Angle - Blinkers Off

[Scav]

More and more I watch this angle more and more I see how strong it is, especially with a horse that has worn them for a long time. Thoughts?

[MISTERGEE]

best is what i call the hidden change, example: they take blinkers off and run the horse on turf lets say. then they bring the horse back to his preferred surface, maybe a sprint. it will not show as a change of equipment but essentially it is first time on dirt sprint with blinkers off.
you will catch alot of prices this way.

[Scav]

Originally Posted by MISTERGEE

best is what i call the hidden change, example: they take blinkers off and run the horse on turf lets say. then they bring the horse back to his preferred surface, maybe a sprint. it will not show as a change of equipment but essentially it is first time on dirt sprint with blinkers off.
you will catch alot of prices this way.

I didn't even think of that, that is some serious anaylzation right there

[skippy3481]

I've noticed that as well, An interesting study would be win as well as wps percentages on blinkers off. I'm sure some trainers are better first off blinkers then others. That might provide an angle that very few people would ever realize. Interesting angle scavs.

[ArlJim78]

I collected data last year for six months on the blinkers off angle.
There is definitely some value to watching this angle as I think its generally over-looked. especially compared to blinkers-on.
some things i picked up, just from memory,

look for blkrs off combined with another factor like, trainer change, jockey change, drop from MSW to MCL, recent sharp work that occured after last blinkers on race, etc.

something odd that I can't explain, is that Blkrs/off seems to work best in California, mainly SA and HOL but also NoCal. On the other hand, at NY tracks its almost never a good factor.

its not something to look for in higher end races, alw or stakes, you're looking at maidens or claimers

if a horse has raced at a higher level in the not too distant past, look for blkrs off to perhaps allow a horse to get comfortable and to race back up to that higher level. on the other hand do not count on blkrs off to move a horses performance level up to a new high. In other words if it is going to take a lifetime top performance from a horse to win on a particular day, the blkrs off won't be enough. but if you see a longshot that if he could just race to a level that he was at in the last 1-2 years would be a good play, and if there are no other telltale signs of unsoundness, then you might want to throw that one in the mix.

Sometimes you can see where blkrs are added, the horses running lines go sour, and they just leave the blinkers on. After awhile if this goes on everyone just assumes the horse isn't the same anymore. When I find a horse that looks like he is being hindered, or is uncomfortable in the blinkers i put him in a watch list so i can watch entries and see when they finally might decide to take them off.

I have seen many bombs come in on this angle but in the right spots, it's not an across the board type thing.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

I collected data last year for six months on the blinkers off angle.
There is definitely some value to watching this angle as I think its generally over-looked. especially compared to blinkers-on.
some things i picked up, just from memory,

look for blkrs off combined with another factor like, trainer change, jockey change, drop from MSW to MCL, recent sharp work that occured after last blinkers on race, etc.

something odd that I can't explain, is that Blkrs/off seems to work best in California, mainly SA and HOL but also NoCal. On the other hand, at NY tracks its almost never a good factor.

its not something to look for in higher end races, alw or stakes, you're looking at maidens or claimers

if a horse has raced at a higher level in the not too distant past, look for blkrs off to perhaps allow a horse to get comfortable and to race back up to that higher level. on the other hand do not count on blkrs off to move a horses performance level up to a new high. In other words if it is going to take a lifetime top performance from a horse to win on a particular day, the blkrs off won't be enough. but if you see a longshot that if he could just race to a level that he was at in the last 1-2 years would be a good play, and if there are no other telltale signs of unsoundness, then you might want to throw that one in the mix.

Sometimes you can see where blkrs are added, the horses running lines go sour, and they just leave the blinkers on. After awhile if this goes on everyone just assumes the horse isn't the same anymore. When I find a horse that looks like he is being hindered, or is uncomfortable in the blinkers i put him in a watch list so i can watch entries and see when they finally might decide to take them off.

I have seen many bombs come in on this angle but in the right spots, it's not an across the board type thing.

Thanks for sharing this AJ78 and a good thread. I'll add that when I see blinks off combined with a drop and cut it's even more significant when a top jock sticks with the mount after a seemingly poor run in the prior race when riding for the first time.

[docicu3]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

I collected data last year for six months on the blinkers off angle.
There is definitely some value to watching this angle as I think its generally over-looked. especially compared to blinkers-on.
some things i picked up, just from memory,

look for blkrs off combined with another factor like, trainer change, jockey change, drop from MSW to MCL, recent sharp work that occured after last blinkers on race, etc.

something odd that I can't explain, is that Blkrs/off seems to work best in California, mainly SA and HOL but also NoCal. On the other hand, at NY tracks its almost never a good factor.

its not something to look for in higher end races, alw or stakes, you're looking at maidens or claimers

if a horse has raced at a higher level in the not too distant past, look for blkrs off to perhaps allow a horse to get comfortable and to race back up to that higher level. on the other hand do not count on blkrs off to move a horses performance level up to a new high. In other words if it is going to take a lifetime top performance from a horse to win on a particular day, the blkrs off won't be enough. but if you see a longshot that if he could just race to a level that he was at in the last 1-2 years would be a good play, and if there are no other telltale signs of unsoundness, then you might want to throw that one in the mix.

Sometimes you can see where blkrs are added, the horses running lines go sour, and they just leave the blinkers on. After awhile if this goes on everyone just assumes the horse isn't the same anymore. When I find a horse that looks like he is being hindered, or is uncomfortable in the blinkers i put him in a watch list so i can watch entries and see when they finally might decide to take them off.

I have seen many bombs come in on this angle but in the right spots, it's not an across the board type thing.

Truly great stuff Jim......a new watch has been created in my software!!

[sumitas]

these blinkers do affect how the horse runs. it is something to look for.

Yeah blinkers off in a sprint is a juicy angle.

[pointman]

Great stuff. One of the many reasons why I love this board, something I will look for. Appreciate the angle.