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Originally Posted by Indian Charlie
The track back then was FAST. Always.
And if I remember correctly, for whatever reason, mile races seemed to be run much faster than other route distances.
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I believe they would get surpringly fast fractions because the run-up was a lot longer than at other route distances at that track.
Notice in this video how long it takes the field to hit the wire for the first time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM0hmZ6ONIo
The field is at top speed by the time the timer starts. I believe that was the only distance at Del Mar where the field has that much of a running start to the beam.
The opposite occurs in Gulfstream races at one-mile right now. They break right at the pole - so it's almost like a stand still start to timer beam.
That's why a horse like Quality Road set the pace with a 25.15 first quarter in the Hal's Hope. Obviously, if he had a running start to the beam, he couldn't possibly go that slow even if the Boston Strangler was his jockey.
The 23.83 and 45.55 fractions This One's For Phil set in the '09 Fountain Of Youth are about as vicious as it gets for Derby preps.