Determining post time – the time at which a race is scheduled to start and entrants must be at their starting positions – is a complex calculation with a number of variables for New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) tracks.
There is a general notion that tracks blindly create post times and do so without coordinating with other tracks. But most tracks do work together.
Consider the extensive race dates offered across North America. In 2019, approximately 36,000 races were contested across 4,300 race days, with the summer months being the busiest.
Adding to the post time conundrum is the amount of daylight at different times of the calendar and the fact that NYRA runs year long. Sunset in New York is generally the earliest in December – at roughly 4:28 p.m. – and peaks at about 8:30 p.m. in June and July. Hence, necessitating different post times for NYRA tracks depending on the time of the year. NYRA attempts to conclude each race day within 30 minutes of sunset in the winter, both because of dusk settling earlier and to accommodate races offered by West Coast tracks.
There is a prime signal based on which track handles the most at each point during the year. NYRA almost always hits the board in terms of the top-three handling tracks, and during the Belmont meets and especially at Saratoga, NYRA sets the market and send out our post times in advance. Most tracks will react to NYRA's times, and the company works closely with Keeneland in the spring and the fall to provide race-day updates and ensure separation.
Another wrinkle to creating post times is ensuring coordination with the broadcasting schedule, which produces more than 800 hours of programming year round. Post times have to work within television windows and track partners for the duration of the programming. Dependent upon the time of year, NYRA works with Oaklawn Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Woodbine Racetrack, Monmouth Park, Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds Race Course, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and others.
Time required between races is another consideration. At Aqueduct, NYRA can comfortably run 28 minutes between races. Once racing moves to Belmont and Saratoga, additional time between races is required, given the layout of the facility and proximity of the jockeys room, as well as to accommodate post-race interviews with winning connections. The post times must work in concert with our wagering menu to give a little extra time for Pick Ns and also on marquee days with a large on-track crowd.
Once post times are created, they are circulated to an internal group consisting of representatives from NYRA's racing office, mutuels, and television departments for approval before being circulated to our simulcast partners.
NYRA's mutuels team compares our post times to several other tracks once an overnight is produced and identifies any adjustments that will need to be put out on race day morning. Our internal efforts are complemented by the external review of Equibase. A number of tracks communicate any changes to an Equibase scheduling team that then suggest changes to the others in order to avoid any overlap.
So, does it work?
Yes, for the most part. A review of 2019 off times (pre-pandemic) compared to any races within 5 minutes of NYRA races on either side of the off time yielded the following:
Aqueduct's meets (winter, spring, and fall) had 69 of its races (8%) run within 5 minutes of others. A total of 229 races from other tracks fell within this window.
Belmont meets (spring/summer, fall) had 99 of its races (13%) run within 5 minutes of others. A total of 409 races from other tracks fell within this window.
Saratoga had 68 of its races (17%) run within 5 minutes of others. A total of 253 races from other tracks fell within this window.
The results support that the increased racing during the warmer months makes it more difficult for tracks to avoid each other given the volume of races.
While it is not an apples-to-apples comparison, in that NYRA did not run every day of the year, there were just 891 races out of 36,000 in 2019 that were run within five minutes of any NYRA races. That is only two percent.
The takeaway? Trust the process. A lot of work goes into NYRA's post times and the entire industry benefits when scheduled properly.
Send your questions for Between The Hedges to betweenthehedges@nyrainc.com.
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