DRF COLUMN HARNESS

[pandy]

http://www.drf.com/news/pandolfo-playing-half-mile-tracks-part-1

[Oskar]

Reinforcing what was said about the disparity between success from the outside posts back in the day and success today, Bruce Gordon analyzed 5900 races at Roosevelt and Yonkers from 1957 through 1959, and found that posts one through four won 64% of the time, meaning posts five through eight won 36% of the races. The breakdown was as follows:



PP 1……19%.................( 2012—Batavia 29% )



PP 2……17%



PP 3……15%



PP 4……13%



PP 5……11%



PP 6……10%



PP 7…….9%



PP 8…….6%...........( 2012—Batavia 1.8% )……..( 2012—Northfield 2.6% )



Aside from the obvious, one major advantage Gordon conceded to a driver with an inside post was the ability to go into the race with a plan and having a reasonable chance of carrying it out. Those leaving from the outside, on the other hand, were more often than not at the mercy of those inside them.