Questions on 1 1/16 Mile Synthetic Races At Arlington

[Thomas Roulston]

Do they really go directly into the first turn?

Is there really a 150-foot run-up as Equibase says?

Do they actually scratch down to 8-horse fields?

How much do they place the starters off the rail? Logically, the horse drawing the outside post should be in the last stall - anything else and the horse drawing #1 has like a double-digit-length advantage.

And finally, do they use a temporary rail - like the ones employed for 1-mile races at Belmont, 6 1/2-furlong races at Aqueduct and Saratoga, etc. - except in this case orienting it diagonally, so that it guides the horses from the starting gate to the rail at the point where the first turn begins?

Finally, where can I see a video of such a race?

[pandy]

Here's the replay link, you can watch the 5th race from yesterday.

https://www.arlingtonpark.com/racing-wagering/toteboard

[Thomas Roulston]

Thanks for the link (and I gave you a vote up for it) - but that's crazy that they don't load the gate from the outside in, as Belmont does at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt.