{"id":2402,"date":"2024-04-14T21:57:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T21:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.top10bettingsites.co.uk\/?page_id=2402"},"modified":"2024-04-14T21:58:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T21:58:14","slug":"what-are-sectional-times-and-can-they-improve-your-horse-racing-betting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/horse-racing\/what-are-sectional-times-and-can-they-improve-your-horse-racing-betting\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Sectional Times and Can They Improve Your Horse Racing Betting?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a stack of different tools at the disposal of horse racing punters, with each playing its part in trying to crack the code of predicting how a race will play out.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing how the opinions of punters differ in terms of the relevance of each of these tools, but one that is almost universally popular is that of sectional times.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re by no means the secret sauce that will turn you into a winning punter overnight, but sectional times do offer up some fascinating insight that might just help you to predict the outcome of a race more successfully.<\/p>\n

What are Sectional Times in Horse Racing?<\/h2>\n

\"WhatSectional times, quite simply, detail how fast each of the horses in a race has travelled over a specific distance.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t mean that they\u2019ll run that fast (or slow) again next time out or at any point in the future, but this sectional data does offer an insight into how fast a horse can travel on specific going.<\/p>\n

This information can also be used to analyse whether a race has been run to a \u2018true\u2019 standard or whether it has been \u2018falsely\u2019 run. There are factors that can impact upon a horse\u2019s performance, maybe the pace was too frenetic for them or too slow, and this insight can be used as a guide when predicting their true level next time out \u2013 in different company, they might just be able to maximise their potential.<\/p>\n

We can also put generalised labels on a horse race. They might be frenetic early pace with a slow finish, a sluggish start and a strong finish, maybe fair-to-middling throughout\u2026 we can categorise horses in this way, and predict which type of race may favour them best in the future.<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, sectional times are recorded over each furlong, so if the race is six furlongs long then you\u2019ll have six pieces of data to analyse.<\/p>\n

This information is often used in post-race analysis by jockeys and trainers. They\u2019ll look at how the horse ran at different points in the race, indicating whether the individual is a fast\/slow starter or whether they stay on well. The times will also be used to inform race day strategy; perhaps a horse is a natural frontrunner, or maybe they\u2019ll be held back in the pack and then run their race at the business end?<\/p>\n

How are Sectional Times Calculated?<\/h2>\n

\"GPSDon\u2019t worry, you won\u2019t need a stopwatch and a pen and paper to record sectional time data.<\/p>\n

There are many services out there that provide sectional times, and while some of these are paid-for services, the data and insight they provide can be invaluable.<\/p>\n

Many trainers will now attach some kind of GPS tracking device to their horse\u2019s saddle, which will offer up a calculation that you may just remember from your physics classes at school: speed = distance\/time.<\/p>\n

Just by watching a horse race on TV or a bookmaker\u2019s stream, you\u2019ll also get a flavour of the sectional times \u2013 some broadcasters have a clock running on-screen, which momentarily freezes at the end of each furlong.<\/p>\n

Whichever avenue you pursue in getting your hands on sectional time data, make sure your provider has a reputation for being accurate in their work \u2013 if they aren\u2019t, the stats they are providing are effectively useless.<\/p>\n

How to Use Sectional Times In Your Betting<\/h2>\n

\"Using<\/p>\n

One of the attributes that punters love about a racehorse is its ability to run a smooth race \u2013 that is, to pace itself and run sectional times that are pretty consistent across the board.<\/p>\n

Of course, many horses run a fast first furlong \u2013 it\u2019s the herd nature of the animal to want to stick close to its equine brethren, before the jockey will assert control over their pacing thereafter. The pre-race strategy will also try to ensure the horse is hitting their top speed in the final furlong or so, so in that sense some leeway must be given when studying sectional times.<\/p>\n

But the main takeaway from sectional time data is to determine a horse\u2019s top speed \u2013 that gives you a flavour of their performance ceiling. Then you want to be able to track how many furlongs they are able to operate at roughly that level for. Speed and stamina tends to win the day in any horse race of one mile or more.<\/p>\n

Sectional data can also be used to try and plot how a race will be run. Is the field packed with strong, front-running types? That could potentially pose problems for \u2018hold up\u2019 horses that prefer a steadier pace in the early going.<\/p>\n

When betting on longer distance races, you can use sectional times to try and predict if a race will be run in a way that suits your pick or not.<\/p>\n

Plenty of punters enjoy creating their own ratings system, which identifies horses with potential for future improvement \u2013 or those that have perhaps been overrated by the handicapper.<\/p>\n

Sectional data can be used to study a horse\u2019s running over a few races, identifying improvers or those that are perhaps regressing. Often in horse racing, the result of a race doesn\u2019t always tell the whole story \u2013 recognising horses with a high performance ceiling, and haven\u2019t had a chance to run to their true level yet, can be very useful indeed.<\/p>\n

And we can try to match sectional times to individual racecourses, too. Those with consistent strong finishing times may be well adjusted to tracks like Cheltenham and Chepstow, where those famed for strong starts may just have the edge at sharper courses such as Chester or Epsom, where reeling in a leader can prove tricky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a stack of different tools at the disposal of horse racing punters, with each playing its part in trying to crack the code of predicting how a race will play out. It\u2019s amazing how the opinions of punters differ in terms of the relevance of each of these tools, but one that is 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-2402","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\/2402","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=2402"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2407,"href":"https:\/\/www.rulesofsport.com\/betting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2402\/revisions\/2407"}],"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=2402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}