1 1/16-Mile Inner Turf Races at BEL

[Thomas Roulston]

It is long since time to get rid of them. They give way too much of an advantage to the inside posts.

And if the NYRA wants to balance out the use of the two turf courses at Belmont (a highly commendable policy), they can henceforth run all 6-furlong turf races on the Inner Turf Course, in exchange for running all 1 1/16-mile races on the Widener Turf Course.

Plus they can run, and have run, 12-horse fields at 1 1/16 miles on the Widener Turf Course - something that is not possible on the Inner Turf Course (when I started going to Belmont in the late '70s, the maximum field size at 1 1/16 miles on the Inner Turf Course was eight).

[BarchCapper]

Originally Posted by Thomas Roulston

It is long since time to get rid of them. They give way too much of an advantage to the inside posts.

2022 Belmont 1 1/16 mile inner turf races (through Memorial Day Weekend)

Winning Post/Starters
1/9
6/9
3/6
3/6
1/8
1/7
6/8
4/8
6/7
5/6
1/7
8/8
1/8
6/9
1/8


Of course some depends on rail placement, but I'm not seeing WAY too much of an advantage historically. This also doesn't account for how the races were run by the winning horses (on the front, staying the rail, dropping back and looping around, etc.).

Make use of the PP bias if you perceive one!

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by Thomas Roulston

It is long since time to get rid of them. They give way too much of an advantage to the inside posts.

And if the NYRA wants to balance out the use of the two turf courses at Belmont (a highly commendable policy), they can henceforth run all 6-furlong turf races on the Inner Turf Course, in exchange for running all 1 1/16-mile races on the Widener Turf Course.

Plus they can run, and have run, 12-horse fields at 1 1/16 miles on the Widener Turf Course - something that is not possible on the Inner Turf Course (when I started going to Belmont in the late '70s, the maximum field size at 1 1/16 miles on the Inner Turf Course was eight).

That's interesting. Do you have any recent or historic races that come to mind which demonstrate a bias?

I will take a quick look at some recent races in the meantime.

[Robert Fischer]

It's not so extreme as to affect most races.

Definitely will be some trips in specific instances. Probably a good thing for the handicapping product.

You seem to have some interesting ideas as far as getting the most out of the two turf courses. I don't have any competence with that to give any feedback there.