Del Mar runner leads Sunday's top speed figures
Formula Rossa delivered Sunday's top performance with an impressive 140 Horse Racing Nation speed figure at Del Mar. The 3-year-old filly by Vekoma captured a six-furlong optional-claiming allowance on dirt at 1-5 odds. The Mark Glatt trainee, who debuted in February, now has won both of her career starts.
Hillerito earned a 134 HRN speed figure in winning a six-furlong dirt allowance optional claimer at Ellis Park. The 5-year-old mare by Army Mule went off at nearly 5-1 odds and secured her fourth career win from five starts.
Uncle William completed the top three with a 129 HRN speed figure in a six-furlong dirt claiming race at Ellis Park. The 5-year-old gelding by Sharp Azteca prevailed at 3-1 odds, recording his second career victory from 15 lifetime starts.
Sunday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | Formula Rossa | Vekoma | 3F | DMR 2 | 6f dirt |
| 134 | Hillerito | Army Mule | 5M | ELP 6 | 6f dirt |
| 129 | Uncle William | Sharp Azteca | 5G | ELP 3 | 6f dirt |
| 126 | Buetane | Tiz the Law | 2C | DMR 1 | 6f dirt |
| 126 | Midland Money | Shancelot | 3C | SAR 7 | 6f dirt |
| 122 | Highway Robber | Hard Spun | 5G | ELP 7 | 1 1/4 miles turf |
| 120 | Reef Runner | The Big Beast | 4G | GP 10 | 5f turf |
| 120 | American Unity | Munnings | 7G | MTH 9 | 1 1/8 miles turf |
| 120 | Hey Cue | Accelerate | 5G | WO 2 | 7f synthetic |
| 119 | Destino d'Oro | Bolt d'Oro | 3F | ELP 9 | 1 1/8 miles turf |
Maiden winners display future potential
Buetane recorded Sunday's top maiden performance with a 126 HRN speed figure in his racing debut at Del Mar. The 2-year-old colt by Tiz the Law dominated a six-furlong maiden special weight on dirt as the 3-10 favorite. He is out of Taboo, a daughter of Forestry, whose notable offspring include Der Lu, a Grade 3-placed runner who earned $166,000. Trained by Bob Baffert, Buetane was purchased by Zedan Racing in April for $1.15 million.
Pretty Picture impressed with a 103 HRN speed figure in her racing debut at Monmouth Park. The 3-year-old filly by Munnings won an 8 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on turf at nearly 7-1 odds. Her dam Farofa by Tiznow also produced Caldinho, an earner of $19,000.
Soloist earned a 101 HRN speed figure at Ellis Park in her first career start. The 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief completed an 8.5-furlong turf maiden special weight at odds of nearly 6-1. She is out of Grade 1 winner Daddys Lil Darling, whose offspring include Grade 1 winner Savethelastdance, an earner of $543,000.
Top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | Buetane | Tiz the Law | 2C | DMR 1 | 6f dirt |
| 103 | Pretty Picture | Munnings | 3F | MTH 1 | 1 1/16 miles turf |
| 101 | Soloist | Into Mischief | 2F | ELP 4 | 1 1/16 miles turf |
| 98 | Johnny's Red Storm | Twirling Candy | 2C | SAR 2 | 5 1/2f turf |
| 84 | Riekes | Speightstown | 2F | ELP 2 | 7f dirt |
| 81 | Neon Sunset | Cajun Breeze | 2F | MTH 2 | 5f dirt |
| 71 | Magical Miss | Sir Prancealot | 3F | DMR 5 | 5f turf |
About HRN speed figures
HRN speed figures are AI-generated using HRN's proprietary machine-learning algorithms. Although they involve less human input than other speed figures, we see that as a plus as human adjustments often knock down surprisingly good performances to match expectations. HRN speed figures were launched in December 2024, and our expectation is also that the AI-generated speed figures will continously get better over time.
The HRN speed figure scale goes from 1 to 160. Part of the reason for this higher scale is this helps us avoid assigning a speed figure of zero. For some products, in weaker races, half the field or more may get a speed figure of zero, which leads to inaccuracy and defeats the purpose of speed figures.
Because the HRN speed figures are based on machine learning, as we improve our models we can compute the numbers historically.
Using the top last-race speed figure as a benchmark, here are stats from 2021 to 2024 for HRN and other speed-figure providers:
• Top HRN figure 26.2% winners
• Top Beyer figure 28.1% winners
• Top TimeformUS figure 28.4% winners
Although all HRN speed figures are published on individual horse profile pages on a weekly basis, the daily reports are focused on the top and medium-tier tracks, which represent the majority of top speed figures.