I have had more than a few handicappers mention that they feel
there should be an * in the Program with regard to The Red Mile
having "artificially enhanced " fast times.
One point being that when transferred to other tracks the Red Mile
speed generally doesnot hold up.
Historically The Red Mile has catered to the Breeders who wish
to show speed...which is fine.
I , personally love The Red Mile...and I think everyone in the
Industry takes the fast times with a grain of salt.
After all, when a horse is Time Trialed...
they donot head to a nitetime track (e.g Meadowlands/Mohawk)..
but make a beeline for the Red Mile in Lexington...justl y so.
The warm weather combined with the Bouncy Red Clay
provide the perfect storm for super fast racetimes...
It is also fairly calm with not much wind as well.
often 1-2 seconds or more faster than the night time counterparts.
I remember when I started betting the races at Roosevelt
and Yonkers....I got burnt pretty good when I saw racelines on the
ship ins that showed recent Red Mile stats and thought I
"was stealing money"...
It took awhile to figure out why The Red Mile horses that showed
1:57 were losing badly in 2:04 and slower at Roosevelt.
I studied the comparative Speed Ratings and did the math.
$1000 later of hard earned money and I had the
Red Mile " speed fallacy" understood as a handicapper.
Maybe an * next to the Red Mile may help the newbies.
1/2 Mile Track? ADD 4 seconds ++..5/8 2/3 seconds+
Night time Mile and 7/8 Mile tracks Add at least 1 second +
What say you?
Am I "out to lunch" ?
zzz