FIRST START THIS YEAR

Fires when year_starts = 0 and life_starts > 0. A horse with career experience but no current-year starts is returning from either a winter layoff or an unscheduled break. Even with workout records, the gap between training and actual race fitness is difficult to bridge. First-start-of-year horses carry more uncertainty than their form lines suggest, particularly early in the season or when their last race was many months prior.