In British horse racing, if a horse "wins by a distance," how far is a "distance"?

1cyprus

A distance is more than 30 lengths Jan 13 07, 8:34 AM

1cyprus

However,if a horse is nowhere,it is at least 240yds adrift. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(horse) Jan 13 07, 8:43 AM

1cyprus

And this site gives a distance as 240yds from the post http://books.google.co.uk/books?vid=OCLC02432957&id=Dljm2TlEg1cC&pg=RA1-PA45&lpg=RA1-PA45&dq=horse+wins+by+a+distance#PRA1-PA42,M1 Jan 13 07, 9:09 AM

zbeckabee

"Distance - The length of a race: 5 furlongs is the minimum and the 4 1/2 miles of the Grand National the longest. Also, the margin by which a horse wins or is beaten by the horse in front; this ranges from a short head to 'by a distance' (more than 30 lengths); a 'length' is measured from the horse's nose to the start of its tail." http://www.ildado.com/horse_racing_glossary.html Jan 13 07, 9:42 AM

What-A-Mess

13. Distance Horse Racing. (in a heat race) the space measured back from the winning post that a horse must reach by the time the winner passes the winning post or be eliminated from subsequent heats. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/distance http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/distance Jan 13 07, 10:03 AM