Re: Atto Mile Day (438 Views)
Posted by:
TGJB (IP Logged)
Date: September 23, 2005 06:39PM
CTC-- there are some tracks where the about distance is shorter because the gate can't be backed all the way up. Del Mar used to run 1 1/4 on dirt that way, CRC 1 1/8th turf.
We don't ask our trackmen to measure "about" differences, and it's not clear whether they actually could without going out there with a tape measure. Some tracks run exact "abouts", like the about 7 at Kee, and for the ones on dirt we have a standard correction. Turf is different, because of the pace issues, and you end up doing it by the horses anyway, so the relationship to other races is not that big a deal. Atto day was a perfect example-- when you look at that "about" race, the entire range of possibilities is less than a point, and at that level the other races wouldn't make any difference anyway.