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The professionals play on the psychology of race goers by often attempting a coup with steel shoes and this happens only in lower category races. If a horse sports a steel shoe after a win, the punters call such a horse as running with ''reverse shoe’’. One should not take the literal meaning of these two words. In fact punters want this identification to be clear cut that we also indicate in our form guide in red if a horse sports steel shoes and in green if the horse is running with aluminium shoe. The general perception is that horses running with steel shoes are there for an airing and this feeling strengthened by horses suddenly sporting a change in shoes from steel to aluminium coming and winning when heavily wagered. Also if horses sport steel shoes after winning in aluminium shoes, they don’t win.
There have been several instances when a horse has been declared to race in steel and being brought to the paddock in aluminium shoes after betting on the race has started. The bookmakers also offer odds keeping this factor in mind. Since there were repeated instance of horses running in aluminium shoes after a different declaration had been made and such horses being recipients of excessive betting, the authorities have increased the quantum of fine for such infringements on th professionals.
Recently former Test umpire and race horse owner A V Jayaprakash raised this issue in public forum that racing horses should run only in aluminium shoes or if the professionals desire to use steel shoes, the same should not be changed for the entire year. The Stewards of Bangalore Turf Club are also seriously debating if they can enforce a rule which makes it binding for horses to run only in aluminium shoes unless of course the horse has problems and needs to be shod differently. And also if such a change is permitted, should it be for the entire season or for the year.
Racing is a game of skill ruled Supreme Court. No doubt it is a game of skill but there is also skilful deceit involved. The professionals play on the psychology of punters by changing equipment repeatedly causing confusion. The use of equipment is governed by certain rules. For example, if a horse runs with blinkers, the same has to be used for a minimum of three runs. Such a rule does not exist in other clubs except in BTC. Some horses don’t run well without blinkers and this equipment has often been used to give runs before putting them back when the horse is ready to strike. The professionals also play around with the use of different type of bits which has a bearing on the performance of a horse. The use of bandages on the legs of horses has also been a controversial issue. Since the legs of horses don’t’ have muscles, every ounce of weight works up to about 20 grams. There was insinuation that under these bandages, gel pads were used to add weight on the legs of horses in order to prevent it from running on merit. The same horse would bolt in after the bandages were removed on a convenient occasion. It has been a constant battle between authorities and professionals, with the latter trying to gain unfair advantage by their practices.
There is an interesting article written by Lee-Lane Edgar in www.selfgrowth.com about how important are shoes for a race horse and concludes that they can make a difference between winning and losing. He writes: ''Thoroughbred horse racing is a sport that is all about speed. How fast they can get out of the gate. How quickly they can get into good position. How fast the first ?, the first ¼, the first half mile, the first mile. A fraction of a second in a horse race can be, literally, the difference between winning and losing. Between the winner’s share and the second and third place share. It wasn’t always this way, but nowadays in major stakes races a horse can get a share of the purse by finishing fifth or better, so the bottom line is this: in horse racing, speed is everything. And since speed is everything, then it naturally follows that the shoes of a race horse, and how light or heavy they are, are critically important.
''Like a human sprinter (Usain Bolt) would be a good example) that uses shoes that are so light they literally feel like feathers in order to simulate the feeling of running barefoot, the idea for a race horse is for their feet to feel as light as possible, as if they were running in the wild, while still being protected.
''Outside of horse racing, sturdy steel shoes are used, and they provide horses with tremendous comfort and, most importantly, support. This is all accomplished at the expense of speed, because a plow horse certainly isn’t being timed. On the other hand, race horses have that lighter, but nearly just as sturdy stuff called aluminum. The front and hind legs on a race horse are handled differently. An aluminum shoe called a racing plate is attached to the front legs. The hind legs need more support since they bare more weight, so a shoe, mostly aluminum, known in the racing industry as a cauk, or a caulk, is embedded with steel to help in terms of wear resistance and improve the abrasion rate on the shoe.
''The greatest stress that a thoroughbred horse will encounter while running a race, from the standpoint of the legs and the shoe, is on the turns. Centrifugal force on an 1100 pound animal with such a massive body on such spindly legs while running all out and turning at the same time explains why the shoes on the hind legs need a little steel in them. So the next time you’re waxing nostalgic and watching that 1973 Kentucky Derby with Secretariat, the sloppy 1977 Belmont when Seattle Slew clinched his Triple Crown, or the more recent 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic in which the amazing mare Zenyatta beat the boys, you will know that their shoes had a little something to do with their historic victories.’’
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