steve haskin says : "TCE could have easily won the Fla Derby with a clear outside trip." ........ haskin is saying that when sellers decided to take the inside route, despite the fact that the trip cost his mount a lot of momentum, he made a bad decision. we had this discussion here last year, and the general consensus was that most horses can make up for lost momentum during a race if they get clear run for the last 1/4 mile or so, so saving ground is almost always the best way to go. does everybody here still believe that? i still hold the opinion that if saving ground costs a stalker type momentun during a race, the horse will often not have enough quickness to make up the difference in the final quarter of a race. that is, running a bit wide often helps a horse, if the only other option is rating in behind other horses. thoughts out there? sometimes the jock has no choice (sellers had an impossible task in the Tam race). on saturday, however, i think sellers might have won the race if he put TCE into a quicker stride early, even if it meant running a bit wide . tough subject, but a very interesting one.