What the heck is a head start?

[PeroK]

There's been a bit of debate about whether a head start in a race is always a time or whether it could also be a distance. Anyway, YouTube served up this video of some very strange looking greyhounds running a handicap race.



Is this not a head start?

 

[DaveC426913]

Kind of like a PHRF in racing sailboats.

You could cross the finish line first in a race, but the winner isn't in the bag until they subtract your PHRF.

Performance Handicap Racing Fleet​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_Handicap_Racing_Fleet

Basically, the idea is to remove the inherent advantages of a given boat as well as its gear (such as extra sails), so that the trait that is (ideally) being measured is the skill of the crew.