“Pace makes the race” (horse racing adage)

“Pace makes the race” is a frequently used horse racing adage. A fast pace might help some horses, while a slower pace might help other kinds of horses. The saying “pace makes the race” has been cited in print since at least 1966.
 
 
23 April 1966, Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI), pg. 13, col. 4:
Pre-Derby Race
On Tap Today
NEW YORK (AP)—Pace makes the race.
 
The American turf adage probably never has had a better test than the one it was to get in today’s $100,000-added Wood Memorial at Aqueduct—New York’s final prep for the May 7 running of the 92nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
 
15 February 1969, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), sec. 2, pg. 2, col. 8 ad:
Pace Makes the Race
True! Races are run on the track, not on paper. But giving lots of thought to pace can save lots of disappointments. How to do this is explained in our March issue.
TURF & SPORTS DIGEST
NOW ON SALE
 
17 May 1969, New York (NY) Times, “Wanted: One ‘Rabbit’ With Honest Pace,” pg. 21:
Pace makes the race, they say.
 
14 May 1976, New York (NY) Times, “Bold Forbes Gets Post 4 At Pimlico” by Steve Cady, Sports, pg. 24:
BALTIMORE, May 13 Pace makes the race, and that’s what they were talking about at Pimlico today as entries were drawn for Saturday’s 101st Preakness.
 
Google News Archive
5 June 1976, Miami (FL) News, “Pace theory about due for re-evaluation” by Andrew Beyer (Washington Star), pg. 4D, col. 4:
Most horse players adhere to the traditional notion that “pace makes the race;” that the way the early stages of a race are run will, in part, determine its outcome.
 
The minority faction believes that a horse will run the race which his ability and physical condition permit, and that pace won’t affect his final performance.
       
OCLC WorldCat record
Pace makes the race : an introduction to the Sartin methodology
Author: Tom Hambleton; Howard G Sartin; Michael Pizzolla; Dick Schmidt
Publisher: Banning, CA : O. Henry House Pub., 1991.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
11 June 2000, Daily Herald (Chicago, IL), “Track Tips” by Ron Uchman, sec. 2, pg. 10, col. 6:
Pace makes the race! Pace makes the race! Pace makes the race! I grew up chanting that mantra like some crazed disciple of a nefarious horse-racing deity so you would think that I would be able to recognize a perfect pace scenario when it’s right in front of me. Uh uh.
 
BetUS (April 2009)
Kentucky Derby - Who are the Real Contenders after Pace Analysis
by D.S. Williamson
Perhaps the most overused sentence in modern thoroughbred racing, from a gambling point-of-view, is “pace makes the race”.
 
Of course, there’s a reason why it’s overused. Often times gambling parlance is only created because it’s true. Such is the case with the sentence, “pace makes the race.”
 
But what, exactly, does “pace makes the race” means? And more importantly, from the point-of-view of BetUS online racebook fans, will the sentence determine the winner of the 135th Kentucky Derby?
 
New York (NY) Post
Bodemeister’s fast pace ruined chances for Kentucky Derby win
By Ray Kerrison
Last Updated: 9:26 AM, May 7, 2012
Posted: 1:53 AM, May 7, 2012
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Pace makes the race — it’s one of the oldest verities and cliches in racing, but seldom was it so plainly evident as in the surprise outcome of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
 
A week before the race, everyone in the world knew this Derby was going to be decided by pace when the Parhboo boys entered their swift sprinter Trinniberg in the field, ensuring the Derby would be run at breakneck speed and possibly set it up for a come-from-behind horse.
 
SB Nation
May 17 2012 8:30a
Preakness 2012: Picks And Predictions
by Matt Gardner
There is an old adage in horse racing: “pace makes the race”. On paper, the 2012 Preakness looks like the textbook embodiment of that phrase as a pace scenario much different than the Derby is likely to produce a different outcome.