Steve Haskin's BH Blog on Wise Dan, Mile Races

[Zenyatta]

I've biotched about this for ages. There should be more mile races. Yes, we have some 8.5 races, but it's simply not a flat mile. The fact that SA only has the Santana Mile is baffling to me.  Look at the prestige of the Met Mile and the Cigar Mile.  And the G1 turf miles (Eddie Read, Shoemaker Mile).  C'mon guys, let's see more mile races.

http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2013/11/06/wise-dan-great-period.aspx

And it's apparent Steve Haskin is totally enamored with Wise Dan! 

[Dave in TJ Mex]

I wonder if some of the lack of dirt mile races is that it is a bad distance at a lot of tracks.

Del Mar and Churchill, for example, start their mile races so close to the first turn that horses in outside posts are usually doomed to either go really wide on the first turn, or be compelled to drop back early to save ground on that turn.  Bet that is true of other tracks (Santa Anita?  Hollywood Park?) as well.

Maybe they think they wouldn't get much of a field for such a race where all but the first six posts or so are so severely compromised.

[Zenyatta]

I wonder if some of the lack of dirt mile races is that it is a bad distance at a lot of tracks.

Del Mar and Churchill, for example, start their mile races so close to the first turn that horses in outside posts are usually doomed to either go really wide on the first turn, or be compelled to drop back early to save ground on that turn.  Bet that is true of other tracks (Santa Anita?  Hollywood Park?) as well.

Maybe they think they wouldn't get much of a field for such a race where all but the first six posts or so are so severely compromised.

Right, I get that, but there's a reason I singled out SA because they do run the Santana Mile there. So ostensibly they COULD have a graded stakes there on dirt at a mile.