Every runner has a habitual run style: led, prominent, mid-division or held up. Plot those styles across the field and you get a pace map — a picture of how the early part of the race is likely to unfold.
A lone front-runner in a field of hold-up horses is one of the most reliable edges in racing. Conversely, four confirmed leaders in a five-furlong sprint means the closers are the value.
Overlay the draw and the picture sharpens again. On tight, turning tracks a low draw plus early speed is worth several lengths; on a wide, galloping course the draw matters far less than the pace shape.
The point is not to predict a winner from pace alone. It is to know which runners are being asked to do something the race will not allow, and to strike them out before you price anything up.