How do you find out who’s racing?
A race makes a lot more sense when you know who you’re watching. You don’t need to know every horse or driver before you arrive, but it helps to know where to find the field and what to look for.
Check the Field
Every race meeting has a race book, which lists the horses and drivers in each race along with some key information about them.
You can also find the same information online in the Fields section at hrnz.co.nz.
In racing, the field simply means the line-up of horses taking part in the race.
See them before the race
Before each race, you can usually get a closer look at the horses and drivers before they head out onto the track.
At some tracks, that might be in the parade ring or birdcage. At others, it could simply be watching them warm up on the track before the start.
It’s a good chance to match the horse and driver to the names you’ve seen in the field.
What should you look for?
Start with the basics: the horse’s name and number, the driver, and the racing colours they’re wearing.
The race book or online field will also give you more information about each horse, including things like its age, sex and recent racing record.
Drivers generally wear the colours registered to the horse’s trainer, which makes the number and colours two of the easiest ways to pick out the horse you’re following once they’re on the track.
The bits worth remembering
You don’t need to learn the whole field before a race. Start with the horse’s name and number, the driver, and the racing colours they’re wearing.
You’ll find all of that in the race book or online field, along with more information if you want to dig a little deeper.
Pick a horse or driver to follow and use the number and colours to spot them before the race and once they’re out on the track.
See it in action
See where to find the field, what information is available and how to spot the horses and drivers before a race