Equibase Adds Gate-to-Wire Timing to Results Charts
An Equibase press release (Keeneland photos of horses leaving the starting gate)
Equibase Company, the Thoroughbred industry’s official database for racing information, today announced the addition of gate-to-wire timing to all result charts. The gate-to-wire times will be in addition to the fractional and official final times included in charts.
Gate-to-wire times include the run-up distance, which is the untimed, extra distance horses travel from the starting gate to the designated point where the official race distance begins and the timer starts. Official final times do not include the run-up distance, which can vary from zero feet up to a sixteenth of a mile or more, allows horses to accelerate, in some cases up to full speed, before official timing begins. These variations are due to unique configurations from track to track and other factors such as temporary turf rail placement, starting gate positions, and to ensure safety.
“We decided to include the gate-to-wire times in our charts to provide a more accurate indication of the time a horse travels over the true distance of the race,” said Kyle McDoniel, president and COO of Equibase. “Equibase collects the gate-to-wire times from our chartcalling teams and also through our GPS systems at tracks that utilize that technology, so we thought it would be good to provide this additional information to the public.”
The new gate-to-wire final time will be incorporated into the results next to the current fractional and final times on race charts that are available on equibase.com. Equibase will also be working to make this information available to data customers in the near future.
Equibase Company is a partnership between subsidiaries of The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as the Thoroughbred industry’s official database. Through its website and mobile applications, Equibase offers a comprehensive array of free statistical information as well as premium handicapping products and reports in support of the North American Thoroughbred racing industry. Additional information is available at equibase.com.
