Read the race before it’s run
Horse Racing Pace Analyser
Score each runner’s last five in-running comments and Formdial maps the shape of the race — who cuts out the running, and which style the pace should suit.
Formdial Pace Map
3.40 Ascot — 6f Handicap
Contested pace
Copper Kettle and Midnight Ledger both want the front, and neither profile suggests handing it over. An honest, end-to-end gallop is the likeliest shape — the closers get the pace they need to aim at.
2 front-runners · 1 prominent · 1 mid-division · 2 held up
| No. | Horse | Runs | Total | Avg | Running style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Copper Kettle | 5 | 19 | 3.80 | Front-runner |
| 2 | Midnight Ledger | 3 | 11 | 3.67 | Front-runner |
| 3 | Parchment Rose | 5 | 14 | 2.80 | Prominent |
| 4 | Amber Dial | 4 | 9 | 2.25 | Mid-division |
| 5 | Quiet Study | 5 | 7 | 1.40 | Hold-up |
| 6 | Late Edition | 5 | 6 | 1.20 | Hold-up |
An example race of six runners, scored from their last five in-running comments, leaders drawn to the right. Two want the front — and that’s the story of the race. Score your own below.
The field
Held up · 1 pt
“held up”, “in rear”, “towards rear”, “waited with”
Mid-div · 2 pts
“midfield”, “mid-division”, “raced in mid-field”
Prominent · 3 pts
“prominent”, “tracked leader”, “chased leaders”, “close up”
Led · 4 pts
“made all”, “led”, “made most”, “soon led”, “disputed lead”
Save this map
Every generated map is saved on this device automatically — reload one from the list here or from “Saved races” at the top of the field. The embed code pastes the map, exactly as above, into a page or post.
The method
Form-study notes
Why pace makes the race
Before a race is a contest of ability, it’s a contest of position. A lone front-runner gifted a soft lead gets to dictate a crawl and kick from the front; a race with three or four confirmed leaders can collapse up front and throw the finish to the hold-up horses. The same horse, the same ability, can be thrown a very different race by the shape of what’s around it — which is why the pace map is worth building before you look at the betting.
How the calculator scores it
Each of a runner’s last five in-running comments scores 4 for Led, 3 for Prominent, 2 for Mid-division and 1 for Held up. The headline figure is the average per run, so a lightly raced type with three scored runs is judged on the same 1–4 scale as a horse with five. An average of 3.25 or better reads as a confirmed front-runner; 2.50–3.24 a prominent racer; 1.75–2.49 mid-division; below 1.75 a hold-up type. The verdict then counts the front-runners and pressers to call the likely gallop — contested, honest, soft or non-existent.
Use it with the rest of the form study
Pace never acts alone. On the Flat, cross-check the map against the stall positions in our racecourse guides — a confirmed leader drawn on the wrong side can burn its advantage getting across. Going and trip shift things too: soft ground blunts raw early speed, and stamina-testing tracks punish anything that pulls for its head. For the fundamentals behind all of it, start with the betting guide.
Reading the map
Leaders draw to the right of the map, hold-up horses to the left, and the story is in the clusters. One runner alone on the right is a soft lead — the race is theirs to control, and everything behind needs the gallop to collapse. Two or three stacked on the right is a contested pace: they can take each other on and set the race up for whatever comes from the middle and back. A map with nobody past the prominent band usually means a muddling gallop — tactical speed wins those, and hold-up horses are the ones inconvenienced.
The limits of a pace map
Five comments is a guide, not a guarantee. Trainers switch tactics — first-time headgear, a new jockey or a step up in trip can turn a presser into a leader — and comments from small fields or falsely run races can flatter a position. Treat the map as the shape the race should take if everyone runs to type, then weigh it against the going, the draw and the trip before a bet. It’s one page of the form book, not the whole book.
The questions
Where do the position comments come from?
The Racing Post’s in-running comments on each runner’s form. Read the start of the comment — the first phrase is the position — and score the last five runs.
What do the scores mean?
Led 4, Prominent 3, Mid-division 2, Held up 1. The headline figure is the average per scored run: 3.25 or better reads as a front-runner, 2.50–3.24 prominent, 1.75–2.49 mid-division, below 1.75 a hold-up type.
Does the front-runner always win?
No — the map shows the likely shape, not the winner. A lone leader on a soft lead is dangerous; two or three confirmed leaders can burn each other off and hand the race to the closers. Read the verdict, then weigh the rest of the form.
Are my races saved anywhere?
Only in this browser — scores and saved races stay on your device; Formdial keeps no copy. Clearing the browser’s storage clears them.
This is exactly how the Daily Dial reads a race — every selection staked, priced and explained, then logged win or lose.
See today’s Daily Dial18+ · Please gamble responsibly · Stay in control · BeGambleAware.org