Speed Map

Pro

A speed map shows how a race is likely to unfold early — where each runner tends to race and how much early speed is in the field. Speed maps cover gallops, greyhounds and harness, built from each runner's past in-running positions.

Why Pace Matters

The pace of a race heavily influences which running styles are favoured. Understanding the likely pace scenario is one of the most important edges in race analysis.

•Fast pace (lots of front-runners competing for the lead) — tends to favour runners that settle back and finish strongly. The leaders tire each other out.
•Slow pace (no natural leaders) — tends to favour front-runners who can control the tempo unchallenged and have energy left for the finish.

Per-Runner Fields

Each runner in the runners[] array includes a speedMap object on Pro. It is omitted on Free, and omitted for any runner we can't rate (see Coverage).

json

{
  "speedMap": {
    "runningStyle": "P",
    "earlySpeedIndex": 6.2,
    "settlingPosition": 3.5
  }
}

runningStylestring

Where the runner usually races. One of:

L	Leader — typically leads or races at the front
P	Presser — sits just behind the leaders, on-pace
M	Midfield — races in the middle of the pack
B	Backmarker — races at the rear, needs a strong finish

earlySpeedIndexfloat (0-10)

How quickly the runner gets forward early. Higher means quicker. For harness the index is draw-adjusted — see below.

settlingPositionfloat

The runner's average running position at its code's early call (the bell for harness). 1.0 = typically leads.

By Race Code

Each code publishes different in-running data, so the same three fields are built from different sources:

Code	Built from	earlySpeedIndex	settlingPosition
Gallops	Position at the first in-running call: a Leader averages 2nd or better, a Presser up to 5th, Midfield up to 8th.	How far forward the horse settles, scaled down when it is seldom in the first five early	Average position at the first call
Greyhounds	Place at the first call and first-sectional rank, relative to the field, plus early-run notes such as quick or slow away. Last 20 starts.	How far forward the dog usually is early, relative to its field	Average place at the first call (estimated from the field where a track publishes no call places)
Harness	Running order at the bell (the start of the last lap) plus stewards' early-race notes such as gate speed, led, worked forward, restrained, slow away and broke. Last 20 starts.	Draw-adjusted. 5 = typical for the draws the horse has had; higher = gets further forward than its draws predict	Average position at the bell — a mid-race position, as harness publishes no early call

For greyhounds and harness, the styles are relative to the field: roughly one rated runner in five is a Leader and one in five a Backmarker.

Harness: style and early speed answer different questions

The draw decides more of a harness race's early shape than any other code — inside the front row leads at the bell far more often than the second row. So runningStyle says where the horse actually races, draws included, while earlySpeedIndex takes the draw out. A Leader that keeps drawing the front row can sit near 5; a Backmarker with an index of 8 gets further forward than its draws allow, and is one to watch when it draws well. Read today's draw from startRow and barrier together — barrier 1 is a very different start in the front row than in the second.

Coverage

A runner gets a speedMap only when we can rate it with confidence:

•Gallops — runners with enough in-running history to place them at the first call.
•Greyhounds and harness — at least three recent starts with in-running data, in a jurisdiction whose in-running data passes our quality checks. Today that is Australian racing for both codes; others are added as their data qualifies.

Anyone else has no speedMap key at all, rather than a guess.

Reading the Pace of a Race

The API doesn't return a race-level pace rating: you build one from the field's speed maps by counting the runners with early speed.

The field has	What it suggests
No Leader and low early speed throughout	A slow early tempo — whoever finds the front can dictate
One clear Leader	Likely to lead without pressure
Two or more Leaders or high early-speed runners	A contested lead and a stronger tempo — can suit Midfield and Backmarker runners

Using the Speed Map

•In a race with several Leaders, look for B (Backmarker) runners with strong finishing records
•In a race with no natural speed, look for the L or highest early-speed runner to control the race from the front
•A gallops runner with a high index drawn wide may burn energy getting across to the rail, even in a slow-pace race

Combine with the draw

Speed map data is most powerful read alongside today's barrier or box. A leader drawn barrier 1 in a slow-pace race is a very different proposition to one drawn barrier 14 in a fast-pace race — and in harness, where the draw matters most, the draw-adjusted index tells you how much a horse can make of today's row (startRow) and place (barrier).

Example Responses

A gallops race with two speed runners and a closer:

json

{
  "runners": [
    {
      "number": 1,
      "name": "Speed Demon",
      "barrier": 2,
      "speedMap": {
        "runningStyle": "L",
        "earlySpeedIndex": 8.0,
        "settlingPosition": 1.8
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 5,
      "name": "Pressing Issue",
      "barrier": 4,
      "speedMap": {
        "runningStyle": "P",
        "earlySpeedIndex": 6.5,
        "settlingPosition": 3.2
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 8,
      "name": "Late Charger",
      "barrier": 7,
      "speedMap": {
        "runningStyle": "B",
        "earlySpeedIndex": 0.9,
        "settlingPosition": 8.5
      }
    }
  ]
}

Two runners who settle in the first few will press each other early, so the closer "Late Charger" may benefit from the tempo.

A harness race, where style and early speed differ:

json

{
  "runners": [
    {
      "number": 1,
      "name": "Rail Runner",
      "barrier": 1,
      "startRow": "front",
      "speedMap": {
        "runningStyle": "L",
        "earlySpeedIndex": 5.2,
        "settlingPosition": 2.4
      }
    },
    {
      "number": 6,
      "name": "Beats The Draw",
      "barrier": 2,
      "startRow": "second",
      "speedMap": {
        "runningStyle": "B",
        "earlySpeedIndex": 8.1,
        "settlingPosition": 6.9
      }
    }
  ]
}

"Rail Runner" usually leads, but its index is typical for the draws it gets — it leads because it draws inside. "Beats The Draw" usually races back yet gets further forward than its draws predict; from the second row today it is unlikely to lead, but from a front-row draw it may be the speed.