rail setting

Question
On the dirt does rail placement make a difference.

Answer
Hi Joe:

Thanks for your question.  In my opinion, rail placement does not make a difference on dirt tracks like it does for turf races.  There is a greater difference in "run up times" when moving back and forth between distances.  It is to insure that all horses get a fair and equal start. When some horses break from the gate, they get off to a bad start and this distance is to help them get an even start. Typically the timer doesn't start when the horses break from the starting gate. There is a 搑un-up?distance before the timer is started. The distance in feet from the gate until the timer is activated is the new run-up distance that is displayed in the running lines. If you are the type of handicapper that looks at the fractions of a race, the run-up distance display will help you when evaluating the fractional running times since you will know if the field had much of a running start before the timer was triggered. An example of this is the one turn mile races at Gulfstream Park this year. The run-up distance was only five feet, so the timer was triggered almost from a standing start. This explains why the opening quarter times appeared to be slow when compared to the second quarter running times.  The timer activation can be placed as far as 220 feet from the starting gate - an example is Del Mar Race Track 1 mile distance.

I know I sort of rambled on about run up times, but it means more to me in my handicapping than any rail placement.

Again thanks for your question and if you feel that I have helped you understand the subject a little better, please give me a rating.

Jim Johnson