Speed figures: Saratoga winner tops Wednesday rankings
Freedom's Way recorded Wednesday's top performance with an impressive 139 Horse Racing Nation speed figure at Saratoga. The 6-year-old gelding by Declaration of War captured an 1 1/8-mile turf allowance optional-claiming race at 9-2 odds. This marked his third career victory in his 21st lifetime start.
Weigh the Risks earned a 134 HRN speed figure at Saratoga, taking a seven-furlong dirt allowance optional-claiming event as the 2-1 favorite. The 4-year-old filly by Mendelssohn secured her fourth career win from 11 starts.
All Class completed the top three performers with a 123 HRN speed figure at Saratoga in a 6 1/2-furlong dirt allowance optional-claiming contest. The 5-year-old mare by Kantharos prevailed at 11-1 odds, registering her fifth career win from 12 lifetime starts.
Top 10 daily speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 139 | Freedom's Way | Declaration of War | 6 g | SAR 6 | 1 3/8 turf |
| 134 | Weigh the Risks | Mendelssohn | 4 f | SAR 2 | 7 f dirt |
| 123 | All Class | Kantharos | 5 m | SAR 8 | 6 1/2 f dirt |
| 122 | Gasoline | Curlin | 6 g | SAR 3 | 1 1/8 dirt |
| 121 | Gardiner | Audible | 3 c | SAR 4 | 6 f dirt |
| 116 | Summer's Comin | Summer Front | 4 f | DEL 8 | 5 1/2 f dirt |
| 110 | Cha Cha Tap | Tapwrit | 5 m | CNL 8 | 1 3/16 turf |
| 110 | Despo's Dream | Mitole | 4 f | SAR 7 | 7 f dirt |
| 109 | Lured Away | Enticed | 3 c | CNL 6 | 1 1/8 dirt |
| 104 | Public Defender | Constitution | 4 f | CNL 9 | 1 1/16 turf |
Maiden winners show potential
Zevon registered the day's highest figure among maiden winners with a 103 HRN speed figure at Colonial Downs. The 7-year-old gelding by Imagining broke through in a 1 1/4-mile turf, maiden special weight at 4-1 odds in his 13th career start. He is out of Zafeen's Pearl, a Grade 1-placed daughter of Zafeen who earned $100,000 during her racing career.
King Puck secured a 92 HRN speed figure in a 5 1/2-furlong turf, maiden special weight at Saratoga. The 4-year-old gelding by Twirling Candy won at 2-5 odds in his fifth career start. His dam Andraste by Pulpit produced Storm Prophet, a notable earner of $363,000.
Wall Art debuted with a 92 HRN speed figure at Delaware Park in a 5 1/2-furlong dirt, maiden-claiming event. The 2-year-old colt by Code of Honor prevailed at 5-2 odds in his first career start. He is out of Twirling Owen, a daughter of Twirling Candy, whose top offspring includes Femme Elegante, an earner of $43,000.
Top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103 | Zevon | Imagining | 7 g | CNL 4 | 1 1/4 turf |
| 92 | King Puck | Twirling Candy | 4 g | SAR 9 | 5 1/2 f turf |
| 92 | Wall Art | Code of Honor | 2 c | DEL 2 | 5 1/2 f dirt |
| 84 | Bodkin Creek | Broad Rule | 3 g | DEL 9 | 5 1/2 f dirt |
| 82 | Granuaile | Holy Boss | 4 f | CNL 5 | 5 1/2 f turf |
| 82 | High Hearts | Cupid | 3 f | DEL 6 | 5 1/2 f dirt |
| 77 | Pegster | Speightster | 3 f | DEL 4 | 1 1/16 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.