Was it slow on the rail at the Breeders Cup?

Question

i only saw the Classic. but i was wondering if it was slow on the rail that day with all the rain. im not trying to make excuses for Street Sense i think Curlin is clearly the better horse but im wondering if that had a factor in SS not even finishing third. also is Curlin gonna run as a four year old. hope so, he could be a really good one.

Answer 1

I think it was slower on the rail...  the announcers said that the track is banked to the inside so that the water will drain off... but that means that there's more water at the rail.  But Garret Gomez was being interviewed after one of his wins and he said there wasn't really a part of the track that was better than another.  So who knows.  If you watch the two horses come around the turn, you can see that Street Sense is struggling more than Curlin, so whether or not there was more water at the rail, Street Sense certainly didn't like the surface.

Answer 2

The inside rail is generally the slowest part of any rain affected track due to the camber of the racecourse and the subtle sloping of the track from outside rail to inside rail.

It didnt affect the first or second placed results, but why Street Senses jockey didnt move away from the rail when it was clear that he wouldnt finish first or second is beyond me. It could have definitely cost him third placing, and the connections quite a sum of money.

Answer 3

Curlin was awesome! Street Sense just didn't fire. He was a lackluster fourth. Calvin Borel, the jockey, did give a lot of credit to Curlin and Robby (his friend). Calvin did not have any excuses for the poor job by Street Sense. I think the rail did not affect the outcome. Yes, Borel was probably trying to save ground by going on the rail, hence Bo-rail. But I think Street Sense just got outran by a better horse which was Curlin.

Answer 4

In fact it was slow, very muddy and sloppy. The mud had to be at least a foot deep in some places. It rained for most of the day, but let up about 3pm, to somewhat sunny skies. I do think Curlin is/should be horse of the year. Such a shame about George Washington-definitely put a damper on what would have been a good day.

Answer 5

Monmouth's dirt track is banked inward for drainage purposes, so I'm sure the rail was probably heavier than other parts of the track.  That said, several runners did well on the rail so I don't know that you can blame SS's loss solely on that.

Answer 6

Curlin is scheduled to run at 4, but his owners are in such legal dire straits that this one may be hard to predict until early 2008. He doesn't have that much racing in his legs and it would be great to see the probable Eclipse 3yo and Horse of the Year return for another season.

Albarado did a masterful job aboard Curlin to keep Borel & Street Sense pinned to the rail....there was no wiggle room, a great, clean tactic and - ultimately - the best horse won.

It seemed over the two days that the dirt track played pretty fairly considering the elements, but it did appear the best moves off the pace came from runners who did not get mud kicked back into their faces.....coming four or five wide.

Where the elements really came into play was on the turf and the European bias for firm grass really showed on Saturday.

Answer 7

It really wasn't slow on the rail........They did a real good job with a horrible track and worked on it keeping it sealed overnight and opening it up at race time..........I agree with you completely about Curlin...........He's AWESOME!!!!.......His connections had said before the Breeder's Cup he would run as a 4 year old but today they are saying he's going to winter in Florida and they'll see how the winter goes and then decide if they'll run him as a 4 year old..........He's a big 3 year old with gigantic strides and comes on like a freight train.....As a 4 year old he will probably get even bigger and stronger........I would LOVE to see him run in next year's classic and win it again...........Both Street Sense and Hard spun are off to stud as the breeding rights were bought for both of them before the classic.........Street Sense's Jockey said in an interview that there was no way he could have beaten Curlin in the classic........He was very gracious about it and gave Curlin all the credit saying also that Street Sense didn't have it to win Saturday............CAT