HOW DO I PICK MY HORSE?
There are lots of different ways in which people choose the horse that they are going to back!
Many simply go for their favourite name, or their favourite colour of the silks that the jockey is wearing or the jockey that they've heard of most!
To help out the novice racegoer, the Racecourse has a programme, or 'Racecard', produced for every meeting. Please click here for help with 'understanding the Racecard'.
If you're going in the Premier or the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosures you are able to go and see the horses walk round in the 'Parade Ring' before the jockey gets on. It's always worthwhile looking at your horse to see if it's calm (but not too sleepy!). Ideally you want a horse that is taking a healthy interest in everything going on without getting too agitated or excited.
You should look if the horse looks healthy (it's coat has got a healthy shine to it) and see if it's in good shape and has plenty of muscles around it's back legs and chest.
Often when horses are getting a bit nervous or over excited they sweat. This appears as a white-ish lather around the neck or under the saddle. A small amount of sweat is not a bad sign, but it is often considered to be detrimental if a horse is sweating in between it's hind legs.
For many of our races we offer a prize to the stable lad or lass who is in charge of 'the best turned out horse'. The sponsor of the race chooses a horse which they think has been well groomed - quite often the mane or the tail is plaited and there might be a 'diamond' pattern on the horses hind quarters (their hips essentially!) This means that the stable lad or lass has spent time brushing, preparing and generally giving a lot of TLC to their charge. You can see this on the horse in the photo above!
So you now know what you're looking for in the Parade Ring!
Have you heard the phrases 'horses for courses'? Well that's never more true than at Pontefract. The unique shape of the course with it's turns and ups and downs means that it takes a very special type of horse to win at Pontefract. And quite often if a horse runs well here, it will generally do so again. So watch out for horses that have won or run well at Pontefract before. The racecard will normally be a good guide to this - if a 'C' or 'CD' appears underneath the form it means that they've won over the Course, or over this Course and over this Distance before! The horse in the photo below, Mr Wolf, has won 9 times at Pontefract!
In the same way that horses might take a particular like to Pontefract, some jockeys are particularly good at riding around here. Listed in the Racecard are the current standings for the top trainer and top jockey in the current racing season so keep an eye out for that!
Finally, before you go and put on your bet (click here for how to do so) have a look at the horses on the way to start. They should canter down to the start enthusiastically but under control. You don't want to see a jockey really struggling to hold on to the horse, but at the same time you don't want to see the horse having to be cajoled to leave the Parade Ring!
The horse should then be cool, calm and collected at the start and ready to go!!
Horses are, by nature, pack animals and love to run together in big groups. If they are not enjoying their day out then you will be able to tell. A flashing tail; a horse with it's ears flat back to it's head; a horse throwing it's head about generally are signs that the horse is not entirely happy about something!
