Indiana Grand Picks

Indiana Grand Racing & Casino is one of the newest horse racing venues in the USA. It opened its doors in 2002 and has been holding regular race meets for nearly two decades. It is part of a family entertainment center, which is located in Shelbyville, Ind. (about 40 miles southeast of Indianapolis), and has proved extremely popular with the locals.

It currently offers year-round gaming, restaurants and musical entertainment. Live racing currently takes place seven months of the year (typically from May to November) and offers a mix of thoroughbred and quarter horse action. The Indiana Live! Casino is one of the newest additions to the complex, and this has helped bring extra visitors to the racetrack.

Simulcast betting is also available at the track, with visitors able to wager on both thoroughbred and harness racing.

The dirt track at Indiana Grand is one mile in length, with the home stretch measuring 80 feet. The turf course, which is located on the inside of the main track, is just seven furlongs in length, although it is significantly wider at 98 feet.

There are a number of key races that are held at the track each year. The Indiana Derby is the highlight, a Grade II contest with a prize purse of $500,000. The Indiana Oaks and the Michael G SchaeferMemorial Mile are other notable races that are held at the track.

Indiana Grand Racetrack History

Compared to other racetracks in North America,Indiana Grand is comparatively modern, and history is in short supply.

Its preview meet took place in December 2002with the area's residents flocking to the track to sample the live racing experience.

The track was originally known as Indiana Downs before changing its name to Indiana Grand in 2009. This coincided with the casino opening its doors. Four years later, the venue officially became known as Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. That moniker has remained in place ever since.

In 2013, the track was purchased by CentaurGaming, which paid $8.4 million to add the venue to its portfolio. The company already owned nearby Hoosier Park. Less than 12 months later, they opted to move all flat racing to Indiana Grand with all harness racing heading in the opposite direction.

This meant that the lucrative Indiana Derby, which had been held at Hoosier Park since 1995, was to be moved to IndianaGrand. Bob Baffert's Power Broker was the first winner of this race following the switch.

Although he ended up missing the KentuckyDerby, leading contender Cupid won this race for the Baffert yard in 2016.

At the beginning of September 2019, the track made history by opening the first sportsbook in the state of Indiana. It is available in the Winners Enclosure Sports Pub, which was officially opened at the start of the month. The major of Shelbyville was in attendance. It allows patrons visiting the track to place legal sports wagers on a number of sports, including football, baseball and basketball.

Indiana Grand Configuration and Track Bias

There has always been a theory amongst handicappers that speed horses tend to prevail at Indiana Grand. This appears to be evident in 2019, with 47 percent of winners in 5/5.5-furlong sprints on the main track showing early speed. This reduces to 33 percent in races held over six furlongs. However, it is still a significant amount of horses getting an early run and showing good pace from the gate.

Rail runners tended to be more successful over the six furlongs/one mile on the main track, while horses drawn in the middle were better over the minimum distance.

Sprints on the turf also produced a similar outcome, with 34 percent of winners over the 5/5.5 furlongs going wire-to-wire at the track. It is a decent venue for sprinters, and handicappers have regularly enjoyed taking advantage of this angle.

As a result, it is often advised to take note of horses who have plenty of warm-up races or regular drills throughout the winter. The first few weeks at Indiana Grand often tend to favor horses who are sharp, and those who are alert at the gate.

It is notably much harder to maintain pace on the turf over the maximum distance. Horses who run over one mile-plus on the grass very rarely go wire-to-wire, with very few of the early pace setters lasting the distance.

Winning Positions

The stats from the 2019 meet indicate that there was a fairly even spread across the posts. The track tends to favor early speed; however, sprint races on the main have shown very little bias towards any particular post this year.

Post 12 produced two winners from nine starters, which produces 22 percent; however, it is taken from an incredibly small sample. Stall 3 was the most productive starting position, producing 14 percent of winners over the minimum trip. Stalls 2, 4, 6 and 7 weren't far behind, as each yielded over 13 percent of the winners on the main track.

Over the longer trip, the outside stalls were once again leading the way, with 22 percent of winners coming from post 12.However, only 15 horses have been drawn here so far in 2019. Stalls 2 and 3were also relatively productive, with 16.3 and 15.4 percent, respectively, of winners coming from these two posts.

On the turf course, only 10 percent of winners were given the inside draw, while stall 3 was head and shoulders above the rest at 17 percent. Once again, the outside post produced decent numbers, with 20 percent of winners (from a small sample) coming from this particular position.

Indiana Grand Racing Season

Racing takes place for seven months each year at Indiana Grand. The meet typically begins at the start of May and concludes in mid-November; however, this can change depending on the racing calendar.

There are a number of key races that take place each year, with the Grade II Indiana Derby undoubtedly the highlight. It is competed over 1 1/16 miles and is open to 3-year olds.

Key Races:

●     Indiana Derby

●     Indiana Oaks

●     Michael G Schaefer Memorial Stakes

●     Shelby County Stakes

●     Sagamore Sired Stakes

●     Indiana Futurity

●     Indiana General Assembly Distaff

●     Mari Hulman George

Indiana Grand Address

4200 N. Michigan Road

Indiana Grand Best Jockeys and Trainers

There are a number of top horsemen who regularly send their runners to the track, and they produce regular winners throughout the meet. There are a number of jockeys who regularly ride winners at the track, and they can always be relied upon to get the best out of their mounts.