Future Form is an Enterprise-exclusive feature that answers a powerful question: how strong is the recent form behind each horse in this race? It builds on the Race Workout concept, but instead of analysing a single past race, it analyses the last 3 races for every runner in the race you are viewing, all in one place.
How It Works
For each runner in the racecard:
- The system finds the horse's last 3 completed races
- For each of those races, it fetches the Race Workout data — what all the other horses from that race did in their subsequent runs
- It aggregates this into a single Future Form Score (0–100) for each runner
A high FF Score means the horse has been racing against opponents who have gone on to perform well, and the horse itself performed well in those races. A low score suggests the horse has been running in weaker company or performing poorly against whatever company it has faced.
How to Access
Open any racecard and click the purple Future Form tab (fourth tab, after Ratings, Form Expert, and At-a-Glance). The data loads on demand the first time you click the tab. For Enterprise users, it is also preloaded in the background for instant access.
Tier access: Enterprise subscribers see full data for all runners. Lower tiers see the tab with the first horse shown as a sample and the rest locked behind an upgrade prompt.
The Future Form Score (0–100)
The FF Score is the headline metric. It combines two equally weighted components for each prior race:
FF Score = 50% Race Quality + 50% Own Performance
- Race Quality (0–50 points): The average PRB of all other runners from that race in their subsequent runs. If opponents went on to beat lots of rivals in later races, the race quality is high.
- Own Performance (0–50 points): The horse's own PRB (Percentage of Rivals Beaten) in that prior race. Winning scores 100% PRB (50 points); finishing last scores 0%.
When a horse has multiple prior races, the scores are weighted by recency:
| Prior Races Available | Weights (most recent first) |
|---|---|
| 3 races | 50% / 30% / 20% |
| 2 races | 60% / 40% |
| 1 race | 100% |
Worked Example
Suppose a horse's last 3 races scored as follows:
| Race | Own PRB | Others' Avg PRB | Race Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most recent (50% weight) | 90% (won) | 48% | (48/100×50) + (90/100×50) = 69.0 |
| 2nd most recent (30%) | 60% (3rd) | 35% | (35/100×50) + (60/100×50) = 47.5 |
| 3rd most recent (20%) | 80% (2nd) | 52% | (52/100×50) + (80/100×50) = 66.0 |
This horse scores 62.0 — strong recent form backed up by solid race quality.
Control Bar
Two controls let you adjust the analysis:
- Prior Races: How many recent races to look back per horse (1, 2, or 3, default 3). Reduce to 1 to focus purely on the most recent run
- Max Subsequent Runs: How many subsequent runs per horse are counted in each race's workout (3, 5, or All, default 3). Increasing this captures longer-term form but may dilute strong immediate follow-up
Your choices are saved automatically and persist between races.
Summary Cards
Four pills at the top give a quick overview:
- Avg FF Score: The average Future Form Score across all runners (green if 50+)
- Strongest Form: The horse with the highest FF Score (amber)
- Avg Race Quality: The average "others' PRB" across all analysed prior races
- Data Coverage: How many prior races had enough subsequent data to analyse (e.g., "35/36")
Per-Horse Table
The main table shows each runner with these columns (all sortable by clicking headers):
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| # | Racecard number |
| Horse | Horse name with silks (click to open profile) |
| H | Current RaceMetrics Rating (gold highlight = highest in the race) |
| FF Score | Future Form Score (0–100, gold highlight = highest). The main metric — see scoring explanation above |
| Races | How many prior races were analysed vs requested (e.g., "3/3" or "2/3" if the horse has fewer than 3 prior runs) |
| Others PRB | Average PRB of opponents from the horse's prior races in their subsequent runs (green if 50%+) |
| Others Win% | Win rate of opponents from prior races in their subsequent runs (amber if above 15%) |
| Own PRB | The horse's own average PRB across its prior races |
| Best SR | Best Proform speed rating achieved by opponents in their subsequent runs |
Expandable Race Detail
Click any horse row to expand a detailed breakdown of the 1–3 prior races that make up its score. Each prior race shows:
- Header: The horse's finishing position, field size, course, date, class, distance and going (e.g., "2nd of 12 — Ascot, 14 Mar 26, C2 Hcap 1m2f Good")
- Race Score badge: The individual race's contribution to the FF Score, colour-coded green (60+), amber (40–59), or red (below 40)
- Workout pills: Horses, Runs, Wins, Places, Avg PRB, Best SR, and Own PRB for that race's workout data
- Full workout link: Click "View full Race Workout" to open the complete workout analysis for that race
Interpreting the Data
- High FF Score + High Own PRB: The horse has been winning or placing in races where the beaten horses have gone on to perform well. This is the strongest indicator of high-quality form
- High FF Score + Low Own PRB: The horse has been in strong races but finishing behind. The quality of opposition is there, but the horse itself may need to improve
- Low FF Score + High Own PRB: The horse has been beating weak opponents. It may have been flattered by the level of competition
- Low FF Score + Low Own PRB: The horse has been performing poorly in weak races. Concerning form
Caching & Performance
Future Form uses a batch query approach to analyse up to 45 prior races in a single database call, typically returning results in under 2 seconds. Results are cached server-side for 30 minutes, so multiple users viewing the same race get instant results. For Enterprise users, the data is also preloaded in the background as soon as the racecard opens.