"Would you be more willing to bet MD'o in the win spot if you think he will be saving ground by tucking in behind other horses with average speed, or would you like his chances better if he is stretching his legs in stride as he pleases, even if it means running two wide? (I know what Frankel and every other informed handicapper would say)."

This is a good question if I use the upcoming Classic to frame an answer. In the Classic, M'Do will probably not be behind horses with 'average speed'. I don't have every horse's sheet in my head, but at least a few of them will be just as fast if not faster. If he runs his race two or three wide on both turns stretching his legs as he pleases and someone runs big on the rail he's going to be well stretched, run a 0, and lose by a length to a horse that's going to run about a 2. It's not to say you (and Aly) don't have a point, but I think ground loss is ground loss no matter how Horatio slices it.

I probably don't qualify as an informed handicapper. HP