http://mdhorsemen.com/index.php/490-laurel-plans-to-record-horses-weights-beginning-june-21
I wonder if this info will be entered into the EID?
Why?
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Because 
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They weigh them in CA. I’ve never really understood why.
I could see where it could be useful info on occasion. Minor fluctuations in weight wouldn’t mean much, but if horse shows up 100lbs lighter than last time out you might want to take a closer look. trainer might have been racing him into fitness and could be about to improve significantly.
They weigh horses in Hong Kong, and the weights are listed in the PPs, so you can see if a horse is losing or gaining weight over time.
Based on what Drvmb1ggl3 said, I’m guessing the weights are a popular handicapping tool? Probably pretty helpful if playing a horse off the claim…
It would be interesting data to have regardless…
Lasix is a performance enhancer partially because it causes a loss of weight. My concern is that people will conclude lighter horse = faster horse and start underfeeding these horses.
There have been articles in the press about NBA players losing weight to gain speed, although humans playing basketball is not exactly equivalent to horses running a mile. I can’t find anything relating to horse weight and racing success since it brings up how much weight the horse carries (jockey, etc).
To quote the interviewee in the article, “We’re just trying to bring more information to the gambler.” (Also, “I’m hopeful other tracks in the region jump in on this.” It’s only Laurel for now.)
I think any horseman who is dumb enough to come to that conclusion will put himself/herself out of business in a hurry. Keeping racehorses eating is half the battle. Some trainers who keep websites will even put “before and after” photos of horses, usually touting how much weight they gained.
If the handicappers want want to play weight loss, let them. Quite frankly, I’d be more inclined to play weight gain. More fit = more muscle, and it’s not like race horses are carrying tons of excess body fat to lose…
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Fitness would imply muscle and that is heavier than no muscle or fat. Seems to me that you would learn nothing unless you had extensive records of a horse’s weight history.
I think the point is you would have extensive info over time, all there in the PPs.
for example, a horse coming back after a layoff, let’s say before the layoff he was running at 1050-1065lbs in his races, now after the layoff he weighs in at 1125lbs. You might think to yourself, I wonder if this horse is fully fit yet and if the trainer is trying to get a race into him.
Granted there are other factors that can be at play, possibly more muscle, a horse going from to 2yo to 3yo to 4yo is going to gain mass as they grow etc. But you would take those into consideration too.
A lot of top trainers around the world weigh their horses regularly, so obviously they feel it’s a useful tool to know. Can’t be a bad thing for bettors to know also imo.
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If I saw in the PPs that a horse was running around 1025 and was finishing mid-pack, then was claimed and comes back in his next start at 1100, that would get my attention.
It goes the other way, too-- if the horse was running at 1025 consistently, then makes his first start in a new barn at 950… that’s noteworthy.
Either situation could be positive or negative, so like anything else in handicapping, you’d have to be paying attention to know if it’s a good or bad thing.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;n10155266]
I think any horseman who is dumb enough to come to that conclusion will put himself/herself out of business in a hurry.
[QUOTE]
You would be so very very surprised at what some of the trainers do. There are more trainers out there who have horses win in spite of what they do than because of what they do.
With a win percentage of 20% considered “hot” and 15% considered average, all of them are losing most of the time. They all think there is some miracle drug out there that a hot trainer is using when he is winning at 20%.
I would think you would need more information than only race weigh-ins to make any sort of judgement on a horse’s ability to run.For example - when they are fed.
Lasix is a diuretic, not really a PED that causes loss of weight. Any short term weight loss after administering Lasix would be “water” loss and would be re-gained in fairly short order. Possible long term side effects could be weight loss but that would, IMO, from regular administration of Lasix over a period of time and may or may not happen.
@Where’sMyWhite Lasix gets administered 3-4 hours prior to racing. One theory about it’s performance enhancing abilities (the existence of which are hotly debated among professionals) is that its diuretic effect leads to short-term dumping of excess water weight. The idea being that you essentially “lighten the load” for the horse to run with, but not for long enough to experience the negative impacts of dehydration.
An (imperfect) analogy might be a wrestler taking diuretics before a match to make weight.
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Texarkana,
I thought Lasix was administered to reduce the possibility of bleeding, no?
Had no idea that it was a good thing that there was a short term weight loss that would be significant enough to make a difference or that you would want a mildly dehydrated horse racing.
Have you ever seen how many pounds of fluid might be lost between administration and race time?
Wrestlers and boxers, yeah, I’ve hear they will use fluid loss to help make weight. I’ve also heard body builders want to be partially dehydrated to help show off muscle definition… :rolleyes:
For me, disappointing that Lasix would be used for its weight loss capabilities and not to reduce EIPH. 
Interesting article, albeit old, on EIPH from The Horse.
@Where’sMyWhite
Yes, Lasix is administered for prevention of bleeding. I believe in all(?) states, a vet has to confirm the presence of blood post racing/working via scope for a horse to be eligible to receive Lasix. However, considering that nearly all horses in the United States run on Lasix, you can see that it’s not hard to get on the list. There is frequently a marked improvement in performance when horses are on Lasix. Most people attribute that to the prevention of bleeding in confirmed bleeders, yet opponents point out that no other country in the world has as many “confirmed bleeders” as the US.
I don’t think anyone puts a horse on Lasix with the mindset, “I want the horse to drop weight before the race.” That’s just one of the many theories on why it seems to benefit horses when given prior to racing. But, people do put horses on it who arguably may not need it because it does seem to level the playing field.
This is not a thread about Lasix, and I really hate to drag it down that wormhole any further and start a war. I’m just trying to clear up some of the confusion. I’m sure others will have more to say on the subject.
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Believe me, I’ve been around too, so I don’t disagree with you that there are idiots out there. There are people who shouldn’t be in the business at all, yet as they say, “even a blind squirrel will find a nut.”
But I don’t think having regular access to a scale will make people stop feeding their horses with any increased frequency.
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Thanks Texarkana!
No more Lasix rathole but did appreciate learning more about using Lasix (or rather why). I thought many European countries didn’t allow any drugs prior to race time (or at least no Lasix).
