Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Mystik Dan vs. Secretariat at the Derby
1 point by graycat 11 days ago | hide | past | favorite | 1 comment
This year

     Mystik Dan won the 2024 Kentucky
     Derby with a winning time 2:03.24.
Secretariat won the 1973 Derby in

     1:59.4
and that was a new Derby record and, from some fast Google searching, still stands.

So, the difference in time (in seconds) between Mystik Dan and Secretariat at the Derby was

     2:03.24 - 1:59.4 =

     ( 60 * 2 + 3.24 ) - ( 60 + 59.4 ) =
     3.840
So, the difference in time was 3.840 seconds.

But, if both horses were in the same race on the Derby track, at the instant Secretariat was at the finish line and won the race, how far (in feet) would Secretariat be ahead of Mystik Dan?

So, the Derby race is 1 1/4 miles long.

Assume Mystik Dan was running at his average speed (feet per second):

     ( 5280 * 1.25 ) / ( 60 * 2 + 3.24 ) =
     53.554
Then the distance (feet) Mystik Dan ran in the time 1:59.4 (seconds) Secretariat took to run the race would be

     ( 60 + 59.4) * 53.554 = 6,394.348
So when Secretariat finished and won the race, the distance (feet) Mystic Dan would be behind would be:

     ( 5280 * 1.25 ) - 6,394.348 = 205.652
Even if the

     3.840 seconds
might not sound like much, at the track and watching the race, the distance

     205.652 feet
would be a LOT and easy to see!

Video of Secretariat's Derby win is at:

     https://youtu.be/LV4drumXbA4
From the movie 'Secretariat', he was called Big Red, and at the end of this video can see Secretariat and another horse from behind -- Secretariat is a lot wider!





The one that will win will be the one whipped/flogged to within inches of its life, has the most performance enhancing drugs and spurred the hardest.

I'm not a gambler nor do I agree to the brutalisation of animals for human enjoyment.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: