Fastest horses: See Thursday's best HRN speed figures
Six String and Willie Bird tied for the day's highest Horse Racing Nation speed figure with 124 performances on Thursday. Six String, a 5-year-old mare by Star Guitar, won a 5 1/2-furlong allowance optional claiming race at Fair Grounds for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares at 4-1 odds. She stalked the pace and took over in the final furlong, winning by 2 1/4 lengths. It was her first win since the Louisiana Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last August and the victory extended the Allen Landry trainee's record to 24: 11-5-3.
Willie Bird, a 5-year-old Bucchero gelding trained by Larry Rivelli, led at every call in a six-furlong claiming sprint at Turfway. He rated his speed and increased his advantage in the lane, crossing the wire 2 1/4 lengths clear to oblige as the 2-1 favorite.. The win was his fourth in nine career starts.
Four horses tied for third place on the day with 121 HRN speed figures. Purple Heart, a 4-year-old gelding by Omaha Beach, won a six-furlong claiming race at Fair Grounds at 5-2 odds for his second career victory. Bridge Classic, a 3-year-old colt by Tapiture, captured a different six-furlong claiming race at Fair Grounds at 4-1 odds, also recording his second career win.
Fever Night posted a dominant performance in a one-mile claiming race at Aqueduct. The 4-year-old gelding by Curlin, won by 12 1/2 lengths at 8-5 odds, earning his second career victory from 16 starts. Fort Nelson, a 4-year-old gelding by Bernardini, completed the 121 group with a frontrunning 6 3/4-lenfth score in a one-mile claiming race at Aqueduct, earning his second career win at even-money odds.
Thursday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 124 | Six String | Star Guitar | 5M | FG 4 | 5 1/2f turf |
| 124 | Willie Bird | Bucchero | 5G | TP 8 | 6f synthetic |
| 121 | Purple Heart | Omaha Beach | 4G | FG 5 | 6f dirt |
| 121 | Bridge Classic | Tapiture | 3C | FG 7 | 6f dirt |
| 121 | Fever Night | Curlin | 4G | AQU 1 | 1 mile dirt |
| 121 | Fort Nelson | Bernardini | 4G | AQU 3 | 1 mile dirt |
| 120 | Fit to Fly | West Coast | 6H | FG 6 | 5 1/2f turf |
| 120 | Vesture | Hard Spun | 5G | FG 8 | 5 1/2f turf |
| 119 | Gulfy | Constitution | 3C | AQU 4 | 1 mile dirt |
| 116 | Shoot the Nickel | Violence | 4G | AQU 6 | 5 1/2f dirt |
Fastest maiden winners
Gulfy led all maiden winners with a 119 HRN speed figure at Aqueduct. The 3-year-old colt by Constitution won a one-mile maiden claimer at even money, battling on the pace before opening up to win by 5 1/2 lengths. He was trained by George Wever into the race, but claimed for $50,000 to the barn of Gustavo Rodriguez out of it. Gulfy is a out of the stakes-winning Union Rags mare Gulf Coast, making him a full brother to Admiral Dennis, a stakes winner and earner of $361,838.
Flower River graduated at second asking Thursday at Turfway, earning a 103 HRN speed figure in a maiden special weight mile. The 3-year-old daughter of Cairo Prince, trained by Byron Hughes, settled near the rear of a 12-horse field early but made a smart rally around the far turn and into the lane, running on to win by 1 3/4 lengths at 9-1 odds. She is the only starter so far out of the Macho Uno mare Flower Star, who finished off the board in both career starts.
Brienz earned a 99 HRN figure at Oaklawn Park in her debut. The 3-year-old filly by Liam's Map, trained by Danny Pish, stalked the pace and opened up late to win a six-furlong maiden special weight sprint at 7-2 odds in a field of six. She is out of the winning Majesticperfection mare Swiss Alps, making her a half-sister to the five-time winner and two-time stakes winner Miss Justify.
Vino for the Queen also earned a 99 HRN speed figure when breaking her maiden Thursday in a one-mile and 70-yard maiden claimer on the Tapeta at Gulfstream. Sent off at 12-1 in the eight-horse field, the Nicholas Palmer trainee rallied from midpack and finished with aplomb, opening up to win by 4 3/4 lengths. It was her first win in 11 starts. Vino for the Queen is a 5-year-old Vino Rosso mare out of the Mineshaft mare Yass Queen, a full sister to Grade 2-winning millionaire Fly Down. She is the second winner from two starters out of her dam.
Thursday's top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance | Winning Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 119 | Gulfy | Constitution | 3C | AQU 4 | 1 mile dirt | 5 1/2 |
| 103 | Flower River | Cairo Prince | 3F | TP 5 | 1 mile synthetic | 1 3/4 |
| 99 | Vino for the Queen | Vino Rosso | 5M | GP 1 | 1 mile 70 yds synthetic | 4 3/4 |
| 99 | Brienz | Liam's Map | 3F | OP 7 | 6f dirt | 2 3/4 |
| 98 | Finance Finance | Tacitus | 3F | TP 2 | 6 1/2f synthetic | 2 1/2 |
| 98 | Brick City | Khozan | 4G | GP 6 | 6f dirt | 1/4 |
| 97 | Souper Landslide | Tapit | 3F | GP 2 | 1 mile turf | 2 |
| 94 | Tutta Bella | Accelerate | 4F | TP 7 | 1 mile synthetic | 1/4 |
| 92 | Private Mo | Khozan | 3F | TP 1 | 1 mile synthetic | nose |
| 87 | Lady Belle | Leofric | 3F | OP 9 | 6f dirt | 5 |
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.
Note: For the fastest maiden winners mentioned, all dam and sibling earnings are based on North American starts only.