Miff-- I'm definitely interested in the raw information, even if it is anecdotal, about cushion depth, soil content etc. Much less so about other's opinions of speed of tracks on big days relative to other days (that's what I do for a living). Definitely interested in factual information about those days relative to others regarding scraping, depth, etc.

Jimbo-- I'm not sure how one could prove or disprove the distance theory. From an internal figure making point of view, it becomes a very complicated question-- when you originally set up speed charts, you do it based not on some theoretical equivalents, but (to oversimplify) on the average winning time at different distances. If the relationship changes because horses as a group don't handle routes as well, what do you do with the speed chart? Just shooting from the hip here, haven't thought it out, don't have time to now...



TGJB