[tarragon]

I had a (probably) silly question about Equibase reports that I was hoping one of you wise gurus from the Racing forum could answer for me, please.

When I'm looking at the "Official Workout" reports on Equibase, in the column labeled "notes", all of the horses have either a "b" or a "bg" listed. What does that mean? This is the first time I've ever seen a workout report and I'm trying to understand it.

TIA

[Norcrest]

b ='s breezing
bg ='s breezing gate

[Flypony]

Sometimes you will see h -that is handily, meaning under a hand ride. At this track breezing is a horse that is not being asked at all. Handily is just down and riding. once in a while you see a d- that is driving , under pressure from the whip. g is meaing from the gate. The numbers ie: 2/33 mean 33 horses worked the distance, this one was 2nd fastest move of the day.

[Norcrest]

Thanks Flypony...I was rushing out the door and thought..hey I know the answer to this one..doesnt happen often in the Racing Forum! I thought breezing meant going all out?

[On the Farm]

Sometimes you will see h -that is handily, meaning under a hand ride. At this track breezing is a horse that is not being asked at all. Handily is just down and riding. once in a while you see a d- that is driving , under pressure from the whip. g is meaing from the gate. The numbers ie: 2/33 mean 33 horses worked the distance, this one was 2nd fastest move of the day.

If I'm not mistaken, "d" means "dogs up," with the dogs being traffic cones placed to keep horses from working on the rail.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Thanks Flypony...I was rushing out the door and thought..hey I know the answer to this one..doesnt happen often in the Racing Forum! I thought breezing meant going all out?

It actually varies, in some parts of the country Breezing means the horse is ridden out and handily means the horse is under his own steam. It's also up to the the discretion of the clocker, some are more conservative than others about which definition they they apply.
All the more reason I believe that timed workouts on paper are meaningless.... unless you're actually watching in person with the watch in your hand. There are so many other factors involved that don't get reported on the DRF/Equibase lists... was the horse on the rail or coming down the middle of the track, what speed was the horse going when the clock was started, etc. Not to mention that handtiming is inaccurate and prone to human error, you can easily be off by a half a second or more, and seems esp archaic in this day and age when a jumper class at a schooling show can be electronically timed to 1/100th of a second.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

If I'm not mistaken, "d" means "dogs up," with the dogs being traffic cones placed to keep horses from working on the rail.

D = "Driving"
d = "Dogs Up"

[Flypony]

So if the dogs are up the work will read 48.2 H(d) 1/22 . You're right works are in capitals. What do I know ,I am just the idiot that still works horses . You can read lots into a work if you know the track, horses , trainers . I claim 1st time starters, works are what you go by as well as pedigee etc. By the way , the dogs don't get used on polytrack.

[Flypony]

It actually varies, in some parts of the country Breezing means the horse is ridden out and handily means the horse is under his own steam. It's also up to the the discretion of the clocker, some are more conservative than others about which definition they they apply.
All the more reason I believe that timed workouts on paper are meaningless.... unless you're actually watching in person with the watch in your hand. There are so many other factors involved that don't get reported on the DRF/Equibase lists... was the horse on the rail or coming down the middle of the track, what speed was the horse going when the clock was started, etc. Not to mention that handtiming is inaccurate and prone to human error, you can easily be off by a half a second or more, and seems esp archaic in this day and age when a jumper class at a schooling show can be electronically timed to 1/100th of a second.

Equibase shows works in 100th's

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Equibase shows works in 100th's

I know, but they are hand timed. Have you ever tried hand timing yourself against an electronic timer... for anything, horses, dogs, people? Sometimes you can be bang on, other times way off.

[tarragon]

Thanks, y'all, for the answer and for all the additional information, too. I'm sure you've answered future questions that I didn't know I had yet.

[QHJockee]

Don't forget about the clockers who have 25 to clock 1st after the break and let me tell you...ain't no way to catch everything when they are one after another. Also, there are those not-so-honest clockers running around. I have been asked on more than one ocassion "what time do you want" or "fast or slow" when I call the horses's name.

Moral of the story is, don't always trust what the times are, unless you time the work yourself!