Speed figures: Del Mar runners take top 2 spots

Photo: Del Mar

Geometry delivered Sunday's top performance with an exceptional 149 Horse Racing Nation speed figure at Del Mar. The 3-year-old gelding by Twirling Candy prevailed at 3-1 odds in an eight-furlong, optional-laiming allowance on dirt. This marked his second career victory in his third career start.

Delightful Laura earned a 136 HRN speed figure at Del Mar, securing victory at 9-1 odds in an eight-furlong maiden claiming race on turf. The 3-year-old filly by Uncle Mo recorded her first career win from fourth lifetime starts. She showed remarkable improvement in this breakthrough performance.

First Look: 

No Bien Ni Mal completed the top three performers with a 135 HRN speed figure at Saratoga in a nine-furlong dirt allowance, his first U.S. race. The 4-year-old by Hofburg went off at 8-1 odds and prevailed by a narrow margin. This represented his fifth career win from 11 career starts.

Top 10 Sunday figures

HRN Horse Sire Age Race Distance
149 Geometry Twirling Candy 3G DMR 2 1 mile turf
136 Delightful Laura Uncle Mo 3F DMR 9 1 mile turf
135 No Bien Ni Mal Hofburg 4R SAR 10 1 1/8 miles dirt
129 Conman Constitution 5G SAR 8 1 1/8 miles turf
127 Big Truzz Justify 3C ELP 8 1 mile dirt
125 Le Gris City of Light 4G SAR 2 1 1/8 miles dirt
125 Carmel Coast Omaha Beach 2F SAR 5 6 1/2f dirt
121 Tumbarumba Oscar Performance 5G ELP 7 1 mile dirt
120 Worthy Charge Liam's Map 3C SAR 1 1 mile dirt
117 Poseidon Steel Frac Daddy 6H WO 9 6f synthetic

Maiden winners showcase potential

Worthy Charge posted the day's highest figure among maiden winners with a 120 HRN speed figure at Saratoga. The 3-year-old colt by Liam's Map dominated a one-mile maiden special weight on dirt as the 3-5 favorite in his second career start. He is out of Queen Bee to You, a Grade 3 winner who earned $659,000, and his half-sister Princess Madison is a Grade 2-placed performer with earnings of $243,000.

Balboa impressed with a 115 HRN speed figure in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Del Mar. The 2-year-old colt by Not This Time won at 1-2 odds in his second career start. He is out of Tap of War, a daughter of War Front, showing a pedigree focused on speed and class.

Philip Banks earned a 115 HRN speed figure at Woodbine in his second career start. The 3-year-old gelding by Silent Name finished a six-furlong turf, maiden special weight at 3-1 odds. He is out of Fresh Princess by Giant Gizmo, who earned $145,000 during her racing career.

Top maiden winners

HRN Horse Sire Age Race Distance
120 Worthy Charge Liam's Map 3C SAR 1 1 mile dirt
115 Balboa Not This Time 2C DMR 1 6 1/2f dirt
115 Philip Banks Silent Name 3G WO 5 6f turf
111 Secret Revenge Nyquist 4F GP 1 6 1/2f dirt
106 Good Game Game Winner 3F ELP 5 1 1/16 miles turf
106 Laird of Magnolia Tonalist 3G MTH 1 1 1/16 miles turf
  94 Livaliscious West Coast 3G MTH 4 1 mile dirt
  88 Camp Evans Street Sense 3C GP 7 7f dirt
  79 Miah Said Mr Speaker 5G WO 1 6f synthetic
  75 Final Score Not This Time 2C SAR 4 1 1/16 miles 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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