What the pattern suggests
There is a slight bias favouring low-drawn numbers here, particularly when it is soft, but it is nowhere near as extreme as in the five-furlong races, and not as pronounced as the racing press would have you believe.
How to read the chart
Each mark represents a winning stall number plotted against the total number of runners. This reveals whether winners repeatedly cluster towards the low, middle or high side.
The source chart covers horses aged three and older in handicaps from 2024–2025.
Stall-numbering note: Stalls at Chester are always positioned on the inside of the track.
Historical winning-stall chart
|
WINNING STALL NUMBER |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ||
| No
of R U N N E R S |
8 | 1 | 111 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
H'caps Only 2024 - 2025 |
||||||||||||||
| 10 | 111 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1111 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | 1111 | 1 | 11 | 111 | 11 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 11 | 11 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
|
6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
How to use the bias
- Pace: identify where the likely early leaders are drawn and which runners can secure a good position.
- Going: consider whether the inside or outside is riding faster on the day.
- Field size: draw effects are often more meaningful when runners are crowded into larger fields.
- Recent evidence: rail movements, watering and weather can alter the effective bias.
Conclusion
There is a slight bias favouring low drawn numbers here, particularly when it is soft, but it is no where near as extreme as in the five furlong races, and not as big as the racing press would have you believe.