Have a dumb question for the board, what is the intuition behind Turf races being run the way they are, where horses crawl for most of the race only to frantically finish on the stretch run?
What\'s wrong/invalid with the idea of forcing a pretty fast pace (say comparable to that of a dirt race at the equivalent distance)? If it is breeding related, why don\'t breeders/owners/trainers try such an unorthodox approach to steal turf races with a different type of animal? We see such examples in other sports like the Golden State Warriors breaking the game of basketball by taking an unprecedented amount of three pointers with a small line up and leaving opponents helpless. Any insights appreciated!
Given the GS Warriors reference here I expect a P-Dub reply...
Well.............
I guess to equate with the Dubs, you can go out to a 15 length lead and win by 8.
The problem is not many teams have the Dubs\' talent, and not many horses can get out to a 15 length lead.
As a 3 year old Frankel did not rate on occasion. Enjoy
his front running performance here.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg--FSBJ_hQ
About 7 or 8 years ago there was a horse named Presious Passion who won a whole bunch of graded turf stakes - including several grade ones - by doing precisely that. Came within a length and a half of winning a BC Turf. But that\'s a rare bird.
Listening to turf jocks, it sounds like many of the runners relax better when \"covered up\" (perhaps the \"herd\" folks can comment more intelligently on this). Not sure why it would be more true of turf horses though - maybe kickback issues on dirt.
Turf heats are generally won on acceleration, something very rarely seen on dirt.
Trainers, even exceptional ones have difficulty changing a horses running style. Perhaps thirty percent of animals are need the lead types who can only win off the pace with a precipitous class drop.
In general, the rail placement is vital on seven furlong courses. Coming from the second flight with the rail out is very difficult, and these configuration types certainly flatter front runners. bbb
Jimbo...
Fear not JB, BBB was simply ahead of the curve. What you called assertions have now become alternative facts:)
FD
FrankD. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fear not JB, BBB was simply ahead of the curve.
> What you called assertions have now become
> alternative facts:)
>
> FD
I\'ve tried cashing tickets on that theory, Frank, but evidently it hasn\'t gotten much traction yet in the pari-mutual world.