"Maybe TG should add a notation to op (off poorly)...the horse was off slowly and the Sprinting Length was more important according to Alydar."

Maybe you, HP, should read the words that are on top of the ROTW every week: "Each path wide is worth about one length...at TODAY'S DISTANCE that equals...of a TG point." It varies according to distance, and off poorly would too.

What varies according to distance? I don't get it.

"If two horses were likely to run 3s..Common sense would dictate the longer the race, the more weight matters."

No. Common sense would dictate that you look at the TG introduction page. 5 pounds = one point, REGARDLESS of distance. That is the methodology (I hate that word) you said you were in line with. Giving extra credit for lighter weight at longer distances is double counting because weight/distance is in the formula already. 5 pounds = one point. Forget the distance. Just look at the weights and adjust. And if you want a TG-Rags beaten-lengths chart, let me know. I picked up a really good one several months ago. None of that "approximately" crap.

I said common sense. Aly baby, how about this. Carry 125 pounds on your back for a block. Then carry it on your back for two blocks. Let me know how it goes. I don't think I'm the only one making a fool of myself!

If I carry 115 pounds and race you one block, the 10 pound impost you carry will affect you a certain amount (assuming all else is absolutely equal). At two blocks it will affect you more (YOUR 'BREAK' NOTWITHSTANDING (Holy cow! - you can break like the wind for all the difference it makes in this argument!)), and all other things being equal, it's going to help me more the longer we go. I didn't need the TG intro chart to figure this out. You can think about this when you handicap or not. It's all you man! Freedom!

The 5 pounds/1 point formula applies when comparing numbers of two horses. Like if two horses can run 3's, and one horse is carrying ten pounds more, that horse would have to run a 1 (assuming all else is equal) to win. I get it fine without the 'intro' and my point(s) stand.

And yes, the first 4 pounds don't matter. It's the fifth one that breaks 'em. I've talked to horses about this and I KNOW.

I like you fine, but you threw in that thing about the weight (I was wrong!) and I didn't like it. You're at least as wrong as me, given the points above. Where I come from, your best friends always do the best job of insulting you.

Mall's no soup thing was funny. HP