr12 G MR80 0 1200 A Domeyer 60.0 84 A 11-15 1 0.40 Game Over 572.0 72.42 9/2 11/2
K431 15Feb12 G Novm 0 1200 B Fayd'Herbe 60.0 84 A 3- 6 1 0.50 Lake Superior 569.0 73.32 15/10 2/1
[/code:tunvagel]

Source: www.sahorseracing.co.za/cgi-bin/fgcal

thank you JD , where did you find this info? is it available online

I suspect a few scales would be far cheaper than sectional timing equipment -

sorry JD, bit blind. got it.

A few questions:

Who would pay for the treatment of injuries to horses, while being weighed for races?

What would happen if the favourite gets injured and scratched because of a weighbridge incident, would the punters lose their money on bets already made?

Who would pay for the scales of private trainers, seeing as they do not have access to the ones at the various training centres?

Who would police this procedure? Would it need to be captured on camera for it to be a true record of the horses' weights?

Who would capture the data, and maintain this publicly available database? NHRA? Racing operators?

Would it be published for a fee? Or available online only? In which case, how does the less privileged punter get hold of the information? It certainly can't be published in a race card, because the weight can change immensely in just 2 sprint ups.

When should we weigh the horses? The day of? The day before? On course? In which case how does one disseminate this information in time for it to be relevant?

What about first timers, especially in fields where horses have run before? How relevant would this information be in this circumstance?

Should we also make available what brand of feed we use? Or what day the shoes were put on? Or if the horse is running twice in the same set of alumites? Or if the horse was weighed before or after eating/ drinking?

While the weighing of runners can be a useful tool, I think that there are too many factors which do not allow for a very easy way of getting this right. I think the injury factor alone, outweighs any benefit that can be found. Maybe some trainers could be persuaded to make available the weights they take at home? To publish them on their websites, or on a Twitter feed. Again, this information will only reach a privileged few...

How is it done in the Cape?

Just some information on what the procedure is in Singapore. Every horse is weighed before racing AND pre-race blood tested. I speak under correction but Hong Kong also weighs their horses but the day before racing. The weights of the horses here are displayed on screen prior to the race and also detailed with the information on each runner so it is readily available. As soon as the weights come to hand they also go up on our website. We have very seldom had an incident with horses getting injured during weighing or blood testing - like everything they get used to it and as long as the surrounds are controlled and 'horse friendly' there are no problems.

In Cape Town, the horses get weighed on their way to the saddle enclosure and the weights normally shown on the on-course tv.