Fastest horses: Songbird daughter is among top maiden winners
Haileysfirstnotion topped Friday's performers with a 139 Horse Racing Nation speed figure in an allowance-optional claiming race at Laurel Park. The 5-year-old gelding by Great Notion, sent off at 2-5 for trainer Gary Capuano, took the early lead in the six-furlong dirt sprint and drew off to win by 7 3/4 lengths. It was the sixth win of his 12-race career.
Playa Del Mar earned a 128 HRN speed figure for his victory in a starter-allowance dirt mile Friday at Belmont at Aqueduct. The 1-2 favorite for trainer Linda Rice, the 4-year-old Into Mischief gelding pressed the pace before taking over around the turn and drawing off to win by seven lengths. It was his second win in a row and his third in 10 career starts.
Goldwyn completed the top three with a 127 HRN speed figure in a six-furlong allowance-optional claiming sprint on the Horseshoe Indianapolis dirt. The 2-1 second choice in a field of seven, the Randy Klopp trainee took the early lead and drew off in the lane to win by 5 3/4 lengths. The 4-year-old Maximus Mischief gelding won for the fourth time in 12 starts.
Friday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 139 | Haileysfirstnotion | Great Notion | 5G | LRL 8 | 6f dirt |
| 128 | Playa Del Mar | Into Mischief | 4G | BAQ 4 | 1 mile dirt |
| 127 | Goldwyn | Maximus Mischief | 4G | IND 4 | 6f dirt |
| 124 | Amalfi Drive | Medaglia d'Oro | 4F | CD 2 | 1 mile dirt |
| 123 | Scary Fast Ride | Clubhouse Ride | 7M | SA 2 | 6f dirt |
| 122 | Gold Sweep | Speightstown | 5H | OP 11 | 6f dirt |
| 122 | Two Seven O | Dialed In | 3G | OP 9 | 6f dirt |
| 121 | On Time Girl | Not This Time | 3F | CD 8 | 7f dirt |
| 120 | Spencerian | Irish War Cry | 6M | LRL 4 | 6f dirt |
| 119 | Jean Valjean | Uncle Lino | 7G | LRL 7 | 5 1/2f turf |
Fastest maiden winners
Passerine posted Friday's highest maiden-winning figure, earning a 113 HRN speed figure in a seven-furlong maiden special weight sprint during the Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old Nyquist filly, sent off at 5-1 odds in her debut for trainer Brad Cox, rallied in the lane and won by a head over fellow first-timer Battis Grove. Passerine is out of Al Andaleeb, a Bernardini daughter of champion and Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Ajina. She is the fifth winner from seven starters out of her dam, whose top performer to date is Emboldened, a stakes-winning and Grade 1-place daughter of Elusive Quaity who earned $178,960.
Baby Vino impressed with a 107 HRN speed figure in his fifth career start, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Oaklawn. The 3-year-old Vino Rosso colt, trained by Lindsay Schultz, overcame some trouble on the backstretch to rally to the lead and win by 2 3/4 lengths as the 2-1 second choice of seven. Baby Vino is the first winner from two starters out of the winning and stakes-placed Discreetly Mine mare Discreetly Grand.
Soaring High earned a 104 HRN speed figure at Churchill Downs when breaking her maiden in her second career start. The regally bred sophomore filly – by Curlin out of Hall of Fame inductee Songbird – was the 4-1 second choice for trainer Cherie DeVaux in the 1 1/16-mile dirt race. She tracked midfield through the early stages, battling to the lead late to win by a neck. She is the first winner from three starters out of her superstar dam.
Friday's top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance | Winning Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | Passerine | Nyquist | 3F | CD 4 | 7f dirt | head |
| 107 | Baby Vino | Vino Rosso | 3C | OP 2 | 1 1/16 dirt | 2 3/4 lengths |
| 104 | Soaring High | Curlin | 3F | CD 1 | 1 1/16 dirt | neck |
| 102 | Prepped | More Than Ready | 3C | CD 5 | 1 mile turf | 1 3/4 lengths |
| 102 | Honoree | Code of Honor | 3C | BAQ 5 | 1 1/16 turf | 1 3/4 lengths |
| 101 | Fools Jester | Sahara Sky | 3G | IND 7 | 6f dirt | 6 3/4 lengths |
| 96 | McSniper | Creative Cause | 3F | OP 8 | 6f dirt | 2 1/2 lengths |
| 92 | Eminent Cat | Texas Chrome | 4G | OP 5 | 6f dirt | 1/2 length |
| 88 | Saluto | Stay Thirsty | 2C | SA 4 | 4 1/2f dirt | 9 lengths |
| 44 | Costa Linda | Frosted | 2F | LRL 2 | 4 1/2f dirt | 7 3/4 lengths |
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 continuously 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.