Gainsborough Downs (GA)
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Upcoming Meets
GBD Track Champions and Record Holders
Track Mission, History, and Information
Gainsborough Downs opened its doors to the racing public on January 13, 2001. It was originally located just north of Atlanta, but has been relocated beginning in 2009 to Lexington, KY. GBD was established for the exclusive purpose of serving the Express Quarter Horse racing industry. In its 9th season (2009), GBD continues its commitment to scheduling the highest quality stakes, providing varied undercard races, and offering some of the most exciting Quarter Horse racing around.
Gainsborough Downs is a 300 acre complex. The track itself can run distances ranging from 250y to 870y comfortably. Races of 660y plus are run around one turn -- �the hook.� Several breeds train here, as do all of Port Royal Stud�s racing stock. MRF Thoroughbred meets will be run here in 2009.
Racing Rules and Race Day Information
Gainsborough Downs hosts meets exclusively for Express-registered Quarter Horses. Due to its location in the sunny south, the racing season begins in January and ends in October, with an invitational meet scheduled in early November.
All meets are free if email results are acceptable; SASE required for snail mail results. The Gainsborough Downs starting gate accommodates 12 entrants; an auxilliary gate can make it 14 max. Owners may enter a maximum of 4 horses per undercard, and 2 horses per stakes race. Races are divided by gender or lifetime status if possible, otherwise splits will be at random. The management attempts to split up entries owned by the same stable into different divisons; however, this is not always possible if the owner has sent several horses of the same gender/status. Walkovers are not permitted; underfilled races will be cancelled or combined with another race if possible. No first-time starters are permitted if they have passed their fourth year of eligibility to race (i.e. no 6/u FTS). Horses out of real mares may not run unless they are accompanied by an RMR number�no pendings. Horses that have raced for 12 months or longer must be registered for entry, though registration is strongly encouraged prior to a horse even making its first start. Port Royal Stud bred or sired runners are not excluded from GBD meets but are encouraged to enter races at other tracks if similar opportunities exist there. Owners may request horses be moved with specific conditions (i.e. �scratch if muddy� or �move to stakes if it draws a small field� or �move my AW out of the stakes if it fills with MSWs/CHs� are all acceptable requests).
Race Cards
All race cards must include: race entered, horse name, age, color, gender, registration #, sire (and his parents), dam (and her parents), owner, trainer, breeder, lifetime record, record broken down by year, details on the last 6 starts including SIs. Other potentially helpful info includes the horse�s record at today�s distance/track, family notes for the sire and dam, and trainers notes.
While trainers notes are not mandatory, by virtue of other runners scoring discretionary points for them, your horse will be at a slight disadvantage by not having any. This is the place to make the steward understand why your horse is dropping from 870y to 350y (this�d better be good!), or why he ran poorly last out (threw a shoe? Bad break? Bad ride?), or what you�ve done to improve him (added blinkers? Changed jocks? Time off at the farm?). I also appreciate a brief statement of the horse�s style. While I can�t guarantee he�ll run that way in the results, I do make an effort to make comments that are consistent with his style if I can.
Please note I don�t need a novel--a few lines or a paragraph should be sufficient for handicapping purposes. Items that are strongly discouraged are detailed descriptions of the weather, pedigree notes detailing the accomplishments of great grandparents and beyond, and �factory style� trainers notes (i.e. every runner entered by the trainer should �press pace, close for the win and has a new jockey.�) I also discourage the scattering of trainers notes after each line of past performance, as they are somewhat difficult to pick out and tend to add to �clutter� that prevents me from scoring horses accurately and efficiently.
Stakes Races, Invitationals, Championships
The following championships will be named at Gainsborough Downs for the 2009 season: 2yo Female and Male, 3yo Female and Male, 4/u Female and Male, and Horse of the Year. Additional categories are possible if warranted. To be eligible for a championship, runners must have competed in at least two stakes races at the track during that season. Most champions have several victories at GBD during their championship year.
GBD�s stakes schedule for 2008 features 33 stakes events, including four Invitational stakes. Seven are ITRs, eight are graded, and two are G1 qualifiers for the prestigious Champion of Champions (which GBD proudly hosted in 2002). The Invitational stakes are open to horses that have won an undercard race or placed top 3 in any stakes race at GBD in 2009. The Invitational meet is scheduled for November 4, 2009. All Invitational stakes are worth $75,000 each. In the event that a stakes race overfills, trials will be run to determine starters in the final. The GBD gate normally accommodates 12 runners.
Handicapping
Starters at GBD earn points in several categories including (though not necessarily limited to): pedigree, current form, lifetime status, speed index, distance, trainer�s note, post position and luck. Please note that this system is always evolving.
Pedigree points are determined on the following scale, based on the production and race record of the sire and dam of your runner. If they or one of their offspring was YEA CH 5pt, MSW 4.5pt, SW 4pt, MSpw 3.5pt, Spw 3pt, AW 2.5pt, wnr 2pt, pld 1.5pt, unraced but race-bred 1pt. Pedigree points are much more of a factor in 2yo races, especially early in the season, when they carry more weight.
Current form is established by reviewing the last four starts on the race card. I throw out the worst of the four, giving the horse the benefit of the doubt for that start. For each start, I look at the following scale. If a start was at a higher level than today�s race, points are assigned 10-8-6-4 (with 2 points assigned if finishing worse than 4th). If a start was at the same level as today�s race, points are assigned 8-6-4-2. If a start was at a lower level than today, points are assigned 6-4-2-0. An average is taken, and that is the current form. It is suggested that at least the last 4 starts, and up to 1 year of starts, be included on the card. However, I don�t really need full details on 25 or 30 starts, so if you can trim the card down before sending, great, otherwise I�ll be doing it for you when the horse arrives.
Lifetime status is tabulated by the following scale: 0.5 if placed, 1 if winner or Sp, 2 if AW, 3 if Spw, 3.5 if MSpw, 4 if SW, 4.5 if MSW, 5 if YEA CH. The horse�s highest level of achievement is the one that scores the points (i.e. a MSW doesn�t get all the points leading up to MSW, he just gets 4.5). First time starters automatically receive a one-time bonus of 2 points.
Speed index score: 0.5 for 80 to 89, 1 for 90 to 99, 1.5 for 100 to 109, 2 for 110 or higher. There has yet to be a GBD race run over SI-110, though perhaps the day may come. :-)
Distance score gives a prior winner at the distance 3 points, a placer at the distance 2 points, and an additional 1 point if they scored an SI-90 or better when then won/placed at the distance. There is also a track score, and if the horse placed at GBD it gets a half point, and if it won at GBD it gets a full point. There is also an extra point for consistency, if the horse is usually hitting the board.
Trainer�s note is the �category of creativity.� :-) These discretionary points are not awarded on a fixed scale like other categories. Up to 3 points are awarded for explained changes such as equipment or rider switch, injury or illness, medication, reasons for layoff, drops or jumps in class, change in race strategy, excuses for poor prior performance, etc. Tell me why to ignore those bad starts, and if you�re not sure the horse had an excuse say �we just don�t know what happened, he just had an off day.�
Post position is determined by random draw and is almost negligible in terms of points, but some posts at some distances enjoy a slight (1 point or less) advantage. Luck points are determined by rolling two to four dice. Luck can play a big part in who wins and loses; the horse that seems the clear favorite can wind up midpack or worse if other horses roll big and they roll poorly. Horses with terrible rolls usually garner an �excuse� comment, such as �stumbled badly� or �bumped,� that sort of thing.
Finally...
We hope you�ll join us for another exciting season of racing here at GBD, where it�s �All Quarter Horses, All The Time!�
Last Page Update: 1/5/09