I don't think Penn National is a track that most people follow, but this past Saturday night it presented the best card they have ever put on in the history of the track. That is NOT my opinion. It is a fact as presented by the track itself. They presented 5 STAKES races and 2 HANDICAP races as part of their 9 race program. One stakes race carried a purse of $500,000, The LARGEST purse ever presented in the history of the track, but it is the 2 HANDICAP races I want to focus on.
I started this thread with some, what I hope to b helpful, information with regard to handicap races. In light of that, I feel compelled to expand on that information as all handicap races are not straight forward. In other words, not every handicap race has three horses that are "different" weights and are the top three weights in the race, such as, 123, 121, 119. Sometimes there are multiple horses carrying the same high weight or second high weight or even 3rd high weight. The second race at Penn National Saturday night was one such race.
Below you will see that chart of this race. If you look at the weights, the top three high weights encompass the ENTIRE FIELD. 5 horses came in carrying 122lbs. 4 horses came in carrying 119lbs. And the remaining horse came in carrying 118lbs. This is not a playable race based on the concept of using the top 3 high weighted horses as your primary, or only, contenders.
Attachment 34392
The 3rd race at Penn National Saturday night was the other handicap race on the card. Again, this is not a playable race based on the concept of using the top 3 high weight horses as your primary, or only, contenders. Why? 2 horses came in carrying 117lbs. 3 horses came in carrying 116lbs. 2 horses came in carrying 115lbs. That covers the top 3 high weights, but it also covers every horse in the race except for 1. Here's the chart of that race.