While most horse racing is still done during the daylight hours, a growing number of tracks around the world are now featuring races after dark. This is particularly attractive to smaller race tracks because they can find a time slot where they will not be competing against the larger tracks for the horse player’s business.
At first glance or thought, you might think, what’s the big deal, racing is racing. But there are differences to handicapping horse races in the daytime as opposed to evening racing. Horses are active during the day and night when left in a pasture or the wild. They handle either situation well, but that doesn’t mean some might be more comfortable or successful at one time or another.
The same is true of people. We each have a regular 24 hour cycle, called the circadian rhythm, that affects everything from our mood and heart rate and body temperature, to our ability to think and make decisions. These circadian rhythms have been shown to have an effect upon sports performance. When teams in the National Football League of the United States, travel from the West Coast to the East Coast for a game that starts in the afternoon, they are at a low ebb in their circadian rhythms.
The fact that there is a disproportionate number of wins for East Coast teams may be an indication that the West Coast players are not at their best while the East Coast players are peaking. So how does that translate to handicapping races? If you are handicapping horse races and wait until late in the day or early evening to handicap, you may not be at your best.
You may want to keep track of your performance and decide when you are the sharpest and can handicap horse races. The same is true of jockeys. Some jockeys may fare better at night while others may not do as well because they are more affected by circadian rhythms.
I like to look at the races early in the day and make notes. Later, after a rest, I go back and try to refine my opinions and to look for anything I may have missed earlier. I am a person who is affected by the daylight and darkness so I know I won’t be as mentally sharp late in the day or evening. If I play evening races I do so using notes and decisions I made earlier in the day. Being aware of the effect of daylight and darkness on yourself and other people can help you to decide how and if to play night races.
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