Racing columnist Greg Melikov has been writing about horses for decades. He was known as Gulfstream Greg in the mid-1990s when he wrote a thoroughbred column for The Miami Herald, where he was an editor and writer on the news side from 1965 to 2000. His freelance articles and columns appear in print and on the Internet. Greg became a racing fan at 13 when his dad took him to Arlington Park where he saw 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation defeat 20 older horses in the Stars & Stripes Handicap.
Gulfstream Park’s Middle Name on Dirt Is Speed
By GREG MELIKOV
Gulfstream Park has always been considered a speed track since I first visited the South Florida facility many, many years ago when I was a young man.
Even after Gulfstream extended its main track to 1 1/8 miles while refurbishing the dirt surface, it continues to favor the swift. Horses with early speed always do well, especially at the beginning of the meeting.
For example, 38 per cent of the 32 winners at six furlongs in 2010 from Jan. 3 through Jan. 23 led at every call, according to Brisnet.com. The winning number for 112 races in ’09 was 35 percent.
During the previous meeting earlier this year, which ran from Jan. 5 through April 24, 37 percent of the 133 winners at six furlongs were wire jobs. The 35 races at seven furlongs were captured on the front end 34 percent of the time.
In ’04, 36 percent of the winners in 209 races at six furlongs led at every call. After Gulfstream was renovated in time for the ’05 season, the figure increased to 38 percent.
The main track remains as fast as ever. On the opening afternoon of the 87-day meeting, Discrete Dancer broke the track record for 5 ½ furlongs. The 2-year-old, trained by Todd Pletcher, covered the distance in 1:02 1/5 in his racing debut on Saturday. And he won by 9 ¾ lengths ridden out in a field of nine.
“He does it so easy,” his rider Javier Castellano told BloodHorse.com. “He galloped out great past the wire. I didn’t ask him at all today.”
Gulfstream’s newest change involving racing conditions is installation of a second finish line at what would otherwise be the sixteenth pole on the main track. It allows resumption of races at 1 1/16 miles, which were discontinued after the re-configuration six years ago.
There are drawbacks – a brief run to the first turn and a shortened stretch for those contests. However, many trainers like the change when it pertains to 3-year-olds.
Pletcher, the leading conditioner at Gulfstream the past eight straight seasons, is overjoyed because it presents the opportunity to fulfill the need to run developing horses around two turns.
Among major stakes returning to their long-time distance is the 66th Fountain of Youth (FOY), which has been staged from one mile to 1 1/8 miles since ’05.
The Grade 2 FOY, Gulfstream’s second oldest stakes race and leading prep at 1 1/16 miles for the 61st Florida Derby on March 31, is scheduled for Feb. 26.
Both contests are among 53 stakes, including 33 graded, worth more than $9 million. Back in ’06 there were 47 stakes, including 31 graded, worth $8 million.
Three of the past FOY winners in the 21st Century triumphed in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby: Quality Road, ’09; Scat Daddy, ’07; and High Fly, ’05.
Longer dirt races over the years have usually gone to runners coming off the pace. In ’05, front-runners at 1 1/8 miles won 29 percent of 65 races. However, only 14 percent of 42 winners led all the way in ’06.
Of the 159 races at a mile during the past meeting 21 percent were captured by frontrunners
Speed-Favoring Gulfstream Remains Rapid as Ever 1/16/2012
By GREG MELIKOV
Speed bias horseplayers must be thrilled Gulfstream Park’s main track is playing as true as ever six weeks into the 2011-12 meeting that began a month earlier than usual.
Of the first 53 races at six furlongs through Jan. 15, wire-to-wire winners were 30 percent, according to Brisnet.com. Last season, 27 percent of the 45 horses victorious at that distance scored on the front end.
In 50 contests at a mile on the main track from Dec. 3 through Jan. 15, Brisnet.com reported, 16 percent of the winners led at every call. That’s slightly lower than the previous Gulfstream meeting that ended last April when 20 percent of the first 50 triumphant thoroughbreds won gate to wire.
There has been a continuing argument through the years about the lovely South Florida facility and whether a speed bias really exists. Well, I know it has since the mid-90s because I’ve studied the figures.
Some trainers have claimed the main dirt surface has been souped up to favor frontrunners. Souped up? Naw! The main track has been refurbished and expanded in recent times, but has always favored speedsters, especially in sprints and short routes over the long haul.
Back in ’09 horses that led all the way at six furlongs captured 35 percent of the 112 races. That was after the main track was renovated in ’05 when frontrunners won 38 percent at six furlongs compared to 36 percent the previous year.
For a brief span, the renovated main course played a bit differently during the early portion of the ’05 meeting after the surface was redone and the track was enlarged to 1 1/8 miles.
But by the first week in February, pacesetters still won 30 percent of 50 races at six furlongs while the average was lower in other sprints.
Gulfstream’s main track until then was comprised of 85½ percent sand and 14½ percent clay, with a 3 ¾-inch sandy cushion. However, the cushion that once supported by a 3-inch sand/clay pad was replaced with a 7-inch pad of the same material. And the once 10-inch clay/silt/sand base on top of a 6-inch lime rock/sand mixture was switched to a 12-inch sand base on top of 8 inches of road rock.
Don’t get me wrong, speed bias can change from race to race or week to week. For example, 23 horses that won at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream from Dec. 3 through Jan. 8 went all the way 23 percent. However, through Jan. 15 the wire jobs jumped to 35 percent in 17 races at the distance.
Longer dirt races over the years have usually gone to runners coming off the pace.
In ’05, front-runners at 1 1/8 miles won 29 percent of 65 races. However, only 14 percent of 42 winners led all the way in ’06.
It’s Important to Learn the Language of Racing
By GREG MELIKOV
Understanding the lingo talk of racing is important for horseplayers. There are scores of terms from "A" to "Y" that play a part in handicapping races.
For example, it’s helpful to ascertain what kind of trip a thoroughbred enjoyed or endured. For bad trip handicappers, like me, the “B,” “C” and “S” words are essential:
Bobbled: A bad step at or near the gate in which a horse appears to stumble.
Checked: A runner pulled up by his jockey for an instant because of being cut off or racing in tight quarters.
Steadied: A horse being taken in hand by his rider, usually while in close quarters.
Racing jargon could fill a mini-dictionary and runs the gamut from:
“A”: Acey-deucy -- Uneven stirrups, popularized by Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro, who rode with his left (inside) iron lower than his right to achieve better balance on turns.
to:
“Z”: Zantac -- Trade name for the drug ranitidine, a medication used to treat ulcers.
So here are other terms that should prove helpful:
Across the board: When you bet a horse to finish first, second and third (win, place and show). You collect on wherever the horse finishes.
Airing: Not running at best speed in a race.
Also-ran: All horses that don’t finish in the money.
Bit – A bar in the horse’s mouth that aids in steering and controlling the animal.
Box: When you bet on all possible combination that horse can finish in exotic wagers.
Chart: A box score of a completed race.
Claiming race: A contest in which a horse can be purchased. If a horse is claimed, the new owner takes ownership after the race. Any money made from the race goes to the previous owner.
Closer: A horse that saves the best for last and typically wins when those in front get into a fast pace and run out of energy.
Exacta: A wager in which the bettor must select the top two finishers in correct order to collect.
Field: All the runners in a particular race.
Hung – A tiring horse that holds position.
In the money: Finishing first, second or third.
Maiden: A horse that has never won a race.
Morning line: What the track’s linesmaker believes the final odds of horses might be based on talent and public perception.
On the muscle: A fit horse; an eager equine pulling on the bit.
On the nose: When you bet only to win.
Overlay: When a horse goes off at a higher price that it should, usually based on past performances.
Past performances: A record of races by horses, how they finished and what happened in the contests.
Photo finish: When two or more horses cross the wire finishing too close to call. A photo is reviewed to see in what order they ran.
Post time: When a race starts.
Quarter pole: It marks one-quarter mile from the finish.
Quinella: Wager in which the first two finishers must be picked in either order.
Rabbit: A speed horse entered to set a fast pace for a stablemate that’s usually a closer.
Rail (horse): Barrier on either side of racing strip; horse that prefer to run next to inside rail.
Rank --When a horse refuses to settle under a jockey’s handling and runs in a headstrong manner without respect to pace.
Refuse: When a horse won’t break from the gate.
Reserved: Held for a particular engagement or race; held off the pace.
Ridden out: Horse that finishes a race under mild urging.
Route: Race distance of a mile or longer,
Run-out bit: Special type of bit to prevent a horse from bearing out (or in).
Saddle cloth (pad): Cotton cloth that goes under the saddle to absorb sweat that usually shows the horse’s program number; piece of felt, sheepskin or foam rubber used as a base for the saddle.
Schooling: Process of familiarizing a horse with the starting gate and teaching racing practices; may also involve being schooled in the paddock.
Scratch: To be taken out of a race before it starts. Trainers usually scratch horses due to adverse health or track conditions while the track veterinarian can do so at any time.
Shadow roll: Usually a sheepskin roll secured over bridge of a horse’s nose to keep animal from seeing shadows on the track and shying away from or jumping them.
Shut off: Unable to improve position due to being surrounded by other horses.
Simulcast: A simultaneous live television transmission of a race to other tracks, off-track betting offices or other outlets for the purpose of wagering.
Sloppy (track): Racing surface saturated with water; with standing water visible.
Soft (track): Condition of a turf course with a large amount of moisture that has horses sinking very deeply into it.
Speed figure: Handicapping tool used to assign a numerical value to a horse’s performance.
Sprint: Short race less than a mile.
Stakes: Race for which the owner usually must pay a fee to run a horse. Fees can be for nominating, maintaining eligibility, entering and starting, to which the track adds more money to make up the total purse.
Stakes horse: Runner whose level of competition includes mostly stakes races.
Starter race: Allowance or handicap race restricted to horses that have started for a specific claiming price or less.
Starting gate: Partitioned mechanical device having stalls in which horses are confined until the starter releases front doors to begin the race.
State-bred: Horse bred in a particular state and eligible to compete in races restricted to state-breds.
Step up: Horse moving up in class to meet better competition.
Stretch call (runner): Position of horses at eighth pole: horse that runs fastest nearing finish line.
Superfecta: A wager in which the first four finishers must be selected in order to collect.
Taken up: Horse pulled up sharply by rider because of being in close quarters.
Tightener: Race used to give a horse a level of fitness that can’t be obtained through morning exercises alone.
Track bias: Racing surface that favors a particular running style or position.
Track condition: Racing surface that can be described as fast, good, muddy, sloppy, firm, yielding, etc.
Trifecta: A bet that must have the top three finishers in order for a payoff.
Trip: Individual horse’s race with specific reference to difficulty (or lack of difficulty) encountered during competition, whether the horse was repeatedly blocked or had an unobstructed run.
Underlay: Horse racing at shorter odds than seems warranted by past performances.
Under wraps: Runner under stout restraint in a race or workout to prevent pulling away from competition by too large a margin.
V.M.D.: Veterinary medical doctor.
Walkover: Race in which only one horse competes.
Washed out: Horse that becomes so nervous that the animal sweats profusely.
Wheel: Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key.
Work: To exercise a horse by galloping a pre-determined distance.
Yielding: Condition of a turf course with a great deal of moisture.
| 
