Speed figures: Thursday's fastest runners, top maidens

Photo: Courtesy Colonial Downs

In Theory delivered Wednesday's top performance with an impressive 125 Horse Racing Nation speed figure at Delaware Park. The 4-year-old filly by Mendelssohn won a six-furlong optional-claiming allowance on dirt at 2-1 odds. This was her third career victory in her fifth career start.

Electrifying Lady earned a 123 HRN speed figure at Horseshoe Indianapolis, securing victory in a six-furlong dirt maiden special weight. The 3-year-old filly by Practical Joke went off at 4-1 odds. It was her first career win in her sixth lifetime start.

Flat Out Time completed the top three performers with a 122 HRN speed figure at Delaware Park in a six-furlong dirt allowance optional claimer. The 3-year-old filly by Not This Time, who was sent off as the 8-5 favorite, recorded her second career win from just three starts.

Top 10 Wednesday figures

HRN Horse Sire Age Race Distance
125 In Theory Mendelssohn 4F DEL8 6f dirt
123 Electrifying Lady Practical Joke 3F IND5 6f dirt
122 Flat Out Time Not This Time 3F DEL4 6f dirt
121 Wicked Vette Country House 3F IND3 6f dirt
117 Mystic Lake Mo Town 4F DEL6 6f dirt
115 Laura's Charm Mshawish 6M IND4 1 1/16 miles dirt
115 Stars and Stripes Not This Time 3C SAR8 1 1/8 miles dirt
114 Highland Society Society's Chairman 7G WO7 6 1/2f synthetic
113 Miss Authentic Authentic 3F CNL5 1 1/16 miles dirt
112 Indy Magic Good Magic 4G SAR1 1 mile dirt

Maiden winners showcase potential

Miss Authentic recorded the day's highest figure among maiden winners with a 113 HRN speed figure at Colonial Downs. The 3-year-old filly by Authentic captured a 1 1/16-mile dirt maiden special weight as the 1-5 favorite in her seventh career start. She is out of Vertical Vision, a daughter of Pollard's Vision, whose top offspring include Grade 2 winner Vertical Oak, an earner of $773,000.

Annexperience impressed with a 102 HRN speed figure in a one-mile turf maiden special weight at Saratoga. The 3-year-old colt by Instagrand won at 9-5 odds in his fourth career start. His dam Sistas Ready by More Than Ready produced the Grade 2-placed Vote No, who earned $628,000 in his career.

Tactical Trackstar earned a 110 HRN speed figure at Saratoga in his second career start. The 3-year-old colt by Complexity finished a six-furlong dirt maiden claiming race at 3-1 odds. He is out of Tactful Lady by Langfuhr, who also produced So I Sang, an earner of $46,000.

Top maiden winners

HRN Horse Sire Age Race Distance
113 Miss Authentic Authentic 3F CNL5 1 1/16 miles dirt
110 Tactical Trackstar Complexity 3C SAR5 6f dirt
102 Annexperience Instagrand 3C SAR2 1 mile turf
94 Sweet Tone Tonalist 4G CNL7 1 mile turf
72 La Belva Old Forester 3F WO1 5f synthetic
68 Mishka American Pharoah 4F DEL5 1 1/8 miles dirt
67 Sacred Goddess Kantharos 2F SAR6 5 1/2f turf
58 Film Academy Oscar Performance 4G SAR10 5 1/2f turf
51 Spy Wars Blofeld 4G DEL3 1 1/8 miles dirt

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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