General adjustment
GAG is the acronym for general counterbalancing weights . It is a factor calculated in sporting competition with the aim of compensating for different performance levels. Thus, the design wins a competition to challenge for the participants and of tension for the audience, especially in the betting game , because this factor itself affects the calculation of its profits.
In general compensation ( GA ) all racing horses on German be racecourses ran, ranked according to their relative performance. The differences in performance shown in races are illustrated by general balancing weights ( GAG ). This is the additional load that a faster horse would have to carry in order to reach the same speed as a slower one in the race. That is why the word handicap is also used here .
Handicap assessments such as the GAG allow horses to be compared based on their performance in races, although they have never competed directly against each other. The prerequisite for this is that the assessments are carried out by competent and as impartial experts as possible (the so-called compensators or handicappers). These experts are appointed for their task by the respective racing authorities, in Germany the directorate for thoroughbred breeding and racing .
Equalization race
If all horses were to run against each other in a race with their current general balancing weights, they would theoretically all have to run in the so-called " dead race ", i.e. H. tied, pass the finish line. This is practically impossible to implement because it does not make sense to let a racehorse with a very large weight run at the racing pace. For this reason there are equalization races with corresponding deductions from the current GAG assessment.
The performance of a horse is expressed in kilograms (weight to be carried). Based on centuries of experience in racing, it has been found that a weight difference of 1 kg in a race from 1600 to 2000 m results in an advantage of about one horse length (about 2.5 m). This ratio is used in the equalizing races, where horses with effectively carried weights (rider, saddle equipment and possibly lead weights in the saddlebags) of 62 kg to 50 kg can compete against each other, whereby even less powerful horses have the same chance of winning the Race and have the prize awarded for it.
The GAG is similar to the handicap in golf . If a good player (handicap 0) plays against a mediocre player (handicap 15) and this player receives a lead of 15 strokes, then both players cross the field with the same number of strokes. So even the hobby player can win against stars like Tiger Woods .
International Classification
Similar handicap systems as the general compensation in Germany exist in all countries in which horse racing and thoroughbred breeding is practiced. In France this is called Handicap la côte valeur (CV), in England and Ireland the balance weight assigned by the official handicappers of the racing authority is called BHB , there are also private assessment systems of the racing press such as the Timeform or the Racing Post Rating (RPR). The balancing weights of one country can be converted into those of another using conversion formulas; if necessary, the conversion is carried out using the International Classification (IC):
- GAG = 40 + 0.5 ∙ IC ⇒ IC = 2 ∙ GAG - 80;
- 100 kg GAG = 54.5 kg CV = 120 lbs IC = 120 lbs BHB ≈ 123 lbs RPR.
IC, BHB, and RPR are expressed in pounds (lbs).
The GAG ranges from approx. 40 kg for very bad horses to approx. 110 kg for the top gallops. Estimates of 110 kg and more have been given five times: 1940 for Schwarzgold , 1944 for Ticino , in the 1970s for Salvo and Star Appeal and 1986 for Acatenango .
The GAG scale has been adjusted by including German racing in the International Classification. A GAG of 110 kg or more will probably no longer exist. The highest weight awarded today is around 105 kg (= 130 lbs IC), an assessment that the German horse Manduro received in 2007 .
Thoroughbred breeding
The general equilibrium not only plays a role in the horse races themselves, but also in thoroughbred breeding . According to the German racing regulations, a stallion must have a GAG assessment of at least 95 kg (110 lbs IC) at the end of a year in order to become a breeding stallion (so-called recognition procedure , earlier licensing ).
Origins
With the first two-man races in Newmark, England in 1622, bets were made based on the principle of "first come to the finish". Due to the spread of horse breeding and the enthusiasm of the fans of the new racing sport, the rules of competition developed further, as for example the history of the 2000 Guineas Stakes or the Derby testify.
The system of performance evaluation using weights to be carried was invented by the English Admiral Henry John Rous around 1850. Previously, the weights to be carried by the horses in races were freely negotiated by their owners (in the so-called races , in which the race price to be won consisted of the stakes made by the owners of all participating horses) or was based on age and gender the height of the horses participating in the race ( give and take plates ).
The first horse races were held in Germany around 1822. Based on the English model, there was also a set of rules for calculating bets in what was then the German Reich, the “ Regulations of the Berlin Union Club ”.
bibliography
- Arnim Basche, Turf. Thoroughbred breeding and horse racing , BLV, Munich-Bern-Vienna, 1978
- Marcellus Kaup, The development of the taxation of games of chance by the German Reich , diss. An der staatswiss. Fak. The Royal. Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Robert Noske printer, 1906.
- About the calculation s. Hermann Pfaender , Die Rennwette , Leipzig 1905, pp. 35 to 36
Web links
- Website of the Directorate for Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing, DVR