First-timer's Derby guide: Getting necessary information

If you attend Indian Derby (Gr 1) --u00a0 the country's greatest racing event -- at the Mahalaxmi racecourse this Sunday (February 5), make sure to carry a race book. Ranging from R10 to R15, you can choose any (or all) of the three popular, pocket-sized race books: Cole, BOL and Lucky Spinner. They will hit the market on the night of February 3 (Friday), and give detailed information about the day's races and runners, including past performance and statistics, and of course -- selections.Also look up the daily newspapers, most of which give race selections. However, the best public tipster has a strike rate of about 35%, so don't get too carried away with a so-called hot tip. You can log on to the following racing sites for more information:u00a0u00a0 http://www.rwitc.com/, http://www.indiarace.com/, http://www.equine/- india.com, and http://www.racing/- pulse.com. Also, do make it a point to visit our Tipsters' Tally board. It lists ALL the newspapers' selections for the day. On a separate board, we also list bookmakers' opening odds for all races.Visiting the paddockAbout 20 minutes before the race time, horses are brought into the paddock where owners and trainers give instructions to jockeys who then mount the horses and take them to the starting gates. Viewing the horses in paddock can be a great piece of education for the beginner.Regulars try to lip-read the instructions -- some judge the owner & trainer's level of confidence by the way they are dressed. Their thinking is simple: If they are nattily dressed, they are possibly expecting to be photographed leading in a winner! Not a bad piece of logic, eh?Horses communicate in a language of body signals and sounds. The signals can be as subtle as change in breathing rhythm or as loud as a shrill snorting sound. The parts of a horse's body that can reveal reliable information to the trained eye are their ears, eyes, muzzle, neck and tail.It's all about the money!The prize money for the most prestigious horse race in the Indian racing calendar has been soaring faster than its popularity. This year'su00a0 prize is a mind-boggling Rs 2.61 crore. Year Prize-money (Rs) Decade rise 1943 35,000 -- 1953 47,510 35 % 1963 65,104 37 % 1973u00a0 138,300 112 % 1983u00a0 394,278 185 % 1993 1,149,420 191 % 2003 4,265,961 271 % 2012 26,100,000 511 %