Speed figures: See Thursday's fastest across the country
Goldwyn led all performers with a 129 Horse Racing Nation speed figure in an allowance-level dirt sprint going six furlongs on the dirt at Horseshoe Indianapolis. the 4-year-old gelding by Maximus Mischief, trained by Randy Klopp, was the 4-5 favorite of nine. He disputed the pace and took command in the lane, winning by 2 3/4 lengths. It was his second win in a row and his fifth in 13 career starts.
Tawny Port earned a 125 HRN speed figure at Saratoga in Friday's Belmont Gold Cup (G2), a two-mile test on the turf. The Miguel Clement trainee, a 7-year-old horse by Pioneerof the Nile, was the 2-1 second choice of eight. He settled a few lengths back for much of the race, made an inside run in upper stretch, and stayed stoutly to win by 2 1/2 lengths. It was his second win in 32 career starts, and though it was his first victory in almost three years, he had hit the board in graded company seven times since that last win.
This Run's for You completed the top three with a 120 HRN speed figure at Delaware Park in a six-furlong claiming race. The 6-year-old Khozan gelding, trained by Josue Arce, was toward the rear of a compact pack early but soon improved to track off a speed duel, took over into the lane, and drew off to win by 5 3/4 lengths as the 8-5 favorite. It was his first win in 10 starts this year and his sixth in 44 lifetime outings.
Thursday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 129 | Goldwyn | Maximus Mischief | 4G | IND 1 | 6f dirt |
| 125 | Tawny Port | Pioneerof the Nile | 7H | SAR 10 | 2 miles turf |
| 120 | This Run's for You | Khozan | 6G | DEL 8 | 6f dirt |
| 118 | Directive | Gun Runner | 3F | SAR 4 | 1 1/8 dirt |
| 117 | Goodall | Yaupon | 3F | SAR 2 | 6f dirt |
| 116 | Right to Vote | Vino Rosso | 5G | SAR 7 | 1 3/8 turf |
| 115 | Uncle's Gold | Uncle Mo | 4C | DEL 5 | 1 1/16 turf |
| 114 | Miguel's Belle | Big Drama | 5M | DEL 6 | 6f dirt |
| 114 | Magnanimous Max | Maximum Security | 4R | SAR 9 | 1 mile dirt |
| 113 | Spellmaker | Gun Runner | 4C | CD 7 | 1 mile dirt |
Fastest maiden winners
Spellmaker posted the day's highest maiden winner figure, earning a 113 HRN speed figure in a $100,000 maiden claiming race at a mile on the Churchill Downs dirt. The 4-year-old Gun Runner colt, an 8-1 price in the field of 11, got a good stalk-and-pounce trip and took over to win by two lengths for trainer Heather Irion. He is out of the Tapit mare Teardrop, a stakes-placed winner who earned $98,279 on the track. She has now produced four winners, the top earner of whom is Pneumatic, a three-time winner who also placed at the Grade 3 level and earned $275,390.
Careless Whisper impressed with a 103 HRN speed figure in a New York-bred maiden special weight at seven furlongs at Saratoga. Sent off the 6-5 favorite in a 12-horse field, the George Weaver trainee set a pressured pace early before turning on the afterburners in the lane, blowing clear to win by 10 1/2 lengths. The sophomore filly by Instagrand graduated in her second career start. She is the first winner from four starters out of the winning Smart Strike mare Without Thought, who is herself a half-sister to multiple Grade 2-placed Cautious Giant.
Sweet Sissone earned a 102 HRN speed figure Thursday at Churchill Downs, winning a maiden special weight sprint at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Churchill Downs grass. The 3-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy, trained by Greg Foley, was an 8-1 shot in the field of nine. She battled on the pace early, forged clear in the lane, and held to win by three quarters of a length. She is the seventh winner from as many starters out of the winning and stakes-placed Empire Maker mare Amazing Shoes, whose top earner to date is Penalty, a Blame gelding who won four times and earned $255,125.
Thursday's top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance | Winning Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | Spellmaker | Gun Runner | 4C | CD 7 | 1 mile dirt | 2 lengths |
| 103 | Careless Whisper | Instagrand | 3F | SAR 6 | 7f dirt | 10 1/2 lengths |
| 102 | Sweet Sissone | Twirling Candy | 3F | CD 3 | 5 1/2f turf | 3/4 length |
| 100 | Missy Moosey | Mendelssohn | 3F | DEL 2 | 6f dirt | 1 length |
| 98 | Luminous Beauty | Flameaway | 2F | SAR 1 | 5 1/2f dirt | 6 1/4 lengths |
| 96 | Underappreciated | Thousand Words | 3G | IND 5 | 1 1/16 turf | 1 length |
| 92 | Denise Says No | Flatter | 3F | IND 8 | 1 mile turf | 1 3/4 lengths |
| 90 | Raizonette | Razor | 4F | IND 9 | 5 1/2f dirt | 4 lengths |
| 89 | Medici Road | Quality Road | 4F | SAR 5 | 5 1/2f turf | 1/2 length |
| 86 | How's Al Today | Munnings | 2C | CD 5 | 5 1/2f dirt | 1 3/4 lengths |
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.