Speed figures: Gin Gin leads Sunday's fastest runners
Gin Gin led Sunday's performers with a 137 Horse Racing Nation speed figure at Keeneland. The 4-year-old filly by Hightail won the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes at 18-1 odds, upsetting Thorpedo Anna and Nitrogen. The win was her fourth in 13 career starts and her second at the graded level. She also upset the Grade 3 Doubledogdare (G3) in April at Keeneland.
Outdoor Cat earned a 128 HRN speed figure at Laurel Park in a six-furlong starter optional claimer on dirt. The 3-year-old colt by Improbable scored at 2-1 odds, pressing the early pace before drawing off in the lane to win by 6 1/4 lengths. It was his second career win from four starts.
The Big Cheeseola completed the top three with a 124 HRN speed figure at Santa Anita. The 5-year-old gelding by Mr. Big captured a six-furlong dirt sprint for open $8,000 claimers. He set the early pace, turned back a bid in the lane, and dug in to win by a neck as the 2-1 favorite. The win was his first in seven starts this year and his third from 26 career starts.
Sunday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 137 | Gin Gin | Hightail | 4F | KEE 9 | 1 1/8 dirt |
| 128 | Outdoor Cat | Improbable | 3C | LRL 2 | 6f dirt |
| 124 | The Big Cheeseola | Mr. Big | 5G | SA 2 | 6f dirt |
| 124 | Greenfield Cougar | Breaking Lucky | 3F | GP 9 | 5f syn |
| 121 | St. Albans Raid | Global Campaign | 3F | KEE 1 | 7f dirt |
| 118 | Clouseau | Distorted Humor | 5G | SA 9 | 1 mile dirt |
| 118 | Dreamlike | Gun Runner | 5G | BAQ 7 | 1 mile dirt |
| 117 | Indy One | Seattle Serenade | 4G | WO 6 | 6 1/2f syn |
| 116 | Takemetothebeach | Take Charge Indy | 4F | WO 8 | 1 1/16 syn |
| 116 | Laudatory | Cairo Prince | 4F | SA 6 | 1 mile turf |
Fastest maiden winners
Bella Ballerina posted the day's highest maiden winner figure with a 113 HRN speed figure at Keeneland. The 2-year-old filly by Street Sense was sent off the 7-5 morning-line favorite in her debut, which came in a six-furlong maiden special weight dirt sprint. Tracking a few lengths off early, she swung wide with a big bid into the lane and rolled clear to win by 4 1/4 lengths. A Godolphin homebred trained by Brendan Walsh, she is out of the Grade 1-winning Tapit mare Pretty City Dancer. This makes Bella Ballerina a half-sister to Walsh's top earner to date: Pretty Mischievous, who earned over $2.1 million and won three Grade 1 races including the 2023 Kentucky Oaks.
Sneaky Good impressed with a 110 HRN speed figure at Keeneland in her debut. The 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief captured a six-furlong maiden special weight on dirt at 2-1 odds, setting a pressured pace and drawing off to win by 4 3/4 lengths. She is the first starter out of the stakes-winning Tonalist mare Gale, who earned $102,412 during her racing career.
Irrelevant earned a 104 HRN speed figure at Belmont at Aqueduct in his third career start. The 3-year-old gelding by Instilled Regard won a $50,000 maiden claimer at six furlongs on turf at 11-1 odds, leading at every call and outgaming a foe down the lane to hold by a neck. He is out of the stakes-placed Midnight Lute daughter Know It All Anna, who earned $278,390 on the track. His half-sister Know It All Audrey, by Shackleford, is a stakes winner and earner of $514,612.
Sunday's fastest maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance | Winning margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | Bella Ballerina | Street Sense | 2F | KEE 5 | 6f dirt | 4 1/4 |
| 110 | Sneaky Good | Into Mischief | 2F | KEE 7 | 6f dirt | 4 3/4 |
| 104 | Irrelevant | Instilled Regard | 3G | BAQ 8 | 6f turf | Nose |
| 104 | Streetshavenoname | Frac Daddy | 2C | WO 4 | 6 1/2f syn | 2 |
| 101 | Punxsutawney Phil | More Than Ready | 4G | LRL 3 | 1 mile turf | 2 |
| 98 | Schwarzenegger | Not This Time | 2C | KEE 8 | 5 1/2f turf | 1/2 |
| 98 | Dirand | Sottsass | 3C | BAQ 2 | 1 3/16 turf | 2 1/2 |
| 97 | Sir Percival | Sir Prancealot | 3C | SA 10 | 6f turf | 2 |
| 97 | Yamal | Runhappy | 2C | GP 6 | 1 mile dirt | 4 1/4 |
| 96 | Mimi Willy | Good Samaritan | 3F | GP 10 | 1 mile turf | 1 1/4 |
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.