132nd Preakness Stakes Field

[Zippy Chippy]

I hate to interrupt Pletcherfest, but I just had a question about Pimlico. I think I was listening to ATRAB the other day and somebody described it as a course with tighter turns and a shorter stretch than Churchill Downs. If this is true, do these features give any advantages or disadvantages to any certain running styles? I would be interested in hearing what people think.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by Zippy Chippy

I hate to interrupt Pletcherfest, but I just had a question about Pimlico. I think I was listening to ATRAB the other day and somebody described it as a course with tighter turns and a shorter stretch than Churchill Downs. If this is true, do these features give any advantages or disadvantages to any certain running styles? I would be interested in hearing what people think.

Every year, the topic comes up and it's assumed that the dynamics of the course give frontrunners a greater chance to succeed than at CD, and while that may indeed be true, historically, the most successful horse at PIM is the stalker, coming from just off the pace.

I think it'll be interesting if Street Sense is able to hug the rail like he always does with the tight turns, because chances are, there will be room with horses fanning wide.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Sedgefield can be scratched off the list. Story at DRF.

[tycharles01]

Is Street Sense and Hard Spun that good that only Teuflesberg wants to challenge them again?? WOW

U would think atleast 1 or 2 of these closers would try and see what they can do

[herkhorse]

Originally Posted by Zippy Chippy

I hate to interrupt Pletcherfest, but I just had a question about Pimlico. I think I was listening to ATRAB the other day and somebody described it as a course with tighter turns and a shorter stretch than Churchill Downs. If this is true, do these features give any advantages or disadvantages to any certain running styles? I would be interested in hearing what people think.

I was listening too. What I thought Steve said was the turns were not tighter, but less banked, making it harder for horses that were wide on the turns to navigate. Possibly this is a post position issue? How far is it to the first turn?

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Zippy Chippy

I hate to interrupt Pletcherfest, but I just had a question about Pimlico. I think I was listening to ATRAB the other day and somebody described it as a course with tighter turns and a shorter stretch than Churchill Downs. If this is true, do these features give any advantages or disadvantages to any certain running styles? I would be interested in hearing what people think.

I remember seeing something last year about this where someone superimposed Pimlico over Churchill and the turns were just about exactly the same. The tighter turns are allegedly a myth.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Cardus

I think that the "Pimlico has tighter turns that favor frontrunners" angle is on its last legs. I don't hear it nearly as much as I did 10 years ago. Stalkers and closers do well in this race.

I recall a Paul Moran column (Newsday, Long Island) years ago in which he wrote that the degree of sharpness of its turns were measured against that of Churchill Downs, and that they were almost the same. This might sound counterintuitive, but it was such a radical departure from the "tighter turns" theory that I believed the information that Moran cited.

You are exactly right, the "tight turns" at Pimlico is a myth. The major difference, obviously, is the difference between the Churchill/Pimlico turns and the far sweeping turns at Belmont. Not that I like him, but I think Jerry Bailey debunked this tight turns theory on the Preakness ESPN broadcast last May.

[tycharles01]

Flying First Class is IN

Teuflesberg and Starbase are OUT


Damn how many lengths did SS win the Derby by 50??? Before they have the draw we might see 6 horses in a race on the TC

[Derby73]

Bykster,

Is that your 'ever-evolving field' or your prediction?

[Zippy Chippy]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

You are exactly right, the "tight turns" at Pimlico is a myth. The major difference, obviously, is the difference between the Churchill/Pimlico turns and the far sweeping turns at Belmont. Not that I like him, but I think Jerry Bailey debunked this tight turns theory on the Preakness ESPN broadcast last May.

I've heard this as well-- that the turns at Pimlico are actually the same as at Churchill. However, I heard on ATRAB the other day that while "tight turns" is a myth, there is a definite crown in the track at Pimlico that disadvantages horses in the outside posts. Does anybody know which posts are most affected by this crown?