Lingfield All-Weather Racing Course Guide
If you have ever bet on horse racing, you will know that the weather plays a part in whether the horse racing will go ahead. Particularly in winter, horse racing tracks are susceptible to abandoning fixtures due to heavy rain or snow, making the track unsuitable for racing. This is because the track is a turf surface.
The "All Weather" course fixtures are less susceptible to being abandoned due to the elements, as the course uses synthetic materials.
All-weather racing is also the only type of flat racing that occurs during the winter months.
All-weather racing takes place on one of the three types of synthetic surface...
Polytrack
Polytrack is a blend of sand and synthetic fibres covered in wax. Slightly faster than Tapeta.
UK & IRE Tracks Polytrack is used at
Kempton, Chelmsford, and Lingfield
Tapeta
Similarly, Tapeta is a blend of the finest silica sand, wax and synthetic fibres. The difference with Tapeta is that it is specifically engineered to mimic the root structure of natural turf. It's deeper and thus slower than Polytrack.
UK & IRE Tracks Tapeta is used at
Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Southwell and Dundalk
Fibresand
Fibresand was known to have greater kickback than Polytack or Tapeta, which is why it was replaced. The replacement for Poly or Tapeta is safer for both jockeys and horses and helps reduce the bias of front-runners.
UK & IRE Tracks Fibresand is used at
No longer used in the UK or Ireland. It was last used at Southwell in 2021, which has since switched to Tapeta.
Lingfield Course Guide
We will now take a closer look at the Lingfield All-Weather course.
Lingfield
Situated in Surrey, Lingfield used to host the All-Weather Championships, but it has since been switched to Newcastle. Even so, Lingfield is still a popular all-weather track with both trainers and punters.
Lingfield Course Quirks
The course is left-handed and sharp, measuring just 1.25 miles. It is the fastest of all all-weather courses in the UK. Due to this, it is suitable for hold-up horses. Has a downhill section on the last turn, which can lead to a fast finish in the final furlong. Some horses will not like the hill, so looking at horses with course form would be a help. The course favours strong travelling horses with a turn of foot.
Lingfield Draw Bias
Depending on which website you view, they will either argue that there is a bias or that there isn't. So the best way to get closer to the truth is to view recent statistics to determine if which stall the horse is drawn in makes a difference.
5f - If we look at the last five years, we can see that less money is lost betting on horses drawn high. Highly drawn horses win 13% of the time compared to 9% of low drawn horses, which is significant.
| Drawn | Wins | Runs | Win% | Plc% | IV | A/E | £1 | ROI% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 8 | 94 | 9% | 37% | 0.85 | 0.70 | £-39 | -41% |
| Mid | 7 | 93 | 8% | 27% | 0.75 | 0.62 | £-30 | -32% |
| Hi | 16 | 125 | 13% | 26% | 1.28 | 1.19 | £-0 | -0% |
Source: https://www.flatstats.co.uk/draw-stats.php
6f - The same pattern emerges over 6f, with the high drawn horses losing less money than the lower drawn horses. Despite this, the win percentage is identical at 8% for high and low, with mid drawn horses performing best.
| Drawn | Wins | Runs | Win% | Plc% | IV | A/E | £1 | ROI% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 28 | 351 | 8% | 27% | 0.86 | 0.73 | £-165 | -47% |
| Mid | 44 | 388 | 11% | 32% | 1.22 | 0.92 | £-134 | -35% |
| Hi | 37 | 437 | 8% | 25% | 0.91 | 0.84 | £-94 | -22% |
Source: https://www.flatstats.co.uk/draw-stats.php
1m 2f - A slightly different pattern emerges further, with mid drawn horses performing best and low drawn horses second best.
| Drawn | Wins | Runs | Win% | Plc% | IV | A/E | £1 | ROI% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 43 | 501 | 9% | 23% | 0.96 | 0.86 | £-167 | -33% |
| Mid | 62 | 548 | 11% | 32% | 1.26 | 1.02 | £-70 | -13% |
| Hi | 44 | 614 | 7% | 26% | 0.80 | 0.67 | £-184 | -30% |
Source: https://www.flatstats.co.uk/draw-stats.php
Draw Bias Conclusions
The most convincing case for a draw bias appears to be races run over 5 furlongs, and the data suggests you should go for a high-drawn horse. This trend appears to reverse further and suggests a mid-drawn horse would perform better. Attheraces.com disagree with this and suggests Mid to Low draws have a slight advantage over 5/6 furlongs, and no draw bias exists above that on the all-weather course. According to Geegeez, David Probert reckons a mid draw is best for 5/6 furlongs.
Lingfield All-Weather Betting Tips
With all the above taken into account, these are the specific things you should look at when betting at Lingfield.
Course Form
If a horse, jockey or trainer has specific form on the Lingfield All-Weather course, you have some evidence of how they perform specifically at this course. Most important is the horse's course form, but don't discount trainer/jockey statistics, as well as some trainers and jockeys' performance is better at certain tracks. Be sure to look at statistics specifically for all-weather racing, as Lingfield also has flat and jumps racing on turf.
Non-Course Form
We don't always have the luxury of course form, particularly with younger horses. There are other pieces of form you can look at, which may also help. Lingfield is a left-handed track, so look at Racing Post results at horses that have performed well going left-handed; some horses don't like it. Also look at the horses' form at the same distance, other sharp tracks and other all-weather tracks (ideally polytrack, others are Kempton and Chelmsford). If they have performed well in comparable scenarios, there is a greater chance they will perform well on the Lingfield all-weather track.
Draw
We currently believe there is evidence of a draw bias for high draws in 5f and 6f races. Remember to do your own research, though, as information online is often out of date (even on the big websites!). We recommend doing your own research at Flat Stats Draw Stats for up-to-date information. Also, remember, just because something happened in the past, it won't necessarily happen again! So proceed with caution with your bets.
Final Word
We hope this guide helps improve your betting at Lingfield All-Weather course. We also believe selecting the best free bets for new customers gives you a great head start with your betting. So why not head to our free bets page to claim a fantastic free bet offer!
