Run-ups and ground loss are indeed reflected in the figure, so I don't see what adding rail info would add. And again, if the distances are listed as exact, the timer positions as well as fractional and final times should be as well.

In general, raw time is less important for turf races than dirt ones (how's that for a blanket statement). Because the courses are mostly faster than dirt ones and the pace slower (sometimes a lot slower), the final times are much more pace sensitive, leading to all those "pace" designations you see on the sheets, and significant figure adjustments. Fortunately, grass horses are a lot more figure consistent than dirt horses, and once you have your data base tight you rely less and less on turf race times, and more on the horses (the whole field, not just the winners). A good example of this takes place with the about distances at Calder-- they don't have electric eyes set up for the fractions at about distances, so there is no way to know what the pace is like. But with the horses that have a solid figure history, it's right to go with them, and not the teletimer, when the two are in conflict.

This situation, I would add, takes place in almost every race in Europe.



TGJB