IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PUNTERS AND BOOKMAKERS

New Calculations for Finishing Distances

After the recent live trial introduced on 25th February, the British Horseracing Authority is revising the formulae by which finishing distances are calculated. The changes will be introduced from Sunday 15th June 2008.

The revised formulae, which can be found here, will be used by the Photo Finish computer when calculating finishing distances:

Ruth Quinn, the Authority’s Director of Racing, said:

“The formulae historically applied for calculating finishing distances failed to take into account ground conditions with the same scale being used for races on both firm and heavy ground.

“The recently introduced trial, involving the application of different scales depending on the prevalent ground conditions, has provided a major step forward in producing accurate finishing distances.

“We have completed a detailed analysis of the trial’s results and, as a consequence, we are introducing some minor changes that will fine-tune the formulae to make them as accurate as possible, thereby facilitating a more precise assessment of the performances of all horses.”

12th June 2008