Back on June 30, I published a post regarding the winning post positions at Calder Race Course, specifically in the dirt sprints. Here's how the numbers looked in that first post:
Calder Race Course Standings - Through June 29, 2012
Sprint Races
PP......Starts......Wins......Win%
1.........277.........57.......... 20.6
2.........277.........24.............8.7
3.........277.........45...........16.2
4.........277.........35...........12.6
5.........277.........31...........11.2
6.........258.........32...........12.4
7.........207.........21...........10.1
8.........123.........19...........15.4
9..........59...........6............10.2
10.........29..........6............20.7
11..........7...........1............14.3
12..........4...........0..............0.0
I thought it somewhat odd that Post Position Number 2 would be doing so poorly; indeed, as you can see, it had a lower Win Percentage than every other Post Position, with the exception of Post Position 12 (which was winless in four starts).
About a month later, on August 1, I re-visited the issue. Here's how the numbers looked then:
Calder Race Course Standings - Through July 31, 2012
Sprint Races
PP......Starts......Wins......Win%
1.........392.........75.......... 19.1
2.........392.........35.............8.9
3.........392.........60...........15.3
4.........391.........48...........12.3
5.........389.........45...........11.6
6.........364.........48...........13.2
7.........294.........32...........10.9
8.........175.........33...........18.9
9..........83...........7.............8.4
10.........39..........8............20.5
11.........10..........1............10.0
12..........5...........0.............0.0
As you can see, while Post Position 2 had improved its standing, it was still not winning anywhere near its fair share of sprint races at CRC.
Now, before I go further, let me state (as I had in the two prior posts) that there are any number of reasons why Post Position 2 would be doing poorly at Calder in sprint races. It could be that PP2 just wasn't getting its fair share of favorites. It could be that PP2 was getting more than its fair share of bad beats. It could just be one of those statistical flukes that just happen sometimes.
So, the plan was to look at the numbers again at the end of August. This, I felt, would be a perfect endpoint, as August 31 marked the end of the 85-day Calder meet, with the 65-day Tropical meet starting September 1.
So, earlier this month, I went to Equibase.com, which had been the source for all the prior stats that you see above. And what did I find?
Nothing.
The Post Position Stats for Calder had been wiped clean.
I figured it was just some system or site glitch; something that would soon be fixed. I figured I'd just check back in a few days.
Didn't help.
For those of you who don't like to click links, here's what you're missing:
Even stranger, if you go to Equibase's Track Profile page for Calder, you'll see there's no option to check the Post Position Stats for the current Tropical meet.
Again, for those of you who are link-adverse:
By the way, if you click on the images they're supposed to get bigger. If they don't, please let me know.
Now, I repeat that all of this could just be just some system or site glitch that will soon be fixed. It's entirely possible that, by the time many of you click the above links, all the numbers will be where they should be.
By the way, for those of you wondering why I don't just take the Post Position stats from some other site: I couldn't find another site that had them. CRC's official site has a "Meet Leaders" page, that will give you stats for Jockeys, Trainers, Owners, and Horses; but not Post Positions. Drf.com, near as I can tell, doesn't provide Post Position stats; at least, not for free; and even then (as near as I can tell) only for the current meet; not for those past. Besides, if it's not a free site, then I can't link to it from here. I suppose someone could just go through the charts and manually log the winning PPs that way; but that's certainly not a job for which I would volunteer.
So, there you have it. When and if the numbers become available, we'll look again at the issue and see if Post Position 2 at Calder Race Course ever did start winning its fair share of sprints. Until then, onto the next race.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
3 comments:
Hey Jimbo how are you doing? Where are your picks on this big Saturday.
Thank the Good Lord, I am doing well. Unfortunately, I am buried under a mountain of paperwork that I let get out of hand. I was thinking of at least looking at today's Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont; but the New York weather scared me off. So I figured I'd just catch up on my work today, and save my bullets for Sunday.
However, there is one horse running Saturday in the curtain jerker at Santa Anita that may be worth a play on the blind: Cinco de Mario (ML 5-1). He was in a key race three back at BHP on 7/1, where three others came back to win. He got a horrible trip his last time out at Del Mar, where he was steadied twice and also bumped. O'Neill trains and Gutierrez gets the ride. Could be live at a price.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
And Cinco de Mario finishes last, a mere thirty-eight and a half lengths behind the winner.
Oh well; onto the next race.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
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