us classic times
Are US Classic races getting slower? L
EADING RACEHORSE OWNER Bjorn Nielsen raised an interesting point in his interview with International Thoroughbred last autumn when positing that US horses are no longer being bred for a “trip”, and causing what passes for staying races in the US to be getting slower and worse. This is a tricky proposition to prove, one way or the other, but it is certainly possible to try. This particular overview will concentrate on the US Triple Crown races over the years and consider the average speeds and closing sectionals of those races. Neither the Kentucky Derby (1m2f), the Preakness Stakes (9.5f) or the Belmont Stakes (1m4f) would be considered stamina tests
Last autumn, owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen discussed whether the US Classic races are getting slower because horses are not being bred for middle-distances. Time man Simon Rowlands puts the theory to the test
by European standards, and do not even approach the 2m4f of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot which Nielsen’s outstanding stayer Stradivarius has now won twice. But those distances are all in the most extreme one per cent across the US racing calendar with the Belmont Stakes being one of approximately 0.25 per cent of races run over 1m4f or further. Incidentally, 6f races are the most common, at just over 25 per cent. A study by Mark Denny in the Journal of Experimental Biology in 2008 (“Limits to running speeds in dogs, horses and humans”) unwittingly highlighted some of the problems associated with using times and Triple Crown races to measure such things. For instance, an adjustment needs to be made to times in the non-electronic era,
Average speeds (mph) of US Triple Crown winners: 1960s to 2010s 37.5 37.0 36.5 36.0 35.5
Kentucky Derby
Preakness Stakes
Belmont Stakes
www.internationalthoroughbred.net
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