Top 10 BRIS Speed Ratings of 2012
By Dana Byerly, Hello Race Fans Co-founder
All year we’ve been tracking the top BRIS Speed Ratings by week and now that the year is over, let’s take a look at the top 10 winning ratings earned over the year. Throughout the year we’ve listed only stakes races, but this list is inclusive all races.
Flat Out earned the top fig of the year in the Jockey Club Gold Cup with 117. Calibrachoa and Wigmore Hall came in at and Shackleford with a 115. The top 10 ratings were 117-108, so horses that turned in multiple performances within this range will appear on the list multiple times.
Top 10 BRIS Speed Ratings of 2012
Which distances, owners, sires, tracks and trainers had the most performances in the top ten? Let’s take a look…
By Distance
It’s not surprising that the distances 6 and 7-furlongs had the highest number of performances in the top 10 (15 each). Also not a surprise that all but one of those performances was over dirt. The standard route distances of 1 1/16 miles (8.5-furlongs) and 1 1/8 (9-furlongs) produced a decent amount of performances with 10 and 9 respectively. Although, it’s worth noting that there are more races run at these distances than the longer distances.
Key = Distance in furlongs – number of performances at distance (surface). D = Dirt, S = Synthetic, T = Turf).
If all performances were over a single surface, only the surface is noted. If the performances were over different surfaces, they are noted by number of performances and surface.
3.5 F – 1 (D)
5 F – 4 (3 T, 1 D)
5.5 F – 1 (T)
6 F – 15 (14 D, 1 T)
6.5 – 3 (D)
7 F – 15 (14 D, 1 S)
8 F – 3 (2 T, 1 D)
8.5 F – 10 (9 D, 1 T)
9 F – 9 (7 D, 2 S)
9.5 F – 2 (D)
10 F – 6 (4 D, 1 S, 1 T)
11 F – 2 (T)
12 F – 3 (T)
13 F – 1 (T)
14 F – 1 (S)
Owners
Morton Fink and Mike Repole topped the owners lists with four wins each in the top ten. Both achieved top honors with two horses. Janis Whitman’s Fort Larned and Diamond Pride LLC, Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable LLC and Schiappa, B.’s Game on Dude appeared three times on the list. Others listed below had two wins on the list.
Fink – 4 (Successful Dan, Wise Dan)
Repole – 4 (Calibrachoa, Caixa Electronica)
Diamond Pride LLC, Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable LLC and Schiappa, B. – 3 (Game on Dude)
Whitman – 3 (Fort Larned)
Bradley, Fred F., Bradley, William B., Hurst, Carl and Burns, Brent – 2 (Groupie Doll)
Drawing Away Stable and Jacobson, David – 2 (Big Grandpa, Saginaw)
E. Paul Robsham Stables LLC – 2 (Awesome Maria, Broadway’s Alibi)
Godolphin – 2 (Questing, Emcee)
Reddam – 2 (I’ll Have Another)
Sires
The following sires had multiple winners with Awesome Again topping the list with four performances (three by Game on Dude and one by Paynter), Fort Larned’s sire E Dubai and Wise Dan’s sire Wiseman’s Ferry each had three performances.
Key – Sire – number of performances on list (number of horses if more than one).
Arromanches – 2
Awesome Again – 4 (2)
Bowman’s Band – 2
E Dubai – 3
Flatter – 2 (2)
Forest Camp – 2 (2)
Forestry – 1
Kitten’s Joy – 2 (2)
Macho Uno – 2
Southern Image – 2
Street Sense – 2 (2)
Unbridled’s Song – 2
Wiseman’s Ferry – 3
By Track
Gulfstream Park dominated the tracks producing the highest BRIS Speed Ratings with 14 performances. Santa Anita was not far behind with 10 while Aqueduct produced nine.
Aqueduct – 9
Belmont – 7
Betfair Hollywood Park – 3
Churchill Downs – 7
Colonial Downs – 1
Gulfstream Park – 14
Hawthorne – 1
Keeneland – 2
Laurel Park – 3
Mountaineer – 1
Northland Park – 1
Pimlico – 4
Parx – 1
Santa Anita – 10
Saratoga – 6
Woodbine – 3
Trainers
Todd Pletcher topped the list for trainers with the most performances in the top ten with eight total. Bob Baffert wasn’t far behind with six.
Bob Baffert – 6 (Game on Dude, Paynter, Roman Threat, The Factor)
Charles Lopresti – 4 (Successful Dan, Wise Dan)
Dale Romans – 2 (Shackleford, Silver Max)
David Jacobson – 2 (Big Grandpa, Saginaw)
Doug O’Neill – 2 (I’ll Have Another)
Ian Wilkes – 3 (Fort Larned)
Kathy Ritvo – 2 (Mucho Macho Man)
Kiaran McLaughlin – 4 (Emcee, Here to Win, Questing)
Rick Dutrow Jr. – 4 (Cash for Clunkers, This Ones for Phil, Pacific Ocean, Redeemed, Yawanna Twist)
Rudy Rodriguez – 2 (Agave Kiss, Flat Bold)
Todd Pletcher – 8 (Awesome Maria, Broadways Alibi, Calibrachoa (2), Caixa Electronica (2), El Padrino, Turbo Compressor)
William Bradley – 2 (Groupie Doll)
William Mott – 3 (Flat Out, Harrods Creek, Royal Delta)
Other Fun Facts
Fort Larned (114, 110, 109) , Game on Dude (109, 109, 111) and Wise Dan (108, 108, 110) each had three high scores.
Second place fig scorers Calibrachoa and Wigmore Hall couldn’t have been more different. Calibrachoa scored his 116 at Aqueduct in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap at 6-furlongs on the dirt while Wigmore Hall scored his 116 at Woodbine in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at 12-furlongs (1 1/2 miles) on the turf.
Will 2013 bring a higher fig than Flat Out’s 117? Will a single horse turn in more than three performances in the top ten? Stay tuned as we track BRIS Speed Ratings in 2013!