BANDAGES:

Understanding the role that bandages play in racing performance.

By: The Player

There are different types of bandages but for the purposes of this discussion we are talking about racing bandages.

A racing bandage is basically a very thin, spongy, self clinging tape that is applied round and round a horse's lower leg a couple hours prior to racing.

Originally, the modern racing bandage was made by the 3M company and was sold under the brand name Vetwrap. It was available in a variety of colors.

There are a couple knock-offs to the market leader Vetwrap but they are essentially the same product. Some horses run in two front bandages, some in back bandages only, some come to the races wrapped in all fours and some race without bandages.

Most handicappers, spurred by comments made by the high profile Journalist race touts, believe that the presence of bandages is a terrible omen. Many handicappers will not even consider a horse with bandages present. First time bandages? That is like the Titanic to them. There are a few problems with this “illogic.“

First, some trainers bandage nearly every horse they run. It‘s more of a habit for them then it is a “tell“ to a problem that a horse might have.

Second, some trainers will suddenly use front bandages to discourage other trainers from claiming their horse or, even, to discourage people from betting their horse. It happens. In fact, it happens a lot.

Third, some horses suffer a condition know as “run down“ on the back heels. Patches are applied to the back heels and most times a bandage is also used to offer secondary protection. There are trainers out there that won‘t run a horse in just back bandages, even if that is all that is called for. It offends their sense of symmetry and, instead, they use “all fours.“

The fact that bandages have taken on such mystical proportion among bettors is absolutely amazing to me.

Let‘s look at how a bandage really functions. The only real biomechanical use a bandage has is to support a tendon. Bandages do not help ankles. Nor do they help knees. Nor do they help front feet. Given the huge number of leg problems a horse can suffer, tendons are not normally the most common of the leg problems. To see a bandage and assume a huge leg problem exists, is as foolish as not seeing a bandage and assuming the horse is problem free.

If you research the actual physics of bandaging a leg, you get mixed results. Some studies find that the leg flexes less and the horse loses some of its gait “action“. Other studies find that the support helps the mechanics of stride. There is no clear answer, yet, as to whether bandages help or hinder performance when they are applied. In reality, any lab data unless absolutely clear would probably be useless anyway since the bandages are normally applied by the trainer or groom and this person varies horse to horse. If you have ever seen anyone bandage a horse, you know that there are some people who are very good at it and some who are pretty bad. In fact, there is a condition known as a “bandage bow“ which is an injury resulting from wrapping the leg too tightly.

The bandage focus becomes even bigger due to the fact that some programs have designations for horses wearing bandages. The problem is that is not always accurate for dark horses wearing black bandages. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for spotters to see black bandages on dark horses through binoculars.

The most humorous thing of all is that many gamblers do not care to learn the truth about bandages. They simply think a bandage is a bad sign and they move to other “clean“ horses in the field. It doesn‘t matter how compelling the argument; they insist that bandaged horses are damaged goods waiting to take their money and that first time bandaged horses are the plague of race betting.

Not only is that logic crazy; it is completely wrong. Let me tell you about a recent horse I ran. I claimed the horse and it had some things going on in the ankle. My trainer worked on the ankle and ran the horse and hit the board. My trainer worked on the ankle more and we got nosed on the wire. Next race, I suggested using bandages since I thought it might get me a better price. Now the horse ran back in nine days with bandages and the odds went from 9/5 to 9/2 in a weaker field. He won by many. We ran the horse back two weeks later and won again. There were a couple people looking at claiming him but probably got too shy due to the bandages. The real problem was the ankle; there was nothing wrong with the tendons at all! And in truth, the fact that the horse was running back in nine days should have alerted the public to the fact that he was basically sound and fit, but no, the bandages made them bet a different horse.

As a gambler, I know what trainers use bandages as a gimmick for betting. For example, I follow Prime Timber babies very carefully. In early July I caught a monster priced Timber three year old, Silver Timber, first time on the turf for Linda Rice. Silver Timber set a track record that day on the turf at Belmont and ran without bandages. The horse worked twice, I believe, and was entered back about three weeks later at Saratoga. This time he appeared on the track with bandages. I was planning a big bet but tripled down on the horse when I saw that Rice was going with bandages. Interestingly, as I stood at the machine punching my tickets I heard noted “handicapper“ The Wizard telling people on TV that Silver Timber was a no bet due to first time bandages. I laughed out loud and was rewarded with a solid win price.

Of course, these are all anecdotes and should not be used as proof of anything. The fact is that I did a study of first time bandage horses that “fit“ the race they were entered in and appeared sound on paper. My sample yielded an ROI of over 200 percent for first time bandages My point here is not to tell you to bet any horse in bandages but rather to tell you that you need to evaluate each horse in the race as an individual and that the presence of bandages is not, by itself, a reason to pass on the horse.