Quote:
|
Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS
The fractions - especially the opening quarter - for 6.5f races at Saratoga have come back crazy fast the last several years.
I'm sure run-up has something to do with it.
My pace figures use the half mile fraction as a pace call for sprints.
For a hypothetic that is tremendously simple to follow - lets say you have three dirt sprint races at Saratoga. One at 6fs - one at 6.5fs - and one at 7fs.
Now lets say that the pace for all three is 45.00 for a half mile.
At six furlongs - the 45.00 pacesetter would get a raw fig of 103
At 6.5 furlongs - the 45.00 pacesetter would get a raw fig of 94.75
At 7 furlongs - the 45.00 pacesetter would get a raw fig of 113.5
That means that paces at 6.5 furlongs are 8.25 points (or 0.30 seconds) faster than 6 furlong ones.
And paces at 6.5 furlongs are 18.75 points (or 0.70 seconds) faster than 7 furlong ones.
|
That actually makes perfect sense in regards to the run-up distances. At 6 furlongs the run-up is 40 feet, at 6.5 furlongs the run-up is 64 feet, at 7 furlongs the run-up is 32 feet. So at 6.5 furlongs the horses have had 24 more feet to accelerate to top speed before the timer starts compared to 6 furlong races and double the distance to accelerate over 7 furlong races.