Saratoga Track Trends

Much of the best running on the Main Track, which saw a mix of successful running styles with most of the success from forwardly placed horses, was done off the rail. Not a lot of evidence the rail was bad, however, though might be worth following. The turf courses played fairly.

The rain was not heavy during the day, with intermittent drizzle for the most part. Speed did well but there was some effective closing. Horses stayed at least a path or two off the rail for the most part as there is some question of whether you wanted to be right on the rail.

Most of the effective running on the Main Track was done off the rail. Hard to say, however, the rail was bad. Worth following. Otherwise, different running styles were effective. The rails were at zero on the Mellon and 9 feet on the Inner Turf. Both courses appeared to play fairly.

Arguably, especially as the day wore on, speed may have been a bit of an advantage, as was possibly the rail. Worth following. We did, however, see some effective runs from well back. Tricky day. There was one turf race, on the Inner, and it played fairly and logically.

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

All surfaces, dirt and turf, continue to play fairly.

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

All courses, turf and dirt, appeared to play fairly. The rails were at 27 feet on the Mellon Course and zero on the Inner Turf. With only one flat race on each course, it's hard to identify any trends. 

The Main Track played fairly before the rain. After the rain the rail appeared to be an advantage.The turf courses played fairly before and after the rain.

The rail was good, and speed did well, but there was no clear bias on the Main Track as we saw some closers prove successful. The turf courses appeared to play fairly.

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

All courses, turf and dirt, played fairly.

Speed did OK on the Main Track but ultimately the track played fairly. The rails were out 12 feet on the Mellon Turf and 18 on the Inner. Both courses appeared to play fairly.

It's possible the rail was still an advantage but overall the track played fairly. There was one turf race, on the Mellon course, and it likely played fairly. While listed as Yielding, it may have been closer to Good. 

The rail was a significant advantage on the Main Track, with even successful closers spending a significant portion of the race on the rail, for the most part. There was one race on each turf course which likely played out fairly. Hard to know. Both courses were listed as Yielding but the Inner played closer to Good with the Mellon ( outer ) on the Firm side of Good.

After Thursday night's wild storm, which dumped close to an inch and a half of rain in a short period of time, we were off the turf except the Stake, which was run on the Mellon ( Outer ) Turf course. The course was listed as Good but seemed to be closer to Firm. The Main Track played fairly. Much of the effective running was done outside, but enough horses ran effectively inside to suggest the track was fair.

The Main Track played fairly. There were times it looked like it might have been better off the rail, but the 3^rd winner closed from last on the inside, which makes that unlikely. The rails were at zero on the Mellon/Outer Turf and nine feet on the Inner, and both courses played fairly. 

The courses were very similar to 75, with the Main Track playing fairly, the Outer ( Mellon ) Turf also playing fairly, and the rail being a distinct advantage on the Inner Turf. The rails will be moved for 7/10, zero on the Mellon and nine feet on the Inner.
 

While we saw inside speed do well on the Main Track, it was likely situational as we saw some runs from well back prove successful. The turf courses are very firm, as evidenced by the final times, with the Mellon/Outer Turf playing fairly with saving ground continuing to be an advantage on the Inner Turf. 

The surfaces played similarly to 7/3, with speed being an advantage on the Main Track but we did see some runs from the back. The Mellon Turf was fair while there was a significant inside bias on the Inner Turf.

Forward horses did well on the Main Track, though horses made runs from behind, still it was at least an edge to be forward. The Mellon Turf, rails at 18 feet, played fairly. The rails were at zero on the Inner Turf and there was a clear inside/speed bias. Very little significant movement in those races.

The rail was good on the Main Track, but not a clear advantage, as overall the track appeared to play fairly. There was on race on each turf course, with the rails at zero, and they courses appeared to play fairly.

The track played fairly, despite the changing conditions, throughout the day.

The Main Track played fairly before the rain, while speed and forward horses dominated after the rain. The turf courses seemed to play fairly before and after the rain.

Speed dominated the dirt races. The Inner Turf played fairly. The Mellon was kind to speed, but it may have been situational.

Speed did well on the Main Track, where you might have been best off at least a path off the rail, but some were fairly logical and we did see some closing. Somewhat ambiguous. The rails were out 18 feet on both turf courses, and they appeared to play fairly.