Who can use it: members with the Sectionals Add-On.
Race Tempo says how a Flat race was run: how fast the leaders went over the first half of the race, against the usual for that course and trip, with the ground allowed for. Open any Flat race's Sectionals and the reading sits in a line above the tabs, for example: "Strongly run: 0.79s a furlong quicker than usual for this course and trip over the first half; the leading half of the field finished 5.0 points slower than par."
How it is worked out. At each furlong marker we take the time of whichever horse got there first, which is the front of the race. The time from the end of the opening section (the start and any odd yards are left out) to halfway is set against the usual time for the same course layout, race type and trip, taken from the races there in the three years before the race. At least 20 races are needed, and the line says how many were used. Both times are adjusted for the going allowance first, so soft ground does not read as a slow pace.
The five grades, in seconds a furlong against the usual:
- Dawdled: more than 0.35s a furlong slower than usual.
- Steadily run: 0.10s to 0.35s a furlong slower.
- Truly run: from 0.10s slower to 0.05s quicker: about the usual gallop.
- Briskly run: 0.05s to 0.25s a furlong quicker.
- Strongly run: 0.25s a furlong quicker or more.
The second half of the line is the finishing speed against par of the leading half of the field at the line (the middle figure of the horses that finished in the first half). A strong gallop usually leaves the field finishing slower than par; a steady one usually means a quicker finish.
The Race Tempo tab lists every runner in finishing order with:
- Halfway: its position at halfway and the number of runners.
- Spread: the gap, in seconds, between its best and worst furlong against par after the start. A small figure is an even run; a large one means it went much faster in one part of the race than another.
- How it ran: a short note when a runner's race stands out against the gallop, for example Raced close to a strong gallop and kept on, Came from the rear in a strongly run race or Held up in a steadily run race and never got involved. A horse counts as close to the pace in the front quarter of the field at halfway and at the rear in the back two fifths; kept on means it won or was beaten 3 lengths or less, and weakened or faded means beaten more than 6 lengths. Truly run races carry no notes.
In the form lines. With Sectionals switched on in a horse's form lines, every Flat run with a reading carries a Tempo pill (hover it for the full line and the horse's note) and its Spread. Both columns appear only when at least one run on screen has a reading, and they are in the CSV.
On Meeting Pace. Each Flat race keeps its pace label (for example Closer's Race, which says who the race suited) and gains its Race Tempo grade beside it, with the reading underneath. The two answer different questions: the label reads the race against its own finish, the grade against the usual gallop for the course and trip.
On the profile pages. The Breakdown tab of every profile (a horse, trainer, jockey, sire, dam, damsire or owner) has two Race Tempo tables over the Flat runs in that record: By Race Tempo (runs, wins, strike rate, PRB and profit or loss by how the race was run) and By How It Ran (the same by the runner's note against the gallop). The profile filters apply as usual, and each row can be turned into a System Builder system.
In the System Builder. Rules for the last race (LTO Race Tempo, LTO Race Tempo in seconds a furlong, LTO Race Tempo Note and LTO Spread, which also find today's qualifiers) and the same four for the race itself, plus Breakdowns tables for the grade, the note and Spread on the Breakdowns' Sectionals tab. Readings start in 2019.
What has no reading: jumps races (over hurdles and fences the early gallop says much less about how a race is won), Flat races under five furlongs, races whose sectional record does not start where the trip says it should, and course and trip combinations with fewer than 20 races in the three years before. Readings arrive with the sectional times, two to three days after the race.
Race Tempo describes how a race was run. It is there to help you read a run in context, for example a horse that was the only one to close from the back in a race run at a steady gallop.
Access: Race Tempo reads the sectional times, so it needs RaceMetrics Pro or Proform Premium with the Sectionals Add On. British Flat racing only; there is no Irish coverage.