Delayed Kentucky Derby could see faster race times
The first Saturday in May is usually a festive occasion in Louisville, Kentucky, culminating with the running of the Kentucky Derby, arguably the most famous horse race in North America. But this year it will be eerily quiet, as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the race to be postponed until September. The delay has the potential to completely upend the race, as it disrupts training and racing schedules and gives late-blooming horses a chance to catch up with their peers. "Moving the Derby throws everything into chaos," said Jeff Greenhill, a horse trainer in LaGrange, Kentucky.
The Derby, like many high-profile races, is run by 3-year-old horses. This year's crop was born between January and June 2017. Most horses don't hit their physical peak until they are about 4 1/2, so the 3-year-olds are still developing and getting faster, said Marshall Gramm, an economist at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, who has studied the effect of age on racing performance in thoroughbreds. "Some of the horses will be closer to their peak in September," he said.
Gramm expects the race to be run slightly faster overall, as he would expect most horses of that age to improve by about two-fifths of a second between May and September – a potentially decisive increase in a race that usually takes about two minutes to run and is often decided by inches.
Horses tend to improve their aerobic capacity – their ability to use oxygen during exercise – with age and training, said David Marlin, an expert in equine exercise physiology based in the U.K. So an extra four months would allow some horses to develop that capacity further. He doesn't expect it to make a huge difference, but it could benefit some of the horses born later in the year, who might then be in better shape in September rather than May. "The real advantage will be for the late foals," he said.
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/delayed-kentucky-derby-faster-race-times/story?id=70462661
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