Aug 11
2018
Saratoga is a Race Track that has two turf courses located inside of the Main Dirt track. The outer turf course is officially known as the Mellon Turf Course, in honor of the Mellon family (whose members were prominent owners and breeders in the Thoroughbred industry). The inner turf course is located directly inside of the Mellon Turf Course. As far as turf courses go, it is pretty straight-forward with no chutes or extensions like turf courses at some other race tracks.
The following diagram highlights the Mellon Turf course (in light green) and includes the location of the starting gate (in a box) for each distance from 5f to 9.5f.
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Jul 25
2018
Post positions in and of themselves are not important. Post positions relative to where the starting gate is located on the track, the running style (e.g. early speed vs. closer) for each horse, and the size of the field are quite important.
For example, an inside post position when the gate is located only a few hops from the first turn is helpful to almost any horse, and greatly advantageous to a horse with fast-breaking early speed. On the other hand, an outside post position in the same situation is a serious disadvantage. Even if the horse has enough speed to run up to the front before the first turn, he must use some energy to get there, which could compromise his chances later.
If he cannot get to the front by the first turn, then he risks losing precious ground to the field going wide around the turn. And if the horse is not in the capable hands of a quality jockey, he might end up going wide around successive turns as well. He could end up running substantially more distance than the other horses located to his inside.
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May 3
2018
In the last article, Kentucky Derby Trends 2018, a reader commented:
“Great article Neal! Wonder how this translates to the Oaks race?”
That’s a good question I thought. In this article I will try to answer that question. Although the fillies run only 9 furlongs in the Oaks, compared to the colts going 10 furlongs in the Derby, the question of the stretch run in Prep races remains the same since horses are coming from racetracks that have a stretch run much shorter than Churchill Downs. The results suggest stretch length might be a bigger factor in the Oaks than in the Derby. Keep reading …
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Apr 30
2018
This article includes some trends about recent Kentucky Derby winners and other horses that have finished in the money for the Derby. Part of this discussion has to include the special challenge of distance for Derby contestants and related to that, the added challenge of horses facing a stretch run that is quite long at Churchill Downs.
As most people are aware, the Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 mile (10 furlongs) long. A distance that no horse in the field has ever run prior to the Derby. That alone is challenge enough. In addition to that, many of the horses are coming from racetracks that have a stretch run considerably shorter than at Churchill Downs. The diagrams below shows the stretch runs for Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park. The length of the stretch runs are shown in feet beneath the blue arrows.
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May 28
2015
Belmont Park is The Green Monster of Racetracks, with the largest oval of any thoroughbred racetrack in North America, 11/2 miles in circumference. That’s 12 furlongs, or put in relative terms, 3 furlongs longer than Saratoga and Aqueduct (the other two racetracks on the NYRA circuit). It’s 4 furlongs longer than Santa Anita, Churchill Downs, Monmouth Park, and other 1-mile tracks. Again, in relative terms, that 50% longer than those racetracks. Also, unlike many other racetracks, there are virtually no restrictions on the possible distances of races that can be run at Belmont.
Belmont is a visually stunning racetrack to witness in person. From the stands it seems like the backstretch is miles away. And, due to the structural design, there are no televisions mounted near the grandstand seats. For that reason, binoculars are as essential to the racing patron as a copy of the racing program and a cold draft beer. Fancy hats are optional.
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Oct 24
2014
In a prior article we provided an overview of Santa Anita turf course and how it’s unique configuration might impact the running of Breeders’ Cup races in 2014. Click here to read that article.
In this article we are going to cover the Santa Anita dirt track, and although it isn’t quite as unique as the turf course, there are still factors to consider for each distance run in the Breeders’ Cup races.
For example, where is the starting gate position for each race? How close is it to the first turn? Is there an advantage to inside or outside post positions at each distance? How does the Santa Anita track layout compare to other racetracks?
Breeders’ Cup Dirt Races
To the right is a table listing the Breeders’ Cup dirt races that will be contested at the various distances. You can see that other than the two Juvenile races, every other distance is only run once for Breeders’ Cup races.
For some distances, the location of the starting gate is very similar to other racetracks. For other distances, it is much different … even when the size of the oval (1 mile) is identical to that of Santa Anita.
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Oct 19
2014
Breeders’ Cup 2014 is right around the corner, and we thought it would be a good time to feature an article about the unique layout of the Santa Anita turf course and how it might impact the running of the Breeders’ Cup races this year.
We will limit our review to include only the four distances of Breeders’ Cup races contested over the turf course. To begin, we will show a diagram of the turf course layout and include the starting gate position (in colored boxes) for each distance included in the 2-day set of Breeders’ Cup races. And we will discuss how post positions are affected by the location of the starting gate and it’s proximity to the first turn at each distance. Distances of 1-mile or more show the furlong equivalent for individuals (like myself) who think in terms of furlongs.
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Sep 16
2014
In a prior article we discussed the dynamics of a horse “stretching out” from a short race (sprint) to a longer race (route). In particular, we covered the paradox that often occurs when a horse closes in a sprint race, comes up short, and appears to just “need a little more ground.” Click here for review of that article.
In that article we provided an example of a horse named Pan Dulce, who finished 2nd in a 6-furlong race at Belmont, and subsequently was the 9-5 favorite in an 8-furlong race at Saratoga. Unfortunately, for supporters of this horse, she tired in that race and was a well beaten 3rd. But, the story doesn’t end there, and in fact her next move back into a sprint race provides material for the cutback angle. Read More >>
May 28
2014
Belmont Park is The Green Monster of Racetracks, with the largest oval of any thoroughbred racetrack in North America, 11/2 miles in circumference. That’s 12 furlongs, or put in relative terms, 3 furlongs longer than Saratoga and Aqueduct (the other two racetracks on the NYRA circuit). It’s 4 furlongs longer than Santa Anita, Churchill Downs, Monmouth Park, and other 1-mile tracks. Again, in relative terms, that 50% longer than those racetracks. Also, unlike many other racetracks, there are virtually no restrictions in the possible distances that races can be run at Belmont.
Belmont is a visually stunning racetrack to witness in person. From the stands it seems like the backstretch is miles away. And, due to the structural design, there are no televisions mounted near the grandstand seats. For that reason, binoculars are as essential to the racing patron as a copy of the racing program and a cold draft beer. Fancy hats are optional.
Read More >>
Apr 30
2014
UPDATE: Article was updated on April 25, 2015 to include information from the 2014 Kentucky Derby.
In a seminar this past week I provided some trends about recent Kentucky Derby winners and other horses that have finished in the money for the Derby. Part of this discussion was explaining the special challenge of distance for Derby contestants and related to that, the added challenge of horses facing a stretch run that is quite long at Churchill Downs.
As most people are aware, the Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 mile (10 furlongs) long. A distance that no horse in the field has ever run prior to the Derby. That alone is challenge enough. In addition to that, many of the horses are coming from racetracks that have a stretch run considerably shorter than at Churchill Downs. Below is a slide I gave in the presentation that shows the stretch runs for Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park. The length of the stretch runs are shown in feet beneath the blue arrows.
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