Horse Racing – The Draw Has Changed

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Man of Mystery

I opened my Betfair account on 22nd April 2003. I was one of the first subscribers to Adam Todd's BetTrader and was a founding partner of JuiceStorm.com on 17th February 2007.

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If you bet on horse racing you need to know that from the start of the 2011 flat season the way the stalls are numbered has changed. This means that any draw advantages on right handed tracks have been reversed. This is important if you are using historical data from before 2011.

In the past the stalls have been numbered from left to right, looking from behind, so that on a left handed track stall 1 was on the inside rail but on a right handed track the highest stall was on the inside. The new numbering system falls into line with other countries, where the lowest number is on the inside rail. Left handed tracks therefore remain the same, but right handed tracks are different.

Tracks affected:

(Information is based on past results. Drainage work and watering can radically alter historical draw advantages).

Ascot – I am unaware of any definite advantage since the track was remade.

Beverley – huge advantage to high drawn horses over short distances now becomes LOW

Carlisle – high advantage becomes low in shorter races.

Folkestone – slight advantage to low numbers on straight course becomes high.

Goodwood – slight advantage to high numbers in sprints becomes low.

Hamilton – middle to high on the straight course becomes middle to low.

Kempton – big advantage to inside rail, becomes LOW.

Leicester – high advantage, especially on soft becomes low.

Musselburgh – high advantage becomes low in shorter races

Newmarket – although the track is straight for most of the races, this is a right handed course and therefore the draw will be reversed. There can be marked draw advantages on both tracks at Newmarket, but they vary from meeting to meeting.

Ripon – slight advantage to high numbers on the round course becomes low

Salisbury – although the track is almost straight for races upto a mile, low numbers had a distinct advantage on soft going, and this becomes high.

Sandown – the crippling disadvantage of being drawn low on the sprint course when the stalls are on the far side is now transferred to high numbers. LOW is now best. Similarly a low draw is now a slight advantage on the shorter races on the round course.

Windsor – this is interesting being a figure of 8 course. Since the bends in the shorter races are right handed the stalls will be reversed and the advantage to high numbers on the straight course will become low.

Please note that Irish courses still use the old numbering system.