Speed figures: Churchill winners lead Thursday's fastest
Built led all performers on Thursday with a 138 Horse Racing Nation speed figure in a seven-furlong allowance-optional claiming sprint at Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old Hard Spun colt, trained by Wayne Catalano, prompted the pace and opened up to win by 4 3/4 lengths in a field of eight, doing so at 3-1 odds. This was his second win in four starts this year, and his fifth in 12 lifetime starts.
Bob's Carrot earned a 125 HRN speed figure in a starter allowance at Churchill Downs on Thursday, going seven furlongs on the dirt. The Carlos Santamaria trainee, sent off the 9-2 second choice of eight, jumped to the early lead and never relented, winning by 3 1/2 lengths. A 4-year-old Daredevil gelding, Bob's Carrot won for the the second time in his 13-race career. Notably, he skipped a condition for his Thursday win, as the race was open to non-winners of three.
Exploration completed the top three, earning a 123 HRN speed figure in a 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint at Churchill Downs for open $32,000 claimers. The 9-5 second choice settled toward the rear of the field of 10, gained steam into the lane, and got up in time to win by three quarters of a length. The 5-year-old Curlin gelding was trained by Rick Dutrow into the race, but claimed to the barn of David Jacobson in a 14-way shake. The win was Exploration's second in a row and the fourth of his 15-race career.
Thursday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 138 | Built | Hard Spun | 4C | CD 7 | 7f dirt |
| 125 | Bob's Carrot | Daredevil | 4G | CD 4 | 7f dirt |
| 123 | Exploration | Curlin | 5G | CD 5 | 6 1/2f dirt |
| 120 | Gigabit | Dialed In | 3F | IND 6 | 5f dirt |
| 119 | Dresden Row | Lord Nelson | 5H | CD 6 | 1 1/16 turf |
| 117 | Overspent | Great Notion | 5G | DEL 8 | 6f dirt |
| 113 | Sassy Princess | Cairo Prince | 5M | CD 2 | 6 1/2f dirt |
| 112 | Just Relax | Noble Bird | 4C | DEL 5 | 6f dirt |
| 112 | Temecula | Speightstown | 5G | DEL 7 | 6f dirt |
| 112 | War Belle | War of Will | 3F | DEL 6 | 1 mile dirt |
Fastest maiden winners
Stunning posted Thursday's highest maiden-winning figure, earning a 108 HRN speed figure in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Horseshoe Indiana. The 3-year-old Munnings colt, trained by John Ennis, graduated in his second career start. Sent off at 9-1 in a field of 11, he stalked the pace and drove home to win by a length. Stunning is the second winner from three starters out of the Medaglia d'Oro winner Oh My, a two-time winner and earner of $195,504 on the track. Her other winner, the Street Sense gelding Speechless, has won twice and earned $79,030 so far.
Galatina broke through with a 101 HRN speed figure in a maiden claiming race at seven furlongs on the Churchill Downs dirt Thursday, breaking her maiden in her 13th career start. The 4-year-old Vino Rosso filly, sent off the 2-1 favorite in the 10-horse field, tracked in range between horses, rallied in the lane, and ran on to win by 1 1/4 lengths despite a paddock shoe repair before the race. Trained by Keri Brion into Thursday's start, she was claimed for $20,000 to the barn of Steve Asmussen out of it. Galatina is the third winner from four starters out of the Pleasant Tap mare Torcida, who won six times and earned $109,767. Her top-earning sibling is Captain Creed, a 6-year-old Jimmy Creed gelding who has won eight times and earned $131,199 so far.
Count the Cash earned an 89 HRN speed figure Thursday when he broke his maiden at Horseshoe Indianapolis in his fifth career start. The Tracey Wisner trainee, a 4-year-old Santiva gelding, was the 2-1 second choice of six in a the 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprint for $15,000 Indiana-sired maiden claimers. He battled on the pace, cleared midstretch, and held to win by half a length. He is the sixth winner from as many starters out of the stakes-winning Just Plain Joe mare Pretty Plain Jane, who earned $208,872 in her eight-win career. Her top earner so far, the Santiva mare Jane Plain, has won once and earned $33,321.
Thursday's top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 | Stunning | Munnings | 3C | IND 5 | 6f dirt |
| 101 | Galatina | Vino Rosso | 4F | CD 8 | 7f dirt |
| 89 | Count the Cash | Santiva | 4G | IND 2 | 5 1/2f dirt |
| 87 | Maximum Spirit | Mor Spirit | 4F | IND 1 | 1 mile dirt |
| 86 | Lack of Riesling | Jimmy Creed | 2F | CD 1 | 4 1/2f dirt |
| 80 | Shining Moment | Golden Pal | 2F | CD 3 | 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 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.