Quote:
Originally Posted by JimG
Good stuff Richie. I imagine if you look at the fall of last year, you would see similar numbers. What is interesting, is I think the crowd has been slow to catch on, still playing horses on the polytrack that are in the first flight early. Has been a good opportunity for those selecting the correct closers down the stretch.
Jim
|
You're right, this is a great thread, and I profited from it yesterday and hope to today.
I think the reason traditional handicappers (and some in the methodology) has been slow to catch on is that they have assumptions going back years that Keeneland is an early speed favoring track. It is still a speed favoring track, clocking amazing times, its just not favoring front runners.at this time.
I would like to insert a cautionary note here. This may not be entirely a characteristic of Polytrack and may not transfer to the surface at other locations. In addition to the new surface, Keeneland also widened the final turn, making it less of a bullring or hairpin configuration. They also added 100 feet to the final straightaway, making it 1235 feet, one of the longer ones among currently active tracks. Both of these changes should also lessen the advantage of early speed.
The lesson should be that as the new surface becomes more and more common, we are going to have to do as Richie has done and do our homework on the charts and our profiles and keep that information current for the track we're playing..
Dick