Past performance data will note first-race geldings

Equibase, which collects past-performance information on horses for distributors, has added a notation to its entry data that will indicate that a horse is starting for the first time since being reported as a gelding, the company said Thursday.

The notation will appear as a small superscript “1” next to the horse’s sex in the entry data. The notation also will appear in Equibase race records.

Daily Racing Form , which receives its data from Equibase, will indicate that a horse is starting for the first time since being reported as a gelding with a "G" in reverse type in the sex line alongside the date that the sex-alteration report was filed, according to Chuck Kuehhas, the company’s director of data and handicapping. DRF also is considering adding a line to the past-performance records that will indicate when the gelding report was filed to divide the horse’s career into pre-gelding and post-gelding sections, Kuehhas said.

Over the years, many horseplayers have complained about the timeliness of gelding reports and the accuracy of the data. Typically, horseplayers learn that a horse has been reported as a gelding through announcements the day of the race or at entry time. Most past-performance providers, including DRF , previously did not note the filing of the reports in their data.

The new notations, however, will not address lingering problems with the reporting of geldings. Most states require trainers or owners to report that a horse has been gelded, but those reports sometimes do not get filed in a timely manner. In addition, some reports are filed well after a colt has been gelded because of circumstances involving claims and changes in barns.

Some horseplayers believe a horse can improve markedly in his first start as a gelding, largely because the horse may have been underperforming before being altered.