Speed figures: 8-year-old Spa winner leads daily top 10

Photo: NYRA TV

Sagamore Mischief posted the day’s highest Horse Racing Nation speed figure on Wednesday with a 121 performance at Saratoga. The 8-year-old gelding by Into Mischief won a seven-furlong claiming race at 9-2 odds, surviving a four-minute hearing by stewards after a rider’s objection. This marked his sixth career victory in his 51st career start.

Gun Party earned a 119 HRN speed figure at Saratoga in a one-mile optional-claiming allowance race. The 4-year-old colt by Curlin dominated as the even-money favorite to record his third career win from 12 starts. He is out of Grade 1 winner Carina Mia, who earned $1.4 million during her racing career.

HRN Horse Sire Age Race Distance
121 Sagamore Mischief Into Mischief 8 g SAR 5 7 f dirt
119 Gun Party Curlin 4 c SAR 4 1 mi dirt
115 Adero American Freedom 5 g DEL 8 1 1/16 dirt
114 Goodlookinjustice Street Boss 4 c IND 5 5 f dirt
113 Runaway Diva Runhappy 4 f CNL 7 1 mi dirt
112 Neon Sign Neolithic 5 g DEL 6 6 f dirt
110 Big Air Vekoma 3 f CNL 2 1 mi dirt
109 Homerunhappy Runhappy 5 g IND 1 5 1/2 f dirt
108 In the Dance Imagining 4 g DEL 1 1 1/16 dirt
107 Melle Mel Liam’s Map 3 f SAR 7 6 1/2 f dirt

Fastest maiden winners

Big Air posted the day’s highest figure among maiden winners with a 110 at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old filly by Vekoma won a one-mile maiden claimer as the even-money favorite in her eighth career start. She is out of Bound, a daughter of Jump Start who earned $419,000, and her top sibling Almostgone Rocket by Into Mischief has earned $294,000.

Smart Uncle impressed with a 104 in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Delaware Park. The 5-year-old gelding by Uncle Mo won at 7-2 odds in his 10th career start. His dam Smart Together by Smart Strike earned $17,000, and her top sibling Be Together has earned $10,000.

Bourbonator earned a 100 HRN figure at Churchill Downs in his seventh career start. The 3-year-old colt by Tiz the Law finished a one-mile turf maiden claimer at 9-5 odds. His dam Lookintogetlucky by Candy Ride earned $11,000 during her racing career.

Wednesday’s top maiden winners

HRN Horse Sire Age Race Distance
110 Big Air Vekoma 3 f CNL 2 1 mi dirt
104 Smart Uncle Uncle Mo 5 g DEL 5 1 1/16 turf
100 Bourbonator Tiz the Law 3 c CNL 8 1 mi turf
  95 Peach Tie Preservationist 2 f CNL 1 6 f dirt
  90 She’s Country Combatant 2 f SAR 3 1 1/16 turf
  89 Cash the Money Gun Runner 3 g CNL 3 5 1/2 f turf
  80 Goal Get Stormy 3 f CNL 5 5 1/2 f turf
  79 Estrella Brillante Speightsong 3 f IND 2 6f dirt
  74 Pandemic Hero Munnings 3 g SAR 6 5 1/2 f turf
  74 Quiet Street Street Boss 2 f SAR 9 5 1/2 f 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.

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