in the simplest terms dosage is a mathmetical representation of a horses pedigree...it takes into account the amont of speed vs. stamina and then boils it down to a number...the lower the number the longer (theoretically) the horse wants to go...

for more reading...
www.chef-de-race.com

Thank you I am going to read it. When you say a horse wants to 'go longer' does that have anything to do with when they have a bowel movement? I know it sounds silly but maybe that means something to experts. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Everyone here seems so nice. I am sure I will learn a lot if I study and ask questions. Was Jerry Seinfeld a horse racing fan?

Steve, bar trivia:
The longest NYRA stretch?
The Aqueduct Inner. Look it up.

So if a dosage # is subject to change due to a reclassification, how accurate is it really?

I would say probably not all that accurate in today's thoroughbred...

I look more at the dosage points than I do at the dosage index. I wish I could remember the amount of points they look for in the classic category, but I think they look for (at the very least) 18 total points with the majority of those points being in the center and to the left of the center. For example, here is Barbaro's dosage profile:

DP = 14-8-21-2-1 (46) DI = 2.41 CD = 0.70

His pedigree SCREAMED distance with having 21 points in the classic category. All of this is just another derby angle, but I've had some good luck by at least considering this and tossing the horses that I feel have no business trying to get a distance of ground. (Not always accurate, but a way of filtering contenders.)

I read the earlier post in this thread regarding this year's TC contenders. How did last years group measure up? I initially picked Lawyer Ron, but I seem to remember that his dosage # was on the high side.

His dosage index was above the recommended 4.0 for the derby, but not enough for it to cause concern (he had a 4.14 DI.) What always concerned me about Lawyer Ron was the fact that he didn't have enough points in the classic category to suggest that he could effectively go 10 furlongs. With that said, I didn't toss him solely because of his dosage issues, but because of his running style too. Horses that can't rate and need to be near the lead don't typically win the derby, and the combination of both the former and the latter made me think better about using him.

DP = 4-7-7-0-0 (18) DI = 4.14 CD = 0.83

I like Hard Spun but I didn't see him on the list.

He's not a dual qualifier, but his dosage profile more than fits the "requirement" for the derby.