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I read on here and other places about the importance of handicapping the field on the basis of the horses Run Styles, apparently most correlated to understanding the "Pace of the Race", but how does one go about that?
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It's a lot of research and work.
I assign a numeric value to each running style that correlates with the probability that the horse will be on or contesting the lead. Each horse gets a rating. The total number of points for the race is typically called a pace pressure gauge. You can use publicly available points. IMO you should also make a small adjustment to the pressure gauge for very small and large fields because the larger the field the more likely the pace will be fast even with similar projected pressure.
I calculated the average number of pressure points for each distance/surface as my standard.
Once you know all the averages, you can compare today's pressure points in the race to the average for that distance and surface.
All that info will allow you recognize all the extremes in terms pre race projection of pressure.
I also built profiles of how races tend to develop at each distance/surface (where do the top 3 finishers and especially winners tend to come from in the field where do the front runners tend to end up etc..).
That allows for a post race analysis of how a race actually developed compared to average and what you expected.
In a post race analysis, you can also use a set of pace figures (like TimeformUS) and watch the races to refine your view on how fast the pace was and what impact it had on the race.
Knowing how often you are right when you project a duel or slow pace will help you make a good odds line and the post race analysis will help you analyze those horses correctly when they run again.