Gallop Comments for Scientists

[Laura Ferguson]

If I had one wish, it would be that the comments would have adjusted without the need to gallop the horse, because the stud book is just going to be a mess as the stats are now a mix of apples and oranges. I'm a big fan of information, and I think the younger stallions are going to get penalized, as they won't have many freaks. I gallop yearlings and sometimes 2yos, but once my top horses are racing, I rarely re-gallop. So, if some of them should technically be stakes instead of freaks, that sire's stud book page won't reflect that fact.

I'm really hoping that this adjustment provides more information - but if the result is that instead of having freaks and stakes, we now have almost no freaks and a bigger pool of stakes, I don't know that it helps all that much (ie., are you a top stakes or a sad stakes?). I'm waiting and seeing on this one since it is only the first day of gallops - maybe other trainers will have more freaks in their mixer yearling crops.

[Brad Searcy]

My initial instinct was to greener pasture all my Standardbreds that were productive or below. With this .4 shift, does that mean productive gallopers will be, well, productive?

As much fun as it is claiming stakes gallopers for 5k or under (I even have a freak I claimed for $5k), it makes zero sense.

For what it’s worth I re galloped all my STBs and didn’t notice any changes. That’s perfectly fine with me but I wouldn’t describe any of my horses as “freaky runners.”

[Tammy Stawicki]

We seem to be digressing from data people

But as to Laura's comment so I don't expect that now we're just going to have everything become stakes. A large number of my yearling stakes gallopers were downgraded to allowance, I also had allowances downgraded to productive, and productive to solid so these were across the board changes. So sure there will still be some range in ability at each gallop level but I'm guessing the existing "sad" stakes horses are now allowance horses, and the remaining stakes horses are horses that should actually be able to compete in stakes races with the remaining freaks being horses that will excel in stakes races. Time will tell.

[Garret Folsom]

My Arabians interesting. 1 Freak, 1 Stakes, both by Mighty Sandstorm

2.04% Different Career
38.78% Claimer
20.41% Solid
24.49% Productive
10.20% Allowance
2.04% Stakes
2.04% Freak

QH Routers:

5.88% Different Career
38.24% Claimer
11.76% Solid
35.29% Productive
8.82% Allowance
0.00% Stakes
0.00% Freak

I feel like without the change, I would have had a sad Stakes and a few more sad Allowance Quarter horses.

[Tom Lin]

This is my very first freak, whom I was very proud of. Look at her results. I havn't trained her this year, I´m afraid of the result... https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.php?HorseID=963567

Are you sure she is fully fit. Other than 3 widely spaced races she has had no other work in a SIM year + 4 weeks.

[Tom Lin]

My initial instinct was to greener pasture all my Standardbreds that were productive or below. With this .4 shift, does that mean productive gallopers will be, well, productive?

As much fun as it is claiming stakes gallopers for 5k or under (I even have a freak I claimed for $5k), it makes zero sense.

For what it’s worth I re galloped all my STBs and didn’t notice any changes. That’s perfectly fine with me but I wouldn’t describe any of my horses as “freaky runners.”

Regardless of the gallop comment the horses will show you where they need to race. There will be "productive" productives and less than stellar freaks.

[Doug Cuomo]

161 Mixers spread out over breeds and distances...

1 Freak 0.6%
12 Stakes 7.5%
40 Allowance 24.8%
46 Productive 28.6%
34 Solid 21.1%
28 Claimers 17.4 %
0 DCs

[Ken Lind]

307 Mixers spread out over breeds and distances...

0 Freak
23 Stakes 7.5%
104 Allowance 33.9%
81 Productive 26.4%
50 Solid 16.3%
49 Claimer 15.9 %
0 DCs