Opening Bell Derby
The open’s biggest gappers, as a horse race
The first ten minutes, as a horse race
The field is the session’s biggest pre-market gappers. At 9:30 the bell rings and every horse leaves the gate at its stock’s official open. From there, a horse’s place on the track is its stock’s % change from the open, second by second, until 9:40.
A replay of a real session’s first ten minutes. Positions are each stock’s % change from its official open. The tape doesn’t receive every trade in the US market. Not financial advice.
How it works
The runners are the session’s biggest pre-market gappers: the stocks that moved most between the previous close and the last trade before the open. They’re known before the bell, so a pick is a real guess. On a quiet morning with fewer gappers, the open’s biggest movers fill the empty stalls.
A horse’s position is its stock’s % change from its official opening price. The track rescales as the field spreads out, so every horse stays in view, and the lines on the turf mark the percentages.
When the lead changes hands, or your horse moves through the top places, the race freezes for a photo. A close finish gets a photo at the line.
The race is the ten minutes from 9:30 to 9:40 ET, played in one minute.
It’s a replay of the session two trading days back. The tape doesn’t receive every trade in the US market, and a stock that hasn’t traded yet waits in the gate.
For Halloween the field runs as skeleton horses, ridden headless with a jack-o’-lantern past a pumpkin patch, and witches fly over the stands. It’s a costume: each horse’s nose is still its stock’s % change from the open.