Middle and back runners

Middle and back runners, as their name would suggest, run from behind and do not tend to contest the lead until maybe the closing stages of the race. Although they do not generally experience trouble early on, it can be difficult for them in the closing stages of the race as they often find they have to overtake maybe half of the pack or more in order to win.

Back runners are evaluated by how fast they reach the 3rd split and how fast they finish. Dogs that reach the 3rd split in a good position and then remain strong until the end of the race must be considered contenders.

The following is step-by-step information that is necessary to determine how well a back runner performs.

STEP 1

First you must average up the 3rd split positions. To calculate this score you simply add all of the 3rd split positions and divide by 6. If a dog receives an average of 2 (3 on an 8 trap course) this is considered very good. Anything below 3 (4 on an 8 trap course) is above average.

STEP 2

Now you must find the finish split average. Again add these up and divide by 6

STEP 3

Finally, subtract the finish split average from the 3rd split average to determine the animals closing ability. Dogs with a positive closing ability are strong finishers, while dogs with a negative closing ability are weak finishers. Closing ability is the more important of the two measures as far as back runners are concerned.

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