Science and surplus

A recent article by Clay Shirky (ht Seth's Blog), discusses the cognitive surplus society pisses away watching TV.

In the article, he writes about a professor in Brazil who started a Wiki page where locals can label exact locations of committed crimes. This community effort allows people to see, at a glance, where the more dangerous neighborhoods are, without having to wait for some bureaucratic process to get the ball rolling. The information is real time and relevant.

Seems like racing could use a similar system to track horse breakdowns at specific tracks and use that information, along with whatever isn't hidden or altered, to determine causal factors.

Getting honest reporting is another matter.

In The Science of Horse Training, Bill Pressey tirelessly fights the battle to bring a little science to the game. He posits a horse that can go a mile in under two minutes, with a heart rate below 200 beats per minute, possesses stakes calibre.

It would be interesting to see what his methods could produce from some legitimate race horses, at any level.