If you’re lucky enough to find yourself on holiday in the months ahead, check out your fellow tourists sat on the beach or around the pool.
If the sun is out and a decent temperature, notice how differently each person copes – some are spread-eagled on a lounger, basking in the glow as they turn their mahogany skin a shade darker, while others will be covered up from head to toe, sat under a parasol and with a layer of thick sun-cream on their face that more resembles Dulux matt paint.
The point is that we, as humans, are the same yet different – and there’s a similar theme when considering the behaviours, likes and dislikes of racehorses.
Some are friendly and reserved; others are boisterous and mischievous. Some are speed kings or queens over short distances – others are grizzled stayers who love nothing more than a lengthy runout.
Some racehorses thrive on softer ground, whereas others need the going to be on the firmer side to get the best out of them. And it’s this concept – one of the key pieces of information in a horse racing punter’s armoury – that we’re going to consider here.
Horse Racing Going Explained
In the UK, we know that the grass in our gardens or down the local park can be sparse and baked hard in the summer, while resembling the Somme after a series of particularly wintry showers.
Those are two extremes at each end of the spectrum, but reflect how the going at UK racecourses can change throughout the year – even during a single day, for that matter.
The firmer the ground, the ‘faster’ the conditions are said to be – this going is said to be ‘good’, and will generally favour those horses who run a quick race (or who have been lightly treated by the handicapper).
Conversely, if the ground is softer after a deluge of rain, it can favour the stayers and those who thrive in tougher conditions – the going can range from good-to-soft (known as ‘yielding’ in Irish racing) to heavy on that particular spectrum.
How is the Going Measured in Horse Racing?
It is the job of the clerk of the course to measure the going on the morning of a raceday, informing the media and bookmakers who can update their information accordingly.
To do so, the Clerk will use a GoingStick, an instrument that is basically pushed into the ground and which then takes a numerical reading.
The data recorded confirms how much moisture is in the ground – that measurement is then used to determine the correct category for the going on that particular day.
Surprisingly, the GoingStick is a relatively modern invention – before that, the clerk would simply push the end of a walking stick into the ground, or even the heel of their wellington boot, to determine how soft (or otherwise) the turf was – not exactly standardised!
What are the Different Types of Going in Horse Racing?
All surfaces are given an official going rating based upon the findings of the GoingStick – these can be categorised as follows:
- Firm – this is the hardest, driest ground allowed in racing, and most likely to be found during the Flat season in the UK summer. The track will likely be watered on the morning of the races to make it safer.
- Good-to-Firm – fast ground, but not dry enough to be considered firm, good-to-firm ground may also be watered if no rain is forecast.
- Good – in theory, good going is the ideal ground for a horse race – although this rating is usually only recorded in the summer months.
- Good-to-Soft – often found in the spring or autumn, good-to-soft ground has just a little bit of give in it due to its water content.
- Soft – as temperatures fall and the rain falls, the ground will soften and the horses will run slower as a result, their hooves digging into the turf.
- Heavy – this is the softest of all the going categories. The deep ground sees muds splattering everywhere as the horses face the most challenging conditions in racing.
What is All-Weather Going?
Something of a contradiction of terms, all-weather racing only takes place when the ground isn’t frozen.
When racing isn’t abandoned, the artificial surfaces are also given a going rating based upon how much they yield to the horse’s hooves.
There are typically three ratings used.
Fast is, as the name suggests, when the going is dry – this promotes quicker races, generally speaking. Standard is as the all-weather surface is meant to be, while slow is an artificial surface that has been beset by rain or melt water, and is therefore full of moisture.
How Does The Going Affect Betting?
So particular are some racehorses, that their trainer will pull them out of a race and declare them as a non-runner if the going is not to their liking.
The phrase ‘horses for courses’ is often used by punters, and that is exactly as it says on the tin: focusing on horses that have thrived in the same conditions as they are likely to experience on this raceday in question.
That pertains to the class of the race, its distance and the course it is being run on, while the going is another integral part of the pre-race research process.
Some racehorses build a career around being bog-loving stayers, while others have such incredible speed that they only find their best form on firm or good going. Conversely, the best horses are considered to deliver their most premium performances on ‘neutral’ ground – good-to-soft, for example, tends to be fair going and thus favours the finest runners in the field.
Does a previous win on that particular going mean that a horse will win or place on it next time out? No. Is a horse yet to win on specific going doomed to fail every time they run on it? Again, no. There are simply no set outcomes in horse racing or sports betting as a whole.
But playing the percentages, and favouring those with a deep bank of form on, say, heavy ground, can certainly help to point punters in the right direction.
It’s worth keeping an eye on the weather on raceday too before placing your bets: a sharp shower here or there can have an impact on the going in a relatively short space of time – meetings on soft going can soon become heavy, particularly for races later on the card.