ONE-TURN MILES

Is the one-turn mile an elongated sprint? Is the distance an authentic route?

Treated as a route, in practice the one-turn mile plays like a sprint. That is, sprinters are far more likely to negotiate the distance effectively than routers.

As at seven furlongs, the routers entered in one-turn miles should have demonstrated genuine route speed, staying within a length or two of a normal route pace and carrying the speed at least six furlongs, preferably longer.

The truly appealing horse in any one-turn mile is the tactical speed type, the kind that can lay a few lengths behind the early pace, relaxed, and then accelerate powerfully turning for home.

Another attractive prospect in a one-turn mile is the consistently contentious sprinters, the "bulldogs," or horses that finish at conventional sprint distances with ample reserves of speed and power. These competitors crave to do more, and in one-turn miles the opportunity arrives.

Off-pace running styles in routes, closers especially, normally cannot arrive in time to prevail in one-turn miles. Unless the early pace will be fast and contested, and figures to collapse, and the horses usually launch their bid in the routes between the prestretch and stretch calls, mid-pack routers and closers can be eliminated reliably in one-turn miles.

One-turn miles are carded daily at Aqueduct, Arlington Park, Belmont Park, and Churchill Downs as well as other tracks greater than a mile in circumference.

At none of the tracks does the No. 1 post hold an advantage or suffer a disadvantage. Contrary to conventional trackside wisdom, one-turn miles are not susceptible to post-position biases of any kind. The run to the far turn is four furlongs, at least, and statistically the twelve post positions perform equally well.