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[andymays]

Run up distances are a big deal on dirt surfaces and not so much on synthetic surfaces in my opinion. This is especially true on slow synthetic surfaces (closer biased) when all the Jocks have the brakes on early in a race. These are from Santa Anita.


Andy--
Hello. Your request for the various run up distances was relayed to me (I'm the track timer). Here is the info you requested

Main (Dirt) Track:

Distance Run-up from gate to start of timing

2 Furlongs 50 feet

5 Furlongs 82 feet

5 1/2 Furlongs 66 feet

6 Furlongs 85 feet

6 1/2 Furlongs 78 feet

7 Furlongs 28 feet

1 Mile 172 feet

1 1/16 Miles 70 feet

1 1/8 Miles 63 feet

1 1/4 Miles 50 feet

1 1/2 Miles 170 feet

Turf Course

About 6 1/2 furlongs 84 feet (0 rail)*

107 feet (7 foot rail)*

131 feet (14 foot rail)*

1 1/2 Miles 24 feet (0 rail)**

35 feet (8 foot rail)**

89 feet (15 foot rail)**

154 feet (24 foot rail)**

195 feet (30 foot rail)**



1 1/4 Miles 52 feet (0 rail)**

114 feet (8 foot rail)**

163 feet (15 foot rail)**

230 feet (24 foot rail)**

283 feet (30 foot rail)**



1 1/8 Miles 18 feet (0 rail)***

66 feet (8 foot rail)***

80 feet (15 foot rail)***

138 feet (24 foot rail) ***

175 feet (30 foot rail)***



1 Mile 107 feet (0 rail)***

159 feet (8 foot rail)***

66 feet (15 foot rail)***

64 feet (24 foot rail)***

102 feet (30 foot rail)***





* The about six and one-half furlong races (actually 7 feet longer than 6 1/2 furlongs) are run partly downhill. There is a temporary rail that is frequently used to protect a portion of the downhill run and when it is in place it is either 7 feet or 14 feet out from the permanent inside rail. Since this increases the circumference of the turn, there are 3 starting points for the timing of these races and I've designated them as the 0 rail setting, etc. Location of the temporary rail (if in place) on the infield portion of the turf course does not affect the timing of the about 6 1/2 furlong races.



** The 1 1/2 Mile and 1 1/4 Mile turf races start on the downhill portion of the course but the hillside temporary rail is not in place when these races are run. The location of the rail on the infield portion of the course affects these races, so there are 5 run-up distances for each of these races, depending on the location of the rail on the infield oval. The mile and one-half race has approximately 2 1/2 to 3 furlongs of downhill run before the horses cross the dirt and run on the flat infield. For the mile and one-quarter races, there is approximately one furlong of downhill run before the dirt crossing.



*** The mile and one-eighth and one mile races are run on the infield oval with no downhill run. For the mile and one-eighth races, the gate is placed on the main (dirt) track so the horse have a very brief run (from 15-25 feet depending on post position) across dirt before they hit the turf course.



Official charts of the turf races run at Santa Anita include the rail position in the chart heading (usually at the end). If the temporary rail is in place for a six and one-half furlong turf race, the location of the rail is noted at the conclusion of the footnotes (chart comments).



I hope the information is of some value to you. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me at the above address.



Sincerely,



Jeff Tufts