Experts Believe Pegasus Time Should Be Faster

An expert on speed figures and a respected clocker believe the listed final time of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park may be slow by about four-fifths of a second, and that the actual final time of winner Arrogate, which could be close to the track record, should be reviewed.

In watching the race, clocker Bruno DeJulio of RacingWithBruno.com, thought the final time seemed to be slow for what he'd just witnessed after Arrogate posted a 4 3/4-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile race, topping five other group 1/grade 1 winners. The official final time for the race is 1:47.61 on a fast track.

Now curious, DeJulio used technology to try to review the race. In this review, he initially clocked the race at 1:46.90. He then clocked it twice more, coming up with 1:46.87 and 1:46.91—all three timings within 0.04 seconds of one another. Those times are just off the track record set by Lea   in winning the 2014 Donn Handicap (G1) in 1:46.86.

"When I watched the race, I just thought, 'That has to be a track record,'" DeJulio said. When he saw the listed final time he started his research.

The clocker looked up the speed figure TimeFormUS was awarding the race, a number that would have suggested that Arrogate took a step back from his victory in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in his previous start. DeJulio reached out to Craig Milkowski, who oversees the TimeFormUS speed figures, and Milkowski confirmed that while Arrogate earned a big number, he did slightly regress.

DeJulio let Milkowski know of his concerns about the final time of the race. Milkowski then conducted his own review of the race and landed on the time of 1:46.87, which matches one of DeJulio's three times and is close to the others.

Milkowski outlined his study in a blog in which he noted that the initially assigned TimeFormUS Speed Figure is under review. Milkowski said he saw some oddities in the TRAKUS display while watching a race replay and thought it worth using video editing software to re-examine the race time. That review lined up with DeJulio's findings. He also reviewed the Poseiden Stakes at the same distance from the Pegasus undercard.

"The TimeformUS Speed Figures for the Pegasus and Poseidon will be revisited in the near future and will likely be changed," Milkowski concluded in his blog. "We'll continue to review (the Pegasus), and will look to provide an update later this week."

TRAKUS, the official timer at Gulfstream Park, could not immediately be reached for comment.