Sportz,

My guess is that being barrier 8 means you have already given up several meters at the jump on the first few barriers. This may just be a mental thing more than a statistical thing.

Another reason is that there are 7 more horses that could get caught up in front of you IF they all jump at the same speed. I don't see this as being too much of a problem for a horse that can get away quick enough. Being in the outside barriers sometimes means falling behind till the straight, which can be an advantage or disadvantage.

As a disadvantage it means you might have to go wide on the turn to get a clear run and worst of all you might not get a clear run if there are 18 horses in front of you all side by side.

These are just my thoughts and have no scientific proof behind them. Good horses in outside barriers will still win.

Thanks