#TheAction: Understanding Layoffs

To play or not to play? Ah, that’s the question horse players always ask themselves when assessing horses coming off a layoff… or time away from the races. While everyone loves vacation, and layoffs often serve to freshen up a horse… it might also indicate the horse is getting a break to recover from a physical issue. Then you wonder, will they be the same horse when they come back? Anyone’s guess… The more you watch though, the more you learn about trainer tendencies related to layoffs… how much time off their horses usually get, how they train while coming back, and how hard a trainer might push their horses in a first race back off of a long break. Reading between the lines on some of those trainer tendencies… Next Time on The Action.