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Home » Recreation And Sports Articles » A Dictionary Of Horse Racing Terms G

A Dictionary Of Horse Racing Terms - G

GELDING

After being castrated a male or colt horse is said to have been "gelded". There are a variety of reasons behind this seemingly rather harsh practice.

By taking a horses mind off sex it becomes more amenable, and calm. A horse becomes less temperamental due to the shift in hormonal balance, which occurs with all neutered animals, including humans.

After gelding, horses are generally regarded as being easier to train and concentrate more readily on their racing.

Even more practical for National Hunt, gelding can prevent the extreme discomfort experienced by "entire" horses when jumping over hard fences, historically made from birch.

Irish horses intended for chasing are gelded automatically at an early age.

Most chasers are in fact geldings.

For a long time, many big flat races were not open to geldings, but this has now changed with most of the classics now being opened up to them.

One obvious financial argument against gelding is that after winning a major, a colt is instantly worth millions to big stables or stud syndicates.

Whereas "The Arkle" who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1964, 65, and 66, was valued at the same price the day after the races as he was the day before.

National Hunt racing would not work without geldings, who are much admired by racegoers, regardless of stud decisions made by prejudiced breeders.

GOING

Advance forecasts in newspapers and the formbook advertise the state of the ground for a race meeting.

• Hard
• Firm
• Good to Firm
• Good to Soft
• Soft
• Heavy

"Soft with heavy patches" in the formbook indicates muddy patches.

Sometimes differences are noted on different parts of the course I.e. Going: Round course, soft. Straight course, good to soft.

The outcome of a race is significantly dependent on the state of the going. It is arguably THE most important factor in determining a race day favourite.

Comments including "likes some cut on the ground" or "likes some give underfoot" should be carefully noted.

Other horses prefer to race when the mud is flying and the formbook will note such horses as being a "confirmed mudlark".

Still other horses don't like soft conditions at all and need good going, the formbook will state "needs the top of the ground", while some prefer really firm going eliciting descriptive comments such as "likes to hear his hooves rattle".

Assessing the state of the going falls to the Clerks of the Course, who are open to severe criticism when their assessment is questionable.

Recent advances in science have allowed the art of poking the ground with a stick to become far more scientific with the introduction of a dubiously titled device known as the "penetrometer".

One should always examine the weather forecast for a meeting as an essential adjunct to basic form study, and one should know a horse's preference for a particular type of going.

For example at the time a newspaper or formbook is printed the going for any given race may indeed be good, but by the time of the race, heavy rainfall may have changed it to soft or heavy.

In many cases where the going has changed dramatically at the last minute, then a horse with a differing preference to the current going may be withdrawn.

However, it may be seen that vice versa, a late change of going can transform certain losers into possible winners.

The "going" is therefore uniformly accepted as essential by trainers, and their running intentions for their horses.

Timeform, the Racing Post, and the newspapers publish plenty of good information about the going. Comments such as "we will only run if we get that", or "he will only run if its soft" and "he's only good on good ground" are all well worth noting.

Finally it's important to note that some courses hold rainwater better or worse than others.

For example at Newmarket the ground rarely reaches worse than soft. Good ground or good to soft are almost always the state of the going irrespective of rainfall on the Rowley mile in spring through to autumn.

GOOD WALKER

If you have access to the pre-race paddock inspection you should try to note whether the back or "hind" hoof coincides or overlaps with the point where the front hoof has been.

This feature is a sign that a horse will gallop well, and the horse is referred to as a "Good walker"

GREYS

A remarkable front running Grey, Desert Orchid, was an outstanding public hero between 1983 and 1991, dominating the jumps arena with 34 wins from 70 starts.

Greys account for only 3% of the entire horse racing population, but this ratio gives no indication of their overall popularity, particularly in the National Hunt theatre.

Foaled in 1704 and brought to England via Constantinople by Sir Robert Sutton, all thoroughbred "grey" horses can be traced back to the original "Alcock Arabian".

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Are You a Trendsetter or Someone Who Will be Left Behind?

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend in the San Francisco Bay Area who has owned her business for nearly 30 years. After catching up on the family and all our pets, we ended up talking about business. Makes sense since years ago we collaborated on many successful major entertainment events in the Bay Area.

Our conversation was about everyday trends that are changing the face of business. We also talked about the countless number of business owners, sales people, managers and entrepreneurs who choose to live in the place of "business as usual" without fully understanding how important the impact of trends are on our economy.

Think about some of the trends that have impacted virtually everyone you know. Years ago, with the introduction of ATMs many people were either hesitant to use them or immediately understood the power and benefit that came with the ease of use. No doubt, they changed the face of banking forever.

Actually, I hold the designation as the very first user of the ATM in front of the Bank of America branch in a small town along the Russian River I lived in until 1991. To this day I remember what an exciting moment that was for me and bank personnel. You can tell, sometimes I am easily amused and entertained. And yet, for the town this was a really big deal. It was a turning point.

Since first being introduced, ATMs became as common as VCRs, cassette players, and heated curlers. As with all of the items mentioned, including ATMs, each has been phased out by more progressive items and ways of doing business. VCRs to DVD players, cassette players to CD players, heated curlers to curling irons or hair styles that don't require curling. ATM machines are making way to debit cards and Internet banking.

Have you given thought to trends that are impacting the way you do business? It never ceases to amaze me how many home based and small business owners don't give this much thought. Or, even if they know something is looming overhead, they pretend it doesn't exist.

Fact is, there is one HUGE trend you cannot ignore. If you do, I can promise it is only a matter of time before you are so far behind it may be too late to catch up. It is the use of the Internet in your overall marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, many people who are running a home based or small business act like the Ostrich with their head in the sand. Hopefully, you are not one of those people.

Many people think if they pretend something doesn't exist it will just go away. Not so with E-marketing. It is becoming more and more prevalent all the time.

I began using the Internet in my marketing years ago. I had my first Ezine before there was such a name for it. As I reflect on the growth of my business in the last few years, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that had it not been for many of the E-strategies I implemented, I wouldn't be in business.

I also know that I cannot rest on my laurels and neither can you. It is essential to always stay on top of the information that is available. Granted, it is difficult to know what you need to learn, from whom and when enough is enough. Here are a few recommendations on what you can do.

1. Look at what your competitors are doing on the Internet. What does their site look like, do they have systems in place to consistently market to their customers, and do they appear to be leading the way.
2. Sign up for online Ezines that keep you abreast of trends. Some excellent resources are http://emailuniverse.com and http://sbinformation.about.com
3. Learn all you can about how to market using the Internet. Regardless of what your product or service is you need to know how to use the Internet to gain greater market share.

Fact is, very few people can avoid using the Internet in their overall marketing strategy. This doesn't mean you have to go from A to Z in one leap. It does mean that each day you need to do something to increase your knowledge base. Perhaps you need to bring someone on board who has the knowledge that you need. Whatever you decide, make the decision based on being proactive rather than reactive.

As you think about 2005, the question you must ask is, "Will 2005 be the Year I am Known as a Trendsetter or Someone Who Got Left Behind?" I know what my answer will be.