I must have wasted all my years in this game. To me, when a sprinter takes the lead and maintains it while running a below-average half mile because of a slower-than-average second fraction...then the horse has placed itself at an enviable advantage, and its chances of victory have improved greatly as a result. Now I have discovered that the ideal setup is for the front runner to "utilize his early speed to its utmost"...and maintain a "slightly less than full speed pace"...up until the unavoidable deceleration at the finish. I only wish that I would have found this out sooner...so I could make full use of this knowledge at the betting windows. Well...better late than never, I guess.