BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, April 12th by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore

Didn’t take long for us to realize our Pick last week was going to fall apart—one never was in the hunt, one pooped out at the quarter pole, and the one we didn’t like almost won. Alas. However, it was a good week all around for BreezeFigs horses which broke their maidens—eight of them including one who kicked off a $94 exacta and $209 trifecta in the fifth at Penn National on Thursday. The other winners were at Aqueduct, Calder, Golden Gate, Gulfstream (2), Pimlico and Santa Anita. Next week we’ll be traveling to OBSAPR during our deadline so we won’t have a column, but we have in interesting one on tap today, see below. Good luck!

Remember to pay attention to two changes we’ve made over the past several years. First, there have been changes in the CLASS EDGE category (at the bottom of the BreezeFigs card) because one sale was eliminated (OBSFEB) and FTFFEB is now in March (FTFMAR), and that moved OBSMAR into a higher class. Also, in the SALE & HIP column: the “HIP” refers to the catalogue number for that horse in that sale. This reference will enable you to go to the website of the sales company involved and easily find the short video of the horse’s breeze at that sale.

The web links for each sale are listed in the NOTES section of the new BreezeFigs Report and you will find all the information as to why we have done this and how you can benefit from this addition to the service by downloading the document which explains it all here: http://static.drf.com/PDFs/breezefigs/BreezeFigs2009Sales.pdf. Remember, no other handicapping service can give you the advantages you need from 2-year-old sales, So sign up for DRF-Plus on the front page of www.drf.com and get the BreezeFigs cards.

Our rules still hold about BreezeFigs “qualified” runners: You can get a good idea of what “qualified” BreezeFigs horses are by clicking on BreezeFigs Information underneath the two BreezeFigs links in the DRF-PLUS box in the right hand column on the www.drf.com home page and downloading files there. Remember, keep stride length (SL) in mind when handicapping from the BreezeFigs sheet and take advantage of all the tips that we provide on those sheets as well.

If you click here http://static.drf.com/PDFs/breezefigs/StrideLengthStudy-1.pdf you will get a document which details our latest study. The conclusion for those who like to know the bottom line fast is this: When it comes to 2-year-old racing only, horses that earned Group 1 or Group 2 BreezeFigs and had longer-than-average stride lengths at the five major 2-year-old sales of 2006-07-08-09 won more races, won earlier, and earned more black-type, than horses with shorter-than-average stride lengths, regardless of BreezeFigs Group. There’s a lot more to it than that, and a review of this document, which is the first in a series, will strengthen your hand at the windows, or, if you are a buyer, at the sales or claim box. So, download it and absorb.
Also, refer to a study we did which shows that using BreezeFigs for 3-year-old maiden races in just as viable as using them for 2-year-old maiden races. Go to the DRF PLUS box on the www.drf.com home page, click on BreezeFigs™ Information, and then download “2006 Sales Study,” or just click right here: http://www1.drf.com/breezefigs/breezefigs_010507.doc.

If you’d like to learn a little more about how we come up with BreezeFigs, take a look at our new website by clicking here: www.biodatatrack.com.

Here’s Saturday’s Pick:
Woodbine, 3rd Race, Maiden Special Weight, 5 Furlongs (Synthetic)
Like two weeks ago, there are two first time starters from the OBSAPR sale in here with very similar profiles but with one or two differentials. Saratoga Bear posted a five-over-Par Group 1 profile at one furlong with a 23.42 foot stride length, which was just a tad above average for colts that day at that distance, and did it in 10.0.. A day earlier, Big Five O traveled the same distance and posted an even-Par Group 2 profile with a 24.14 foot stride length, which was almost a foot longer than colts that day at that distance, and he went in 10.1. The average stride length for both days was quite close, so they should be pretty close at the finish, which means key both in a race that is totally up in the air otherwise. Good luck!