How Often Are Horses Scratched From Horse Races?By Profitus Maximus A look at the current Hollywood Park meet and the 2008-2009 Santa Anita meet reveals that entries are scratched for whatever reason a bit over 10% of the time. Thru June 21, 2009 of the Hollywood Park meet, 10.2% of entries have been scratched, and for the 2008-2009 Santa Anita meet, 10.9% of all entries were scratched. A comparison with New York racing curiously enough reveals that horses are scratched substantially more often then in Southern California. The 2008 Saratoga meet shows that 21.3% of all horses entererd were eventually scratched. The numbers are similar for the 2008 Belmont meets at 23.7%. The 2008-2009 Aqueduct meet saw a relatively lower proportion scratched at 16.4%, though still significantly higher than for Southern California. What can account for this disparity? Could it be that trainers consider the synthetic Southern California tracks a bit safer than their natural dirt counterparts on the east coast? Possibly, but another explanation could be that the New York sees sloppy and muddy dirt tracks more often, as well as yielding and soft turf courses due to more frequent precipitation. New York handicappers will often note a larger than usual number of scratches when tracks come up sloppy or muddy, or if turf races are taken off the turf due to the boggy condition of the grass. So if you have your eye on a particular horse and are looking forward to betting it, the chances are that if he is racing in Southern California, you are more likely to see your horse at the starting gate when it opens.
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