Is it wise to bet on horse racing when the weather is extremely cold? Does the cold effect that horses run? We think of other weather events such as influencing the races, but what if Old Man Winter descends on the racetrack? What does this do to our handicap?
First of all, although their hair is short most of the time, let me assure you that horses are built for cold. First of all, just the sheer size of them, they have enough bulk to hold body heat very well. Secondly, if they are left without blankets in the winter, they build a nice thick layer of fine hairs beneath the outer layer of hair and it is a great insulator.
Looking around the world, for example, steps in Asia, where horses were domesticated for thousands of years, we find horses that live in extremely cold conditions, and successful. So the short answer is that the cold will not hurt the horses. On the other hand, this can affect how you run.
Like any sport, horse muscles must be warmed up properly to avoid cramps and this is especially true in the cold. While the early speed can raise and warm day, there might be a slight decrease from the cold, but usually, if the horse has warmed up properly, it will carry its speed through the race. This is, of course, if endurance is a matter of conditioning, not a requirement.
I noticed however, that on the day when the wind is blowing hard and it's cold, the horses turned into the wind sometimes seems to slow down or even stop. Maybe it's because they suddenly get a lungful of additional cold air that causes your muscles to cramp a bit.
The right question to ask when the bitter cold and the horses are racing, "How will this affect the riders?"
They weigh just over 100 pounds and can not bundle up. They were racing at 30 mph with a completely unprotected. It's a miracle that the race at all under these conditions, but many of them do manage to do a good job of it, too. Maybe, if you want to see if you can get a handicap advantage in cold weather, you should follow the riders and see if any of them run better or worse in extreme temperatures.