ONE of the proposals offered last week by Brough Scott, in an attempt to make racing more information friendly to its consumers, was for the weight of horses to be included in pre-race information.

How much value ordinary punters would find in the information is dubious.

Race times are relative to each other and can be compared year on year, (assuming the distance is correct). But horses don’t stay the same, they grow, they mature. Knowing how fast a horse can run is of easy use to a punter. Even we have noted what a particular horse’s winning racing weight is, how do we know whether it is a plus or minus if he strips heavier or lighter the next time?

Three-year-olds are still maturing and will develop through their careers. If a horse weighs 50kgs heavier in September than he did in April is that good or bad?

Remember Aidan O’Brien saying that Giant’s Causeway put on weight through the season from his 2000 Guineas run to his win at Goodwood in August. It was hardly a negative in that case. It can be similar over jumps, a horse can come back stronger after a good summer at grass.

Sometimes too much information can just confuse the issue.