{"id":2312,"date":"2024-02-05T10:04:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T10:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.top10bettingsites.co.uk\/?page_id=2312"},"modified":"2024-02-05T10:04:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T10:04:58","slug":"do-horses-run-better-after-a-wind-operation-should-we-bet-on-them","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/horse-racing\/do-horses-run-better-after-a-wind-operation-should-we-bet-on-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Horses Run Better After a Wind Operation: Should We Bet on Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WindIn many sports, the ultimate aim is to achieve a marginal gain or two \u2013 that little uptick in form, technique or confidence that can elevate an individual or team\u2019s results.<\/p>\n

But in horse racing, it\u2019s possible for a horse to improve \u2013 or decline \u2013 quite markedly in a short space of time, almost imperceptibly at first to their trainers and connections.<\/p>\n

One of the ways that a racehorse owner or trainer can knowingly improve the performance of their steed is via a wind operation, which can \u2013 in some cases \u2013 lead to improved performance out on the track.<\/p>\n

So what is wind surgery in horse racing, how do we track it and should we be betting on those that have gone in for a wind op?<\/p>\n

What is Wind Surgery On a Horse?<\/h2>\n
\"Wind
Peasebrook Equine Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The object of wind surgery is to improve the in and outflow of breath of a horse. If there are any blockages in the horse\u2019s respiratory system, it\u2019s not only potentially bad for health, it also affects their performance out on the track too.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s typically issues in the larynx that prevent a horse from achieving 100% respiratory performance, so there\u2019s a pair of common wind operations \u2013 either a \u2018tie back\u2019 or a \u2018tie forward\u2019 \u2013 that help to keep the air passages clear.<\/p>\n

Breathing in more oxygen, and effectively dispelling carbon dioxide, can \u2013 in theory, at least \u2013 enable a horse to run faster for longer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s by no means a set fix of subsequent success \u2013 many racehorses have had a wind op and failed to improve on the turf. But the logic is that if an already-decent horse has wind surgery, they should enjoy an improvement in performance pretty much straight away.<\/p>\n

That has been the case for top trainer Nicky Henderson, who has sent many of his horses off for a wind op over the years. And Altior, Buveur D\u2019Air and Sprinter Sacre are just three of those who have rewarded him<\/a> with Grade 1 victories following their surgeries.<\/p>\n

How to Find Out Which Horses Have Had Wind Surgery<\/h2>\n

\"HorseFor many years, no public declaration was made when a racehorse had had wind surgery \u2013 leaving punters completely in the dark.<\/p>\n

But that all changed in 2018, when the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) declared that all bookmakers should inform punters<\/a> when a horse had had a wind op on their racecards.<\/p>\n

So, when you take a look at a racecard, if a horse has a \u2018WS\u2019 icon next to their name, you know that they have had wind surgery and that this will be their first run since the operation.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, you might see \u2018WS2\u2019 too. This simply means that this is the horse\u2019s second run since they underwent their wind op.<\/p>\n

Does Wind Surgery Lead to Better Performances in Horses?<\/h2>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

One of the interesting things about the \u2018WS\u2019 icon is that many punters seek it out \u2013 which in turn forces down the odds of those horses that have had a wind op prior to the run. And that market pressure may make a runner\u2019s price less value as a consequence.<\/p>\n

Indeed, so sought after is wind surgery information that AtTheRaces, something of a bible for punters, even publishes a list of horses that are WS or WS2 and running that day or the following day.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of trainers that have an improved strike rate when a batch of their horses return from wind surgery \u2013 Venetia Williams\u2019 strike rate when her horses run for the first time after an op is as high as 26%, which is incredibly high when you consider the standard SR of even the finest trainers.<\/p>\n

Indeed, research studies<\/a> suggest that a horse will continue to run better for as many as five outings after their surgery.<\/p>\n

And that same line of enquiry found that while most National Hunt horses improve after wind surgery, for Flat horses the opposite is actually true \u2013 their performances weaken (in terms of overall win percentage) after undergoing the operation.<\/p>\n

There are some other interesting pointers in the data too. The sweet-spot for wind ops was in races between 10f and two miles \u2013 this is where the strike rate of WS or WS1 horses was most positively altered. In sprints and long-distance outings, wind surgery doesn\u2019t seem to have as much of an impact on the identity of the average winner.<\/p>\n

So does a wind operation lead to an improved performance from a racehorse? The answer is that, in certain conditions, it can do.<\/p>\n

Should I Bet On a Horse After a Wind Op?<\/h2>\n

\"BettingPerhaps the most insightful piece of research into this particular topic comes when we look at what would happen if we blindly backed horses that had had wind surgery in their first race.<\/p>\n

Over a testing period of 2018-2023, a wager on all WS horses \u2013 we\u2019re talking thousands of bets here \u2013 would have returned a NET LOSS of around 3% on your investment. The returns are better when backing National Hunt horses in this manner, rather than Flat specialists, but the bottom line remains the same.<\/p>\n

Regular readers know that we have cautioned against blindly backing anything in any sport \u2013 there simply is no silver bullet that affirms winners.<\/p>\n

But can you use information about wind surgeries to inform your bets? Absolutely. It\u2019s well worth examining the formline of a horse that has had the op. Have they shown some talent before? Have they been close to winning? Their surgery may help them to make that marginal gain that sees them become a winner, rather than an also-ran.<\/p>\n

Conversely, horses that have rarely shown any form are unlikely to suddenly become Red Rum incarnate thanks to their surgery \u2013 the gain in athletic performance is rather more subtle than that.<\/p>\n

Wind surgery is an information source that should be used by punters in the same way as other changes, such as a horse wearing cheekpieces or a tongue-tie for the first time. These are just pieces of the overall puzzle \u2013 putting them all together effectively is the secret to successful betting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In many sports, the ultimate aim is to achieve a marginal gain or two \u2013 that little uptick in form, technique or confidence that can elevate an individual or team\u2019s results. But in horse racing, it\u2019s possible for a horse to improve \u2013 or decline \u2013 quite markedly in a short space of time, almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":54,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-2312","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2312"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2320,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2312\/revisions\/2320"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}