I'm not convinced it was the sole reason but agree it could have been a factor.
Horses see white exceptionally well. Presumably running rails are white so horses can see them which begs the question - why change the colour for the last 100m to something harder for the horse to see?
No one can read the advertising on the rail anyway unless you are the Jockey on their way going through it.
Perhaps the irony is it is so the Stipes know when to count the number of whip strikes in the last 100m!!!!
Not dissimilar to steering a vehicle around a bend, you begin to do so well beforehand.
Similar also to jumpers having white painted sighter boards as a take-off point before a fence. Horses have nearly 360 degrees of peripheral vision but poor focus.
In my view advertising paraphernalia wrapped around the running rail was the sole reason for Alabama Lass detouring at the point where the rail colour changed from white to black, to which second-rate officials/stewards were oblivious.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Juan Hernandez put the cap on a phenomenal weekend at Santa Anita Park March 8 as Forced Entry successfully graduated out of the maiden ranks with a win in the $101,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3).View the full article