every figure maker seems to think the derby was a fast race (or at least decent). just a few questions.... how did you make the figures, given that the derby was the only dirt route race of the day (ie. did you tie the race to any others on the card)? and, given that just about every horse in the race except the top two had some kind of trouble, did you consider the possibility that LH and smarty tired quite a bit in the final quarter and did not run that fast, but none of the other fast horses were able to run their race, and therefore not able to run them down?
imperialism was stopped three times, he could have backed up big
limehouse was checked on the first turn and he could very well have given it up in the final two furlongs
TCE lost half of his equipment, he could have backed up any # of points
just throwing out some ideas here ........
just for discussion sake
Michael, I\'d suggest looking at that fractional split post I made again and taking a close look at the closing fractions. The entire field didn\'t bounce and even if they did they couldn\'t run that slow coming home without the track playing a huge role. I don\'t mean to steal Jerry\'s thunder, but anyone handicapping can see that race sapped horses late. Utterly drained them.
yea, the splits do make all the #\'s look correct. when i see two front runners that COULD HAVE tired real bad late, and every other fast horse with an excuse, i have to ask though. just looking for another angle, an angle that most likely does not exist.
I am going to have some comments about the Derby figures (PLURAL) when I get some time, either today or tomorrow. DP, stick around-- you might find this interesting. Hint-- you mentioned Len and I doing the race similarly. Take a closer look.