Question: The Kentucky Derby is perhaps the premier event in U.S. horse racing, and it provides many opportunities for identifying types of variables. For each of the following examples, identify the type of variable-nominal, ordinal, or scale.
a. As racing fans, we would be very interested in the variable of finishing position. For example, a stunning upset took place in 2005 when Giacomo, a horse with 50-1 odds, won, followed by Closing Argument and then Afleet Alex.
b. We also might be interested in the variable of finishing time. Giacomo won in 2 minutes, 2.75 seconds.
c. If we were the betting type, we might examine the variable of payoffs. Giacomo was such a long shot that a $2.00 bet on him to win paid an incredibly high $102.60.
d. We might be interested in the history of the Derby and the demographic variables of jockeys, such as gender or race. For example, in the first 28 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, 15 of the winning jockeys were African American.
e. In the luxury boxes, high fashion reigns; we might be curious about the variable of hat wearing, observing how many women wear hats and how many do not.