The Woodbine turf course is OUTSIDE the one-mile dirt (oops, Polytrack) track, so is different from most US turf tracks. In fact, it is a 12f oval, the same size as the Belmont main track, but with a longer stretch - 1440 ft. for the WO turf vs 1097 ft for the Belmont main track - longer even than Churchill's seemingly interminable stretch, 1234 ft. Races up to 9f are one turn. It think it makes perfect sense to use a rider familiar with this unusual layout over a rider from out of town.
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