How do they determine the poll position at horse races?

Question

How do they determine the poll position at horse races?

Answer 1

Hey, you made a pun.

The" poll "position of a horse is on top of the head just behind the ears. (look it up).

You mean post position (PP). The "pole" position is on the inside of the track, along the rail.

Most of the time the PP is done by randomly selecting numbered "pills" from a vessel.

In some cases the PP's are assigned. This is commonly done in some of the better classes in harness racing.

Answer 2

Sorry for the correction, but it's post position.  Each month there is book that comes out with the races the track wants to run on a particular day for that month.  Trainers call up a couple of days before the race they want to enter and submit their horse's name and information.  Once the entry deadline passes and a race is "filled" there is a random draw where the name is called and like the lottery a numbered ball is taken out.  That becomes that horse's post position.  Sometimes there is a betting entry where there is a 1 and 1A.  They do not necessarily get the first 2 post positions.  That's why sometime you'll see other than the 1 in the first post position or a 1/1A in a higher number position.  By the way they do not announce the numbers via loud speaker on the backstretch.

Answer 3

Apparently it's kind of like the lottery.  All the names are put into a container of some sort, and the position numbers are put into another container.  The number is drawn first, then the horse.  That's how the positions are determined.

Answer 4

BY A SIMPLE RANDOM DRAW

Answer 5

Yes they are drawn.

And broadcast on loud speakers throughout the backstretch as they are announced.