why is there a yard advantage for whippets

[stark]

why is there a yard advantage for whippets ?

there is a yard advantage for the lighter dogs in whippet racing , but not in greyhound racing .

is this weight per yard advantage the reason for some owners to underfeed there dogs ,

and wouldent the total introduction of scratch racing eliminate this ?

let me know what you all think about this

 

[Vicky]

try posting on non ped too!

 

[IanGerman]

The sheer numbers involved in greyhound racing means dogs can be matched against other dogs of similar ability based upon the times they produce in trials and races. With a much smaller pool of dogs in whippet racing a different method of gauging dogs ability was needed. The yard per pound method is very much a generalisation but its the best we have. The theory is that "generally" a heavier dog is a bigger dog and therefore with a longer stride and faster pace. And again in general - this is proved by the times returned in opens and championships where the times tend to get faster as the weight groups increase. But it IS only a fairly basic method of trying to group dogs of like ability.

Scratch racing is good - as long as you have dogs of equal ability, otherwise you get the same dog winning all the time and opponents will quickly realise there is no point meeting that dog on level terms after a while. Yes - every dog DOES have his day, and the weight handicap is meant to even the playing pitch a tad. But if you get a top class dog in a particular weight group you just have to be patient and wait until he has an off day!

I agree with your supposition that there can be a tendency for owners to under-feed their dogs to reach a lower weight group, but you can only do this up to a point. A dog that is starved is a weak dog, and no use whatsoever in a meeting where he may be required to run 4 or even 5 rounds.

 

[Mark Roberts]

John, as Ian has said the numbers of racing Greyhounds V the numbers of Whippets means that Greyhounds can be hcped on time wereas finding enough whippets of the same ability to run an open (or worse still club racing) off Sc would be impossible.

as for your comment of underfed dogs? I thought youd been racing long enough to understand an under fed whippet would not preform to its best were as a fit lean whippet is a great sight.

 

[Rob Rixon]

I've been speaking to owners of Whippets in the USA where there is no handicap (like Greyhound racing in the UK). They tell me that the biggest dogs win (40lbs) and this has resulted in the request for longer distances - more advantage to the bigger dogs.

To be fair to all yd/lb was introduced to give all sizes a chance. Over a hundred years ago Whippets of 10lbs were running and winning. I suggest those interested should look in the old whippet handbooks the is a timed handicap system dated about 1895 which I found interesting.

 

[paul bywater]

you neeed the yrd/lbs system to make interesting &fair,on weight issue some dogs run better slightley above weight than there spot on weight &vissa versa

 

[Judy]

I believe that the weight handicap system, apart fom being traditional, is to accomodate the large variance in whippet size. As others have said, the biggest dogs tend to be the fastest. If we were all racing off scratch, then the tendancy would be to breed larger and larger dogs thus losing whippet type. The smaller type of whippet would probably disappear all together.

Regarding the "starve it down to get into a lower weight group" idea - once in that lower weight group, the dog would then be running off the back which is no advantage at all. Also each dog has an optimum racing weight and some dogs run faster when they are more covered than others do. The trick is to find the weight at which the dog is fittest and healthiest.

 

[Tony Taylor]

Weight handicap racing defines the whippet as a breed/type; If there was no weight handicap then the dogs would all look like greyhounds because the larger dogs are faster and there would be no point in breeding 20lb dogs.

The Americans run to height handicap which produces a different type of dog, ie diferent to greyhounds but also different to UK racing (weight handicapped) whippets.

 

[Judy]

It's funny but recently a few people from show or greyhound racing backgrounds have expressed surprise that whippets are handicapped by weight instead of graded or handicapped by ability. They haven't understood that whippet racing, at open level anyway, is about finding the best, with size taken into account for all the reasons people have already put in this topic. Greyhounds, on the other hand, are graded to be of similar ability so that a race can be used as a betting medium. Its betting that drives the greyhound racing industry.

At a show the places are given to the best (in the judges opinion). The show equivalent of greyhound racing might be handicapping dogs by ignoring some good points in order to make things more even. Just wouldn't happen.