2004 Experimental Free Handicap

Undefeated Declan's Moon tied with Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko for 2004 Experimental Free Handicap topweight.

Date: 01/26/2005

Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko and Eclipse Award champ Declan's Moon share the top weight this year at 126 pounds. The Experimental Free Handicap has been published annually by The Jockey Club since 1933, and is compiled for a hypothetical 1 1/16-mile race on the dirt in the spring. Horses eligible for weighting were all 2-year-olds of 2004 that finished among the first four in graded or other non-restrictive races with an added value of $75,000 or more, run in the continental United States. The weighting committee this year consisted of racing secretaries Frank Gabriel (Arlington Park), Mike Lakow (the New York Racing Association), and Tom Robbins (Del Mar Thoroughbred Club).

Mike Lakow said, "We felt that the Juvenile was the strongest race, so Wilko had to be ranked at the top. As for Declan's Moon, he was unbeaten and defeated Wilko (who was third) in the Hollywood Futurity. So, he had to be co-high-weighted. The division was so competitive. We ranked plenty of them at 120 and higher, and we just hope they stay sound for this year."

For the fillies, the obvious choice was the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse Award champion Sweet Catomine. She was ranked at 124 pounds, seven pounds more than the next highest weight of 117 which was shared by Balletto, Sense of Style, and Splendid Blended.

The other use of the Experimental rankings is in determining which horses are "dual qualifiers" for the Kentucky Derby. Horses ranked within 10 pounds of the male topweight or who are a champion in another country and have a Dosage Index of 4.0 or less and a Center of Distribution of 1.25 or less are considered the dual qualifiers. These horses have statistically shown that they have a better chance at winning the Derby. Dual qualifiers are highlighted below in red.

For a list of all the Experimental Handicap horses with full info and statistics, check this PDF file from Blood Horse.

Colts and Geldings		Fillies
Weight	Horse	Weight	Horse
126	Declan's Moon	124	Sweet Catomine
126	Wilko	117	Balletto (UAE)
124	Afleet Alex	117	Sense of Style
124	Roman Ruler	117	Splendid Blended
123	Proud Accolade	115	Ready's Gal
123	Sun King	114	Inspiring
122	Giacomo	114	Runway Model
122	Rockport Harbor	114	Souvenir Gift
121	Devils Disciple	113	Sharp Lisa
120	Consolidator	113	Sis City
119	Galloping Grocer	112	In the Gold
118	Southern Africa	111	Classic Elegance
117	Chandtrue	111	Dance Away Capote
116	Flamenco	111	Paddy's Daisy
116	Park Avenue Ball	111	Play With Fire
115	Dubleo	110	Melhor Ainda
115	Greater Good	110	Punch Appeal
114	Crown Point	109	Broadway Gold
114	Lunarpal	109	Culinary
114	Primal Storm	109	Louvain (IRE)
113	Actxecutive	109	Northern Mischief
113	Defer	109	Toll Taker
113	Straight Line	108	Chocolate Brown
113	Texcess	108	Enduring Will
112	Boston Glory	108	Hello Lucky
111	Better Than Bonds	108	Short Route
111	Drum Major	107	Conveyor's Angel
111	Elusive Chris	107	Megascape
111	Leaving On My Mind	107	Summer Raven
111	Patriot Act	106	Buzz Song
111	Seattles Best Joe	106	Culture Clash
111	Seize the Day	106	Hear Us Roar
111	Storm Surge	106	Memorette
110	Bellamy Road	106	Take a Check
110	Boggy Creek	105	Double D Appeal
110	Cajun Pepper	105	Kota
110	Closing Argument	105	Queens Plaza
110	Evil Minister	104	Angel Trumpet
110	Gold Joy	104	Bella Banissa
110	Wallstreet Scandal	104	Im a Dixie Girl
109	B. B. Best	104	No Bull Baby
109	Cin Cin	104	Royal Copenhagen (FR)
109	Funk	103	Aspen Tree
109	Magoo's Magic	103	Dansetta Light
109	Three Hour Nap	103	Jill Robin L
108	Anthony J.	103	K. D.'s Shady Lady
108	Bushwacker	103	La Maitresse (IRE)
108	Littlebitofzip	103	Limited Entry
108	Sunny Sky (FR)	103	My Miss Storm Cat
108	Tadreeb	103	Smuggler
107	G P's Black Knight	102	Berbatim
107	Rey de Cafe	102	Leona's Knight
106	Chips Are Down	102	Paragon Queen
106	D'court's Speed	102	Running Bobcats
106	Killenaule	102	Secrets Galore
106	Maximus C	102	She's a Jewel
106	Wild Desert	101	Gotta Rush
106	Winsomemoneyhoney	101	Lady Glade
105	Cherokee Chase	101	Ninadivina
105	City Code	101	Salute
105	Doctor Voodoo	101	Winning Season
105	Major League	100	Darn That Girl
105	Rush Bay	100	Malika's Gold
105	Winning Expression	100	Miss Matched
104	Diamond Isle	100	Western Princess
104	Hal's Image	100	Wild Chick
104	Magna Graduate
104	Positive Prize
104	Ready Ruler
104	Smooth Bid
104	Spanish Chestnut
103	Rubialedo
103	Scipion
103	Smoke Warning
103	Upscaled
102	Malanato
102	My Parade
102	Silver Haze
101	Chattahoochee War
101	Dusty Minister
101	Elusive Thunder
101	Social Probation
101	Woody's Apache
100	Favorite Minit
100	Fusaichi Rock Star
100	Reno Bob
100	Storm Creek Rising

Back to Horse-Races.Net main page

Want to keep up with what's new on this site?
Sign up for my weekly newsletter here.

On the Forum: