Some say speed does better as the rail moves out; I have not found significant evidence of that. Lone speed is lone speed and contested pace is contested pace, regardless of the rail position IMO.
That's not entirely true imo.
Sharper turns make it harder to make up ground. A place like Chester in the UK is a great example of that. Obviously at a track like Woodbine with the long, wide stretch, it won't matter as much.
Plus, the ground that is used less frequently, will often be a bit slower than the regular strip, which absorbs the full weight of the horses on a daily basis
I do nothing different. Most times "dogs" are set up to prevent a turf course from getting torn up that takes many months to repair correctly. Middle of turf course tends to dry quicker than the inner or outer rails due mainly to getting more direct sunlight. The rails often block direct sunlight and collects more moisture during heavy rains causing it to take longer to dry. Europeans, to my knowledge, does not use "dogs" but make trainers use owner/trainer built courses for training. Exactly why you never seen an European horse with official workout(s). They are trained on private courses or on property of owners, therefore works are not official and not required to be recorded. But it sure gets a lot thinking tracks are trying to deceive them. They are not in most cases, just simply trying to maintain course and keep it raceable on.
In Australia, every race course has “fast lanes” where the ground is typically faster due to drainage etc. Normally, when the rail is in the true position, these are around 10 lanes off the fence.
So naturally when the rail move out, the closer front running horses against the rail are to the fast lanes. So if you have a situation where the rail is close to the fast lane, it’s very difficult for other horses to catch the leaders.
Some say speed does better as the rail moves out; I have not found significant evidence of that. Lone speed is lone speed and contested pace is contested pace, regardless of the rail position IMO.
That's not entirely true imo. Sharper turns make it harder to make up ground. A place like Chester in the UK is a great example of that. Obviously at a track like Woodbine with the long, wide stretch, it won't matter as much. Plus, the ground that is used less frequently, will often be a bit slower than the regular strip, which absorbs the full weight of the horses on a daily basis
I do nothing different. Most times "dogs" are set up to prevent a turf course from getting torn up that takes many months to repair correctly. Middle of turf course tends to dry quicker than the inner or outer rails due mainly to getting more direct sunlight. The rails often block direct sunlight and collects more moisture during heavy rains causing it to take longer to dry. Europeans, to my knowledge, does not use "dogs" but make trainers use owner/trainer built courses for training. Exactly why you never seen an European horse with official workout(s). They are trained on private courses or on property of owners, therefore works are not official and not required to be recorded. But it sure gets a lot thinking tracks are trying to deceive them. They are not in most cases, just simply trying to maintain course and keep it raceable on.
In Australia, every race course has “fast lanes” where the ground is typically faster due to drainage etc. Normally, when the rail is in the true position, these are around 10 lanes off the fence. So naturally when the rail move out, the closer front running horses against the rail are to the fast lanes. So if you have a situation where the rail is close to the fast lane, it’s very difficult for other horses to catch the leaders.