Turf and fences out

[SJU5]

Here\'s a discussion that I\'ve been having on another horse site. Here\'s my question:

Belmont sets the turf rail fences at say out 12 feet in a mile race. That obviously places additional feet of distance to the race because of the turns. DOES NYRA or any other tracks move the starting gate up to keep the total race distance at the carded distance of 1 mile? If the rail is set at 20 feet, do they move the gate further up the track?

I had a friend speak to Jerry Porcelli (sp?) 2 years ago and he said then that the gate crew DID NOT move the gate to make up for the rails out added distance. So the mile race distance could now be 1 mile and say 120 feet. (just a guess).

Does Jerry or anybody else know for sure the answer to this question. And does TGraph make adjustments to the figs if no gate adjustment is made but rails are out added extra distance which equals added clock timing?

[TGJB]

Belmont runs exact (not about) distances. They have 3 rails-- the main one, a 9 foot temporary rail, and an 18 foot one. They adjust the starting point accordingly IN TERMS OF WHERE THEY START TIMING FROM, which is not the gate. Some of the races have a longer runup than others-- by memory, the 1 1/16th inner turf with no rail has a very short runup because they are backed up against the chute, and can\'t move the gate back any further without making it impossible to load the horses.

I saw that discussion on the Derby Digest string. There are people making some assumptions, both about the accuracy of what they have been told, and its relevance.

I once posted here about the right way to make grass figures. Somebody might be able to find it.