We have revised our Performance Ratings found under the RTG column of our ratings. As we have explained in our page describing our various ratings, the RTG is intended to give you some quick information at a glance showing whether or not the horse has been able to run to par in an average of its best two races and at the distance or on turf. While we continue to find these useful indicators we have added further information so you can identify when a horse has put in a near-par performance (within 2 pts of a + rating).
The new symbols are simply the letter " N " which will indicate that the horse has run 1 pt of par for its B2 score or an " n " when it is in within 2 pts, if the letter is in the first column. If the letter is in the second column it indicates performance within 1 or 2 pts of par for its DR score. For turf races the letter in the second column indicates it has run within 1 or 2 pts of par on turf.
This addition serves two purposes. First it alerts you to particular horses that may have almost achieved par, and that with a slight improvement could do so in this race. It also lets you know when there are no such horses in the balance of the field indicating a gap between those horses with a "+ "rating or a " ++ " rating and the rest of the field.
Of course one might ask, what about the horses 3 pts from the par? There is no magic to drawing the line at 2 or 3. Clearly a horse that has run 3 pts from par is almost as good as one that has run within 2 pts. But the line has to be drawn somewhere. Please let us know whether this revision to the RTG is helpful to you, and whether you find the two point margin adequate.