Does moving the rail out hurt closers?

[RainMan]

Is there any evidence that the temp rail placement at certain tracks and distances affect running styles. I have never considered this a major handicapping factor but sometimes read or hear that the farther the rail is moved out the more it favors early or tactical speed. Does moving the rail out on the turf affect the tightness of the turns or the length of the stretch?

[TravisVOX]

It seems to be a common opinion but I think one reason that no one really mentions is the banking of the course... both the lack of and when outside horses are beyond the crown of course.

[green80]

moving the rail out makes the turn less tight. If your closer has trouble with tight turns it may help a little, there will be a few feet further to run.

[Tall One]

When Bel placed their rail at 27ft, I paid more attention to inside speed.

[ReplayRandall]

Simply put, the more the rail is moved out, the less available space there is on the turf course to navigate through traffic for closers....

[Dave Schwartz]

IMHO, the slower a race goes - and that can be translated into the longer it takes the winner to win - the slower a race goes, the greater the benefit to closers.

... Because if the race goes too fast, the closers are too far behind.

However, if ALL the early speed collapses, then the winner comes from the closers because they are the last men standing.

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

Simply put, the more the rail is moved out, the less available space there is on the turf course to navigate through traffic for closers....

How much room does a horse need for navigation? Would a turf course ever be so narrow that a horse could not rally 8 wide?

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by RainMan

Is there any evidence that the temp rail placement at certain tracks and distances affect running styles. I have never considered this a major handicapping factor but sometimes read or hear that the farther the rail is moved out the more it favors early or tactical speed. Does moving the rail out on the turf affect the tightness of the turns or the length of the stretch?

To answer your first question, yes. But there is no general rule. At some tracks it helps speed and at others it hurts speed. If you are going to bet the turf you should know each track's tendencies thoroughly.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by AndyC

How much room does a horse need for navigation? Would a turf course ever be so narrow that a horse could not rally 8 wide?

Do all closers come with it 8 wide? Of course not, but as the rail is set further out, the options become more limited for closers, when navigating around traffic, splitting between horses and getting a hole through up the rail....

[green80]

Originally Posted by AndyC

How much room does a horse need for navigation? Would a turf course ever be so narrow that a horse could not rally 8 wide?

If your horse is in a position where he needs to rally 8 wide, you need to change jockeys.

[cj]

Originally Posted by AndyC

To answer your first question, yes. But there is no general rule. At some tracks it helps speed and at others it hurts speed. If you are going to bet the turf you should know each track's tendencies thoroughly.

True, all tracks are different. You need to know them.

For those that haven't seen it, I did a piece on this for HANA about the Saratoga sprints and it has held up well this meet for me.

It is in this issue:

http://horseplayersassociation.org/july16issue.pdf

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by cj

True, all tracks are different. You need to know them.

For those that haven't seen it, I did a piece on this for HANA about the Saratoga sprints and it has held up well this meet for me.

It is in this issue:

http://horseplayersassociation.org/july16issue.pdf

GREAT JOB as usual CJ! I Imbibed it and enjoyed it again!

Euros to Dollars baby

[AltonKelsey]

Originally Posted by cj

True, all tracks are different. You need to know them.

For those that haven't seen it, I did a piece on this for HANA about the Saratoga sprints and it has held up well this meet for me.

It is in this issue:

http://horseplayersassociation.org/july16issue.pdf

So, if I read the study correctly , the old wives tale about rails out being bad for closers is not true for SAR. Never liked the theory , and you appear to have debunked it, at least for this limited sample

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

Do all closers come with it 8 wide? Of course not, but as the rail is set further out, the options become more limited for closers, when navigating around traffic, splitting between horses and getting a hole through up the rail....

I don't follow your logic. What exactly is limiting the options? Unless a track narrows from 15 paths down to 6 or something similar I can't see where navigating becomes more difficult. What am I missing?

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by green80

If your horse is in a position where he needs to rally 8 wide, you need to change jockeys.

With some jockeys I've seen that is known as "saving ground".