Racing’s Dark Arts: Finding Winners in the Parade Ring

You study the form, you might listen to William Hill Racing Radio, you might watch Racing UK or ATR or have an afternoon or evening at the races. But when you go racing, how much time do you spend looking at the horses in the Parade Ring or pre-parade ring and do you know what you’re looking for or do you tend to spend the time before the race in the nearest bar or champagne lawn.

This month’s article looks at what some pundits see as one of the “dark arts” of the sport that of paddock watching. I will hopefully provide you with some of the basic concepts to be able to read a racehorse; identify the positive and, of course just importantly, the negative things to look in the parade ring and show that it’s not a difficult task when you know what you’re looking for. That knowledge combined with your form or statistical analysis can give you a serious edge over other punters and help you select more winners and maybe avoid a few losers.

Some of you reading this will be experienced paddock watchers already and if that’s the case most of what you are about to read will be covering familiar ground but for the beginner it will hopefully provide a short introduction to the topic. Now I realise we are dealing with a subjective discipline here and my opinion can differ from someone else’s but if you follow the basics I am about to outline It hopefully help to at the very least get more out of the sport.

Before I begin I want to briefly mention who I consider one of the best paddock watchers in the business Ken Peterson who is the course paddock man with William Hill Radio. His comments are often insightful, particularly when it comes to races with lots of unraced two-year-olds. At this time of year his paddock comments can be invaluable with horses starting to go in their coats particularly the fillies. If you haven’t listened to Ken on the radio I suggest you do as you will gain plenty of insights from listening to him.

Horses Are Just ‘Flesh and Blood’

The form of the horse is obviously very important when it comes to finding selections, but looking at horses in the parade ring can also be a path to finding plenty of winners and conversely avoiding plenty of losers.

Horses are mammals like us and just like us they have their own personalities and like us they have their off days, some are no longer in love with the game, some maybe showing signs of racing fatigue, some just look like they would rather be back home in their nice stable box than do anything as taxing as running as fast as they can in a race with another group of horses.

Then you have horses that can’t wait to get onto the track and race; they show their love for racing in the way that they conduct themselves in the run up to a race. Go to the paddock before a race and you will see both positive and negative attributes on show. The horse who is interested in racing will come into the paddock looking at the crowd. It’s probably obvious but interested and happy horses have more success on the racecourse.

Things to Look For In the Paddock:

So you’re by the side of the parade ring watching the horses as they round with their handlers so what should you be looking for? I think there are three important things to look out for: What does the horse look like? What’s its condition? And finally what’s its behaviour like?

What Does the Horse Look Like? – Let’s start by looking at the horses head.

Head – Watch how the horse carries its head. Is the head up? Are its eyes looking around? What about its eyes? Can you see too much white about them? A horse normally shows the whites of its eyes when it fears something. Now if the horse in question is having its first start then that wouldn’t be too much of a negative but for more experienced horses its would be a negative.

Ears – Are the horses ears pricked? Even better are they moving towards the sounds, showing that it’s interested in what going on around it?

Are the horses ears pinned back? If they are this can be a sign that that it’s not in a good mood and will probably not give its best running. Likewise if the horse’s ears look limp and flop then it can be a sign that it’s not feeling 100% and once again will probably not give its best in the race.

Tails – A horse will hold its tail close to its hindquarters for many reasons. For example; fillies or mares may do it because they feel threatened. But a flat looking tail can also be indication that the horse is not in the best of health. Horses with good energy levels usually have an arched tail.

What’s Its Body Type? – Is the horse well balanced? Ideally it will have a square form does the head fit together with the overall frame of the horse? It’s worth bearing in mind if one part of the body looks much stronger than the rest that would be a negative for me. What you want to see is good muscle definition, a well developed rump and hind legs as they are the horse’s engine.

In the parade ring you will see horses of all shapes and sizes. For a 5f or 6f sprint what you want to see is a horse with a big barrel like chest, which allow for a good set of lungs, and strong hind quarters. These types can take a few runs to get fully race fit and their fitness levels are not always apparent.

Other horses are tall and leggy they tend run better on flat galloping tracks like Doncaster and can often struggle at undulating or very tight tracks. Where as smaller more compact horse can be better suited to a tight turning track like Chester. The more lightly framed horses look leaner and have a longer back. These light framed leggy horses are able to cover more ground with their longer strides, and thus able to stay longer distances.

Unlike the big sprinting types they are easier to get fit and their fitness levels can more easily be seen by the eye.

These types of horse shouldn’t be confused with a weak looking horse. These tend to be much smaller in stature, they tend to be narrow behind the saddle, have a narrow chest and smaller hind quarters. The early season two-year old races can be very instructive in this regard. What you want to see is the biggest strongest horse as they will have the strength to push through their weaker rivals.

What’s Its Condition Like?

Coat – Arguably the best guide to a horses well being and health is the condition of its coat. It’s easier in summer to notice a horses coat but even in the winter months you can tell if a horse is in good health and in peak condition. A shiny, glossy coat is a good indicator of a horse’s health. An even better indicator of horses well being is a shiny dappled coat is something you really want to see.

You will notice the dappling by gleaming circles which can be seen just under the skin. Just like us humans if the horse looks good it will probably be feeling good. One trainer who is noted for having her horses well turned out looking good is Venetia Williams. When your at the track and see one of her runners in the paddock you will see what I mean.

On the flip side, if the horses coat is dull and dry or is of poor colouring then that can be considered a negative. At this point it’s worth pointing out that the grey horses coat can be difficult to judge but sometimes you will see a grey horse whose coat is stand out shiny and if he ticks the other boxes then you have found a horse ready to run a big race. That said you I would never dismiss a horses chance based purely by what its coat looks like. Plenty of horses can look fantastic in the parade ring but bomb out in the race.

Fitness – The unfit horse normally has a big stomach or a bit of a tummy. The muscles will look soft and there will be a lack of muscle in the hind quarters. Both of these are indications that the horse is not fit and ready to win and will need a race or two to find winning form. This is particularly important when looking at longer distance horse they need to show plenty of muscle definition in the hind quarters and be showing a ‘hint of rib’. It’s important at this stage to stress but it’s all about how that muscling is defined. A well defined chest is usually a good sign of a horse’s fitness. The over raced horse, a horse that has a hard season, or the horse that has been overtrained will also show a lack of condition this is usually signified by being light behind the saddle.

What’s its Behaviour Like?

As I mentioned earlier you want to see an alert and interested horse. The horse that’s turning its head toward the handler is a positive sign, as is a horse that’s on its toes, it seems to be almost dancing not too much though, and this is particularly a positive for a horse in a sprint race. A horse running over a longer distance should be more relaxed but once again should still be alert and interested in their surroundings. In juvenile races with many of the runners having their first start noisy horses should be avoided as either their focus is not on the race to be run or they are just to immature to run their race.

Some horses will enter the paddock looking nervous this will show on their face, there head will be much lower and their overall body language will indicate a timid or submissive horse. This type of horse won’t be striding out to win their race and will not go for those little gaps when the race really gets going. Some older horses on a long losing run will carry their heads low.

They will seem almost sleepy and just seem to plod around the ring. They won’t show any interest on what’s going around them. You can almost guarantee these old boys won’t be exploding out of their lethargy when the race begins.

Is the horse a good walker? While walking is no guarantee of a good galloper, but you want a horse that has an athletic walk that covers the ground easily.

You will notice that they almost bounce along with their handler. They don’t pull the handler all over the place. They will seem to be enjoying the walk with their handler.

Is the Horse Sweating?

A horse sweating in the parade ring or at the start is a contentious subject. Like humans horses get butterflies in their stomach before a race. As former trainer ‘Taffy’ Williams once told me “Butterflies are fine… Sweat dripping off their belly, that’s not good. Horses get nervous from the inside out.” Like humans, horses sweat in particularly in summer although sweating on a cold January afternoon at Catterick would not be a good sign. A small amount of sweat on the coat can be a positive sign as it shows the horse is keen. But if a horse becomes ‘a wash with sweat’ then that can be a negative sign as the horse could be getting too nervous.

One place you don’t want to see too much sweat on a horse is between the hind legs. This is said to be a sign of excess adrenaline. That said horses that sweat up do win races, look at Motivator when winning the 2005 Derby who had sweated up profusely before the race and put off many punters. So signs of sweating on a horse are not always a bad thing and of course do not preclude a horse from winning.

Other Variables

Many paddock watchers have other particular traits they like, some like to see a horse with big ears or when the going is soft or heavy they like to see horses with big feet.

Too much head bobbing is not considered a good sign as it could indicate some sort of pain. Likewise head tossing can mean the horse is angry, and kicking and bucking can be an indication of anger or fear of danger.

Other things worth noting in the paddock are horse wearing bandages. A horse wearing bandages may not have injury problems and an even number of bandages is better than one. Bandage marks on the legs can indicate the trainer doesn’t want the horse to appear injured and has removed them immediately before the race.

Paddock watching is definitely an art that takes practice but the more you look at horses, the better you get at it and it may even become your favourite way of picking winners.

I hope you have found this piece informative and all that’s left is to wish you a profitable months betting.

Until next time!

John Burke
John Burke is the brains behind the successful Victor Value tipping service you can try it for just £1 Click Here