In thoroughbred horse racing, “Circled Field” refers to when a horse is forced to go widest to reach contention, typically having to pass four or more rivals by taking the longest route around the field.
This term describes a situation where a horse must go very wide around other horses in order to move into a winning position. Unlike simply racing wide, “circled field” specifically indicates that the horse had to take the most outside path possible to get into competitive positioning, essentially going around the entire field of competitors.
- Key aspects of “Circled Field”:
- The horse must pass four or more rivals to qualify for this description
- It represents the widest possible route a horse can take during a race
- Usually occurs when a horse gets trapped behind other horses and the jockey must swing very wide to find racing room
- Results in the horse covering significantly more ground than competitors who had clearer paths