In racing how long is a length?

Question

In horse racing they say stuff like "he won by 2 lengths". How long is that exactly?

Answer 1

A length represents the distance from a horses nose to tail so there is no exact answer since horses vary in size. In general it's about 8 feet, which is the measure I use in my calculations. How many lengths a horse is beaten is based on the race-callers estimation.

The old traditional measure of 10 feet, which some handicapping systems still use is wrong.

Eventually when more tracks use Trakus, which gives each horses precise time, the value of the length and how to convert beaten lengths to seconds, will no longer be necessary.

Bob

Answer 2

It is the length of a horse or about 8 feet or 3 meters.

Answer 3

The length of a horse

"Length: The measurement corresponding to the average length of a horse and used to describe winning, or losing, distances. A horse can win, or be beaten, by a length or more, or by fractions thereof -- 3/4 of a length, half-length, 1/4 length, neck, head or nose. These terms are more descriptive than scientific."

Answer 4

length = about 8 feet.  There's no "exact" distance.