Is there a definitive place on the net to find pre-race fields with the actual weights horses will be carrying after apprentice claims? I've been getting my info from RSB, as I thought (perhaps mistakenly) that they were the repository of all official racing knowledge, but I'm beginning to suspect their info may not be 100% correct.

KV

On the Racing NSW site you can view the riding weight of every apprentice in NSW - this can help you determine whether the rider can take his full claim or not.
Hope this helps - Subzero.

Cheers Subzero, only 6 states to go.

Weights for Vic apprentices can be found on racingvictoria.net.au [Racing information > Directories]

It seems I often get burnt by apprentices not claiming their full claim too (something that should be well publicised PRIOR to the race, imo). What I now do is penalise a horse 1 point if it is ridden by a claiming app. It allows for the jock to ride 1kg over; if they don't ride over weight i just consider it an 'apprentice penalty' for inexperience.

I only noticed because I had Platinum Strip rated about 1/2 Kg better than Outfitter in Race 8 Pinjarra on 20th Jan. Outfitter won and paid about $15 and when I ran my figures again I found that they rated Outfitter about 1/2Kg better than Platinum Strip (who's still looking for the winning post). Turns out Platinum Strips rider carried 51Kg instead of the 50Kg stated at RSB. I thought they just hadn't caught up with her claim coming down but perhaps she just couldn't make the weight. Either way it was a $15 divvy I would otherwise have had - most frustrating. Of course we only notice these things when it costs us money, probably it works in our favour sometimes too but it's always best to seek perfection in the figures we use.

So my real question is.

When do we actually know what weight a rider is going to ride at?

KV

fact is that pre race we cannot be sure the listed weight is the weight to be carried (excluding of course set weight & wfa races), a problem i have found impossible to overcome & therefore have given up on.

penalise your apprentices & useless riders & be happy

Well, thanks for that (I think) Davez. Is this purely because they don't know what weight the rider can get down to or is there some other reason?

KV