How do they decide on eliminations in a handicap ?

I have a reserve runner for Tuesday VAAL SAND TRACK. ( A division or TOP division ) RED MIST
He has a MR of 93 on SAND. Can someone explain to me how horses with 91, 88, & 87 get into this race above mine. ?

NARC is also a reserve with 94

RED MIST has won 5 out of 6 on the SAND. He has come back after a long rest & did run down field last time... but he is a much better sand than turf horse.

The mind boggles as to how LOWER rated horses get in above mine....... anyone got a GOOD EXPLANATION they can pass onto me ?

WHITE TIE eliminated with a 90 ? how come ?

Draw?

First off I I thought it may have something to do with the conditions of the specific race (Autumn Sand Sprint - Non-Black Type) - but nothing specific is mentioned in the program:

AUTUMN SAND SPRINT (Non-Black Type) R125 000
A Handicap for all Horses
Benchmark at 52 kg = 84
Should the top weight be less than 60 kg at the time of
declaration, it will be raised to that level and all other
weights raised accordingly
Apprentice Allowance may NOT be claimed
Entry Fee: R 143 (Fee R 125 + VAT R 18) (Non Refundable)

Elvis, give the trainer a ring, he must have queried this with the guys in charge - yes; Red Mist has a bad draw, but as you point out, why should that be a factor in a handicap? Must be one of their 'special conditions'.

Frodo, I'll just have to wait for another month or two I suppose, to find another SAND race for his MR..... in the mean time, just pay & pay & pay some more.

Sounds familiar Elvis. We are running from a bad draw as there is nothing else on the horizon to nominate for.

As a matter of interest did they reset all the track records when they changed the sand. I see Sandy Beach is listed as track record holder over that distance but I know a fine looking gelding that covered the distance in a much faster time a couple of years back.

????? Elvis Your guess is as good as any, looks like draw won the day, I thought placed horses may have gotten in somehow but looking at Fearless Gun that theory went out the window. Ask Charles -Racing Bureau

I think they measure the horses tail and Mane and work out from there if it should run or not.

My other guess is they have the spin the wheel concept in the board room for each race.

When questioned, the MMWC said that as it is a 'feature' race, they have used their discretion and gave preference to 'in form' runners (witness Fearless Gun) but that is not stated anywhere in the conditions of the race; however I am sure they will point to some vague rule in the general racing conditions stating that the 'handicappers have the final say' or something to that effect. It is grossly unfair imvho.

Elvis

The horse was beaten 12 lengths and then went off to regroup.

Comes back 8 months later and cannot beat a single horse home beaten 15 lengths.

Which horse in the field should come out so your horse can get in?

Jack with due respect (and let's ignore for the purpose of argument that this a horse in which Elvis has an interest); a horse with a MR of 93 is nominated in a handicap where the benchmark at 52 kg's at MR 84; so the horse is allocated 56,5 kg's. However, this horse is then carded as a reserve and other horses with lower merits are included. The reason given is that 'current form' was taken into account - but this is not stated anywhere in the race conditions.This goes against the purpose of having the race as a handicap. Special conditions should not apply willy nilly to a race advertised as a MR Handicap and the lack of form of the horse should not be a factor - his merit is high enough for him to compete in the race, so why should he be taken out and horses with lower merits be included?

And on the subject of 'current form'; there were a few others in the race that also lacked 'current form'.

Just my opinion.

I am with Elvis and Frodo on this one. If the horse has the MR it should get in, regardless of recent form. That is what the MR is for and there is the problem, as there are too many horses with incorrect MR's who are not being given a fair chance as their MR is too high and remains too high for too long. The arguement of current form just circumvents the MR issue.

spot on gajima the people who decide the final foeld are ignoring the handicaper ...the biggest problem today is that the handicaper and race programmers do not work hand in hand and therefore the programme is a complete fuckup for the horse population