\n
![\"Example\"](\"https://i.imgur.com/GFWKmJF.png\")
\n\nRemark:
\n
\n You may wonder, \"Why do I talk about post-positions?\" (To avoid confusion, this is not position_at_finish, which is already given in the competition.)
\n for the participants who come across this post: it's crucial information, especially for oval track racing (for which a staggered start is not possible, as in the case of horse races) (staggered start is found in typical athletics competitions…).
The post position of horses for thoroughbred races in North America can be a little bit confusing if you are not aware of the information I will mention below (post position = the gate from which a horse will start in a race).
\nThis is in contrast to French, British, or Emirati(Dubai) horse races. Typically, in North American horse races, the program number and the post position correspond. For example, if your horse's program number is 1, its post position is also 1, although not always. The rule does not always apply. For instance, regardless of the post positions they have drawn, two horses entered in a race as a couple entry will have the program numbers 1 and 1A, which naturally affects how all the other post positions and program numbers in the same race correlate.
A few days ago , I examined the dataset. There are 177 cases out of 14915 of this kind (where we have program numbers 1A, 2B, 1X, and 3X). You should be aware that the post_position (if you use it in your metric or work..) for these 177 cases is distinct from the program_number.
\nSolution?
\nI currently found a solution which took me almost 12 hours of manual work.
\nI examined each of these 177 cases separately using the website of horse racing's cards, here. I created a new column called post_position(Draw) and updated only these 177 races (for the rest, the post_position = program_number), You'll find this updated column in this dataset (called : post_position(Draw)): Dataset of post_positions
\nIt was made public in accordance with the rules of the competition, so that all competitors could use it.
Example: This race serves as an illustration of how post-positions and program numbers are different for these exceptional cases. It is a single race (one race from the 177 I mentioned above) but has the advantage of integrating 3 couples into the same race, so we have 1A, 2B, and 3X…
\n
And my Question is: do you(as NYRA), know these post positions ahead of time (even for races that look like the ones I mentioned above: the 177 races (where program numbers like 1A, 2B, 3X, and so on disrupt the true post-positions))? Given that the work required in this competition will be done for NYTHA/NYRA (obviously not for the bettors), So it's acceptable to use \"the post_positions\" as an input here (If, of course, you confirm that you are aware of this information prior to the race's start.). Thanks in advance.
", "messages": [ { "id": "1983282", "postDate": "10/11/2022 23:41:41", "content": "\n\nRemark:
\n
\n You may wonder, \"Why do I talk about post-positions?\" (To avoid confusion, this is not position_at_finish, which is already given in the competition.)
\n for the participants who come across this post: it's crucial information, especially for oval track racing (for which a staggered start is not possible, as in the case of horse races) (staggered start is found in typical athletics competitions…).
The post position of horses for thoroughbred races in North America can be a little bit confusing if you are not aware of the information I will mention below (post position = the gate from which a horse will start in a race).
\nThis is in contrast to French, British, or Emirati(Dubai) horse races. Typically, in North American horse races, the program number and the post position correspond. For example, if your horse's program number is 1, its post position is also 1, although not always. The rule does not always apply. For instance, regardless of the post positions they have drawn, two horses entered in a race as a couple entry will have the program numbers 1 and 1A, which naturally affects how all the other post positions and program numbers in the same race correlate.
A few days ago , I examined the dataset. There are 177 cases out of 14915 of this kind (where we have program numbers 1A, 2B, 1X, and 3X). You should be aware that the post_position (if you use it in your metric or work..) for these 177 cases is distinct from the program_number.
\nSolution?
\nI currently found a solution which took me almost 12 hours of manual work.
\nI examined each of these 177 cases separately using the website of horse racing's cards, here. I created a new column called post_position(Draw) and updated only these 177 races (for the rest, the post_position = program_number), You'll find this updated column in this dataset (called : post_position(Draw)): Dataset of post_positions
\nIt was made public in accordance with the rules of the competition, so that all competitors could use it.
Example: This race serves as an illustration of how post-positions and program numbers are different for these exceptional cases. It is a single race (one race from the 177 I mentioned above) but has the advantage of integrating 3 couples into the same race, so we have 1A, 2B, and 3X…
\n
And my Question is: do you(as NYRA), know these post positions ahead of time (even for races that look like the ones I mentioned above: the 177 races (where program numbers like 1A, 2B, 3X, and so on disrupt the true post-positions))? Given that the work required in this competition will be done for NYTHA/NYRA (obviously not for the bettors), So it's acceptable to use \"the post_positions\" as an input here (If, of course, you confirm that you are aware of this information prior to the race's start.). Thanks in advance.
", "rawMarkdown": ">**Remark:**\n>You may wonder, \"Why do I talk about post-positions?\" (To avoid confusion, this is not position_at_finish, which is already given in the competition.)\nfor the participants who come across this post: it's crucial information, especially for oval track racing (for which a staggered start is not possible, as in the case of horse races) (staggered start is found in typical athletics competitions...).\n\nThe post position of horses for thoroughbred races in North America can be a little bit confusing if you are not aware of the information I will mention below (post position = the gate from which a horse will start in a race). \nThis is in contrast to French, British, or Emirati(Dubai) horse races. Typically, in North American horse races, the program number and the post position correspond. For example, if your horse's program number is 1, its post position is also 1, although not always. **The rule does not always apply**. For instance, regardless of the post positions they have drawn, two horses entered in a race as a couple entry will have the program numbers 1 and 1A, which naturally affects how all the other post positions and program numbers in the same race correlate. \n\nA few days ago , I examined the dataset. There are 177 cases out of 14915 of this kind (where we have program numbers 1A, 2B, 1X, and 3X). You should be aware that the post_position **(if you use it in your metric or work..)** for these 177 cases is distinct from the program_number.\n\n**Solution?**\nI currently found a solution which took me almost 12 hours of manual work. \nI examined each of these 177 cases separately using the website of horse racing's cards, [here](https://www.attheraces.com/replays). I created a new column called **post_position(Draw)** and updated only these 177 races (for the rest, the post_position = program_number), You'll find this updated column in this dataset (called : post_position(Draw)): [Dataset of post_positions](https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/abireltaief/post-positionsdraw-competition-big-data-derby)\n**It was made public in accordance with the rules of the competition, so that all competitors could use it.**\n\n**Example**: This race serves as an illustration of how post-positions and program numbers are different for these exceptional cases. It is a single race (one race from the 177 I mentioned above) but has the advantage of integrating 3 couples into the same race, so we have 1A, 2B, and 3X... \n\n\nAnd my **Question** is: do you(as NYRA), know these post positions ahead of time (even for races that look like the ones I mentioned above: the 177 races (where program numbers like 1A, 2B, 3X, and so on disrupt the true post-positions))? Given that the work required in this competition will be done for NYTHA/NYRA (obviously not for the bettors), So it's acceptable to use \"the post_positions\" as an input here (If, of course, you confirm that you are aware of this information prior to the race's start.). Thanks in advance.", "votes": null }, { "id": "2005295", "postDate": "10/26/2022 20:47:50", "content": "Bumping this. A friend of mine that is into horse racing said that draws are usually several days before so you know well in advance the post positions. That will affect path strategy for the jockeys, but it won't help with training the horses, to state a couple of examples. Would be good to know if they are aware of this info.
", "rawMarkdown": "Bumping this. A friend of mine that is into horse racing said that draws are usually several days before so you know well in advance the post positions. That will affect path strategy for the jockeys, but it won't help with training the horses, to state a couple of examples. Would be good to know if they are aware of this info.", "votes": null }, { "id": "2005334", "postDate": "10/26/2022 22:05:02", "content": "Thank you very much for your response. yes, as you just stated, I finally handled them as if they knew about them in advance (I mean, these exceptional 177 races, when the program numbers are different from the post position, because for the rest, yes, it is clear). In this post, I said that this post-position information is crucial because it may influence the race's outcome and, as you stated, \"the path strategy for the jockeys\" (yes, not for trainers). because, In contrast to athletic tournaments where everyone runs the same distance (because of the staggered start of an oval track), this is not the case in horse racing (since all the stalls are at the same level, although the track is also oval).
\nSince the oval track's shape forces horses with outer post positions (like 8, 9, 10, 12, etc.) to go a higher distance, this \"may\" impact the result in favor of horses with stalls closer to the interior (like 1, 2, etc.). It merely awards a bonus(of course, there are many other factors determining the race's outcome).
Heroic effort - thank you for sharing!
", "rawMarkdown": "Heroic effort - thank you for sharing!", "votes": null } ], "comments": [ { "id": 2005295, "author_name": "jeremycolon", "author_url": "", "post_date": "10/26/2022 20:47:50", "content": "Bumping this. A friend of mine that is into horse racing said that draws are usually several days before so you know well in advance the post positions. That will affect path strategy for the jockeys, but it won't help with training the horses, to state a couple of examples. Would be good to know if they are aware of this info.
", "votes": null, "replies": [ { "id": 2005334, "author_name": "", "author_url": "", "post_date": "10/26/2022 22:05:02", "content": "Thank you very much for your response. yes, as you just stated, I finally handled them as if they knew about them in advance (I mean, these exceptional 177 races, when the program numbers are different from the post position, because for the rest, yes, it is clear). In this post, I said that this post-position information is crucial because it may influence the race's outcome and, as you stated, \"the path strategy for the jockeys\" (yes, not for trainers). because, In contrast to athletic tournaments where everyone runs the same distance (because of the staggered start of an oval track), this is not the case in horse racing (since all the stalls are at the same level, although the track is also oval).
\nSince the oval track's shape forces horses with outer post positions (like 8, 9, 10, 12, etc.) to go a higher distance, this \"may\" impact the result in favor of horses with stalls closer to the interior (like 1, 2, etc.). It merely awards a bonus(of course, there are many other factors determining the race's outcome).
Heroic effort - thank you for sharing!
", "votes": null, "replies": [] } ], "raw_markdown_by_id": { "1983282": ">**Remark:**\n>You may wonder, \"Why do I talk about post-positions?\" (To avoid confusion, this is not position_at_finish, which is already given in the competition.)\nfor the participants who come across this post: it's crucial information, especially for oval track racing (for which a staggered start is not possible, as in the case of horse races) (staggered start is found in typical athletics competitions...).\n\nThe post position of horses for thoroughbred races in North America can be a little bit confusing if you are not aware of the information I will mention below (post position = the gate from which a horse will start in a race). \nThis is in contrast to French, British, or Emirati(Dubai) horse races. Typically, in North American horse races, the program number and the post position correspond. For example, if your horse's program number is 1, its post position is also 1, although not always. **The rule does not always apply**. For instance, regardless of the post positions they have drawn, two horses entered in a race as a couple entry will have the program numbers 1 and 1A, which naturally affects how all the other post positions and program numbers in the same race correlate. \n\nA few days ago , I examined the dataset. There are 177 cases out of 14915 of this kind (where we have program numbers 1A, 2B, 1X, and 3X). You should be aware that the post_position **(if you use it in your metric or work..)** for these 177 cases is distinct from the program_number.\n\n**Solution?**\nI currently found a solution which took me almost 12 hours of manual work. \nI examined each of these 177 cases separately using the website of horse racing's cards, [here](https://www.attheraces.com/replays). I created a new column called **post_position(Draw)** and updated only these 177 races (for the rest, the post_position = program_number), You'll find this updated column in this dataset (called : post_position(Draw)): [Dataset of post_positions](https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/abireltaief/post-positionsdraw-competition-big-data-derby)\n**It was made public in accordance with the rules of the competition, so that all competitors could use it.**\n\n**Example**: This race serves as an illustration of how post-positions and program numbers are different for these exceptional cases. It is a single race (one race from the 177 I mentioned above) but has the advantage of integrating 3 couples into the same race, so we have 1A, 2B, and 3X... \n\n\nAnd my **Question** is: do you(as NYRA), know these post positions ahead of time (even for races that look like the ones I mentioned above: the 177 races (where program numbers like 1A, 2B, 3X, and so on disrupt the true post-positions))? Given that the work required in this competition will be done for NYTHA/NYRA (obviously not for the bettors), So it's acceptable to use \"the post_positions\" as an input here (If, of course, you confirm that you are aware of this information prior to the race's start.). Thanks in advance.", "2005295": "Bumping this. A friend of mine that is into horse racing said that draws are usually several days before so you know well in advance the post positions. That will affect path strategy for the jockeys, but it won't help with training the horses, to state a couple of examples. Would be good to know if they are aware of this info.", "2005334": "Thank you very much for your response. yes, as you just stated, I finally handled them as if they knew about them in advance (I mean, these exceptional 177 races, when the program numbers are different from the post position, because for the rest, yes, it is clear). In this post, I said that this post-position information is crucial because it may influence the race's outcome and, as you stated, \"the path strategy for the jockeys\" (yes, not for trainers). because, In contrast to athletic tournaments where everyone runs the same distance (because of the staggered start of an oval track), this is not the case in horse racing (since all the stalls are at the same level, although the track is also oval). \nSince the oval track's shape forces horses with outer post positions (like 8, 9, 10, 12, etc.) to go a higher distance, this \"may\" impact the result in favor of horses with stalls closer to the interior (like 1, 2, etc.). It merely awards a bonus(of course, there are many other factors determining the race's outcome).", "2005345": "Heroic effort - thank you for sharing!" }, "source": "meta" }