Breaking records isn’t something you expect to be doing daily in sports. In fact, in some sports, it may take several years for a record to be broken or they may not be broken at all.
After the first 2 nights of the 2023 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby, fans have witnessed multiple track records being broken. On Saturday night, Kurt Bensmiller broke the track record with a time of 1:10.66. Three heats later, Chanse Vigen stopped the clock in 1:10.57 to establish a new track record.
While the fitness levels of the thoroughbred horses are at their peak during the race season, the main reason track records are being broken at the Rangeland Derby stems from changes made in 2022 that make the shortest distance around the track longer.
In 2022, the Calgary Stampede added delineator arms to the rail around the racetrack. This extended the distance out from the actual rail roughly a wagon width to the tip of the delineator arm.
Historically, the shortest distance around the racetrack was along the rail or one wagon width. With the delineator arms the wagon on the inside is actually racing 2 wide, relative to where the rail is. In short, since 2022, the shortest distance around the track is longer than it once was.
“Because this is a physical change to the track which altered the distance, the track record was reset last year” says WPCA’s Billy Melville. “Jason Glass will forever have the track record on the “old” track, and as of last night, Chanse Vigen is the track record holder on the current track.”
With 8 nights of racing still ahead, it’s quite possible, new track records will continue to be announced.
