Derby Numbers...A Deeper Look

[jack72906]

Another trip to the archives the past few days. In the last 10 KD....

183 Runners.
20 NEW Tops.(11%)
23 Matched the figure run in their previous start.(12.5%)
38 Improved on the figure run in their previous start.(20.7%)
102 Had a backward move in the Derby(55.7%)

Horses that ran new tops in the Derby the last 10 years(* winner). The last number is the number of days since last start.

2009
(0neg)Mine That Bird*-34
(0)Pioneer of the Nile-2nd/28

2008
(4neg)Big Brown*-35
(1)Recapturetheglory-5th/28

2007
(1neg)Hard Spun-2nd/42
(1)Imawildandcrazyguy-4th/55
(1)Tiago-7th/28
(2)Sam P.-9th/28

2006
(2neg)Barbaro*-36

2005
(0)Giacomo*-28
(1)Closing Argument-2nd/31

2004
(1)Imperialism-3rd/28

2003
(4)Ten Cents a Shine-8th/21

2002
(0neg)War Emblem*-28
(0)Proud Citizen-2nd/14

2001
(0neg)Monarchos*-21

2000
(6)Curule-7th/30+
(5)China Visit-6th/30+
(5)Impeachment-3rd/21
(3)Aptitude-2nd/22

Average number of days off for horses running New Tops on Derby.....29.7****
***There is a minimal marginal for error because the exact number of days off for Curule and China Visit is unknown. I do know that they both ran in Dubai in March and used 33 days as a guess.

I found it interesting that of the 20 new tops run in the derby the last 10 years only 1 was run by a horse coming back in 14 days and only 2 new tops were run by horses coming back in more than 5 weeks(Rule? Ice Box?).

Placings of the horses running new tops on Derby Day the last 10 years
1st-6
2nd-5
3rd-2
4th-1
5th-1
6th-1
7th-2
8th-1
9th-1

More info on the way.....