Speed figures: Munnings sons lead Friday's fastest
Spotted Bull led all of Friday's performers with a 123Â Horse Racing Nation speed figure, winning a 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprint at Laurel Park. He disputed the early pace before driving clear to win by 5 1/2 lengths. Trained by Jonathaniel Badillo-Casado into the race, he was claimed to the barn of Robert Klesaris for $7,500 out of the race. The durable 8-year-old Munnings gelding has been a fixture, mostly on the mid-Atlantic circuit, since 2020. Friday's victory was his second this year and his 13th in 84 starts, and it brought his career earnings over the $300,000 mark.
Bushido earned a 120 HRN speed figure at Laurel Park on Friday, winning a starter-optional claiming sprint at six furlongs on the dirt. A 6-year-old son of First Samurai, he seized the lead early in a field of four and ran on to win by 9 1/2 lengths as the 8-5 favorite. Trained by Lacey Gaudet, Bushido won for the sixth time in his 22-race career.
Shadow Dragon completed the top three with a 119 HRN speed figure at Aqueduct in an allowance optional claiming race going 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. A 6-year-old horse by Army Mule, he prompted the pace and battled down the lane to win by a head as the 5-2 second choice in the seven-horse field. Trained by Jorge Abreu into the race, he was claimed to the barn of Michael Miceli for $45,000 out of it. The win was Shadow Dragon's first since March of last year and his fifth in 27 career starts.
Friday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | Spotted Bull | Munnings | 8G | LRL 5 | 5 1/2f dirt |
| 120 | Bushido | First Samurai | 6G | LRL 4 | 6f dirt |
| 119 | Shadow Dragon | Army Mule | 6H | AQU 6 | 1 1/8 dirt |
| 118 | Mad House | Vekoma | 4G | TAM 6 | 6f dirt |
| 117 | Arkhipov | Munnings | 4G | TAM 5 | 1 mile turf |
| 116 | Expect the Best | Khozan | 4G | OP 6 | 1 1/16 dirt |
| 116 | Hixon | Hoppertunity | 3G | LRL 7 | 1 mile dirt |
| 114 | Kadena | Ghostzapper | 5M | AQU 4 | 6f dirt |
| 114 | Outlaw Empire | Classic Empire | 3G | FG 7 | 6f dirt |
| 114 | The Old Nine | No Nay Never | 5G | SA 1 | 6 1/2f turf |
Fastest maiden winners
Arkhipov posted Friday's highest maiden-winning figure with a 117 HRN speed figure in a maiden special weight turf mile at Tampa Bay Downs. The 4-year-old gelding by Munnings, trained by Chad Brown, ran to his 1-2 odds. He rallied from toward the rear early and ran clear in the lane to win by 7 1/2 lengths, graduating in his third career start. Arkhipov is out of the unraced Medaglia d'Oro mare Ireland's call, a daughter of Grade 1 winner Magnificent Song.
Outlaw Empire impressed with a 114 HRN speed figure in a six-furlong maiden claiming sprint on the fair Grounds dirt. Sent off at 7-1 for his eighth career start, he rallied from midpack to win by 3 3/4 lengths. The Bret Calhoun trainee was in for a $15,000 tag, but was not claimed out of the race. Outlaw Empire a 3-year-old son of Classic Empire out of the unraced Indian Charlie mare Indian Charm, a daughter of Grade 2-placed Deb's Charm. The other winner to date out of his dam, the McCraken gelding Top Maverick, has won once and earned $60,350.
Hello Angel earned an 111 HRN speed figure in a six-furlong maiden claimer at Oaklawn, graduating in her sixth career start. Sent off the 4-5 favorite in a field of nine, the Tom Amoss trainee tracked the early pace before taking total command, winning by 13 1/2 lengths. She was in for a $10,000 tag, but was not claimed. Hello Angel is a 4-year-old daughter of Lord Nelson out of the Get Stormy mare Angel Face, who placed five times in 12 starts.
Friday's top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance | Winning Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117 | Arkhipov | Munnings | 4G | TAM 5 | 1 mile turf | 7 1/2 |
| 114 | Outlaw Empire | Classic Empire | 3G | FG 7 | 6f dirt | 3 3/4 |
| 111 | Hello Angel | Lord Nelson | 4F | OP 5 | 6f dirt | 13 1/2 |
| 105 | Long Legged Luis | Hoppertunity | 3G | LRL 3 | 7f dirt | 1 3/4 |
| 104 | Mischief Ride | Maximus Mischief | 3C | FG 4 | 1 1/16 turf | neck |
| 103 | Starship Juliette | Maclean's Music | 3F | GP 8 | 6f dirt | 2 |
| 103 | Instability | Lope de Vega | 3C | TAM 3 | 1 mile turf | 4 1/2 |
| 102 | Full of Tact | Tacitus | 3F | AQU 1 | 1 mile dirt | 1 |
| 101 | Tasty Time | Blofeld | 4F | LRL 2 | 6f dirt | 4 1/2 |
| 91 | Trick of the Light | Constitution | 5M | OP 1 | 6f dirt | 3/4 |
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.
Note: For the fastest maiden winners mentioned, all dam and sibling earnings are based on North American starts only.