Blackberry Road in FG 8th Thursday

[mes5107]

Well, which is it?

The favorite finished up the last qtr in 23.1 on the dirt after being able to lope along the first 3/4's at 24.3, 24.2, and 25.3. At the quarter pole, Blackberry Road was about 1.5 lengths behind. To catch the favorite, he would have had to run about a 22.4 final quarter. A tough task for any horse, especially for one who just made a four wide move after traveling 3/4's of a mile. I'm not touting Blackberry Road by any means, but I find it hard to believe that the favorite didn't have the race handed to him with those fractions. Anything resembling a pace would have completely changed the dynamics of this race.