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The top contenders for the 2012 Kentucky Derby will have to have two traits. First, they must have tactical speed. The Kentucky Derby attracts a large field and without tactical speed, establishing a favorable early position might be impossible. The other key factor that the top 2012 Derby contenders must have is stamina. The one thing about the Derby that all contenders share is, for the first time in their racing career, these horses are going the distance of 1-1/4 miles. It's a lot easier to be a contender for the Derby than it is to be one of the top contenders. It's these two factors - speed and stamina - that will separate the long-shots from the 2012 Kentucky Derby favorites. One of the questions we're asked is, can a front-runner win the Derby or any Triple Crown race? In the past 25 years, the Kentucky Derby has been won by exactly three frontrunners – Winning Colors in 1988, Go for Gin in 1994 and War Emblem in 2002. So does that mean that frontrunners are generally at a disadvantage in the Kentucky Derby? Most handicappers believe that in general, this is the case, and that the Derby favors those that come from off the pace. In fact, only 22 horses in the race’s history have been able to wire the field in the Derby’s 137-year history. Some of these include Bold Forbes, Count Fleet, Sir Barton, Kauai King, Jet Pilot, Riva Ridge, Spend a Buck, Regret, along with the afore-mentioned winners. Consider the running style of the past eight year’s winners, Animal Kingdom, Super Saver, Mine That Bird, Big Brown, Street Sense, Barbaro, Giacomo, Smarty Jones, and Funny Cide. Winners that stalked the pace included Funny Cide and Smarty Jones who stalked in second. Midpack winners included Animal Kingdom, Super Saver, Big Brown, and Barbaro. Street Sense, Mine That Bird, and Giacomo both came from the back of the field. Some may question whether the frontrunners entered in recent Derbies were simply not very good. After all a 25-1 front running long shot is probably 25-1 because he is not highly regarded as a runner, rather than because he is a need the lead type. In 2001, Balto Star was an outstanding front running horse that got cooked on the lead. Peace Rules was a talented horse that led the 2003 Kentucky Derby field until mid-stretch when he was overtaken by eventual winner Funny Cide, and Lion Heart was the 2004 Santa Anita Derby winner who was overtaken in mid stretch by Smarty Jones after leading the first 9 furlongs of the race. In 2007, Hard Spun took the lead and led until the 1/8th pole, but Street Sense reeled him in and pulled away. Hard Spun like Lion Heart, Peace Rules, and Balto Star was a quality horse and not just some hopeless long shot, but even he was not able to get the top spot. Frontrunners, often fade, but as we have seen, a quality frontrunner can often stick around for second or third place, but the style of the race often makes it difficult for them to hang around for the top spot. And because of the unusually large fields seen in the Derby, there is the greater likelihood for a fast early pace and thus sometimes frontrunners end up going just a bit faster than they would have liked. Even 1988 winner Winning Colors, who is probably the most talented front running winner of the Kentucky Derby of the past 25 years was almost reeled in by Forty Niner after leading the field by four lengths at the 3/16ths pole. So it takes a truly talented frontrunner to be able to go all the way in the Derby, and they are generally not good bets for the win. Each year at HorseRaceGame.com, hundreds of thousands of virtual horses are bred. They are cared for and carefully managed through their virtual racing career with the objective of becoming a world-class champion race horse. If you love action games that also require a strategy and a significant level of skill, then you’ll definitely want to check out HorseRaceGame.com. – the Internet’s most exciting, 3D, free virtual online racing game. With each horse you breed, you will feel that same excitement as you care for and train your horse and carefully prepare him for his racing debut and hopefully numerous trips to the winner’s circle. Fantasy racing is an exciting game that not only offers global recognition, but also great prizes and rewards. Check out this free, exciting fantasy racing world and join the hundreds of thousands of members who live their dream of being a top breeder, owner and trainer of an elite thoroughbred.
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