All data was manually compiled and is subject to human error.
Introduction
The Cigar Mile is a 8 furlong race over the dirt for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct. First run in 1988 as the NYRA Mile, it was renamed for 1994 winner Cigar in 1997. The race was not run in 1993.
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Below is a look at data from a variety of angles to see what has produced winners in the Cigar Mile from 1991-2018.
Charts are interactive, hover over or touch bars and lines for more information.
Odds are shown as listed in the results charts. Hover-over or touch each bar for $2 payout.
Purge (2006) and Jersey Town (2010) are excluded from the chart below as outliers at $1 odds of 25.5-1 and 34.7-1. Outliers are included in the averages and medians.
1991-2018
Average $1 Odds:
$7.00
Median $1 Odds:
$4.50
2010-2018
Average $1 Odds:
$6.70
Median $1 Odds:
$2.75
1991-2018
Average $2 Win:
$16.00
Median $2 Win:
$11.00
2010-2018
Average $2 Win:
$15.40
Median $2 Win:
$7.50
Cigar Mile Bettors’ Choice and Field Size 1991-2018
Bettors’ Choice is the ranked order of the field by final odds: The favorite is the first choice, the second favorite is the second choice and so on. For example, 1991 winner Rubiano was 4th choice in a 15 horse field.
To read the charts below, 0 on the vertical axis is the lead, any distance behind the leader is below 0 and any distance above 0 is the amount the leader is ahead of the next horse. At the bottom are the points of call as they correspond to the charts. Each line is a horse, and you can hover over the point of call for each line to see more information about the horse.
For example, if you hover over the bottom-most line in the first chart, at the 1/2 mile mark you’ll see that 1997 winner Devious Course was 11 lengths behind the leader at this point in the race.
Position at the 1/2 mile mark
Speed:
In the lead
Presser/Stalker:
Between .1 and 3 lengths off leader
Off the pace:
Between 3 and 6 lengths off the leader
Deep closer:
More than 6 lengths off the leader
The Cigar Mile has been predominately won by stalker/pressers since 1991 (55.6%) and that trend has continue over the past 10 years (50%).
A closer look at winning running styles by decade.
The majority of winners and starters since 1991 have been 4-year-olds. No 6-year-olds have won and there have been no starters older than 7-year-old in the time frame.
Numbers over 1 outperform expected value and numbers less than 1 underperform expected value. Learn more about how A/E ratio is calculated and how it should be interpreted.
With the exception of 6-year-olds, each age group has performed reasonably well in relation to number of starters. 3-year-olds have slightly under performed their expected value.
Congaree (2002-2003) is only two-time winner in the time frame.
A run back is defined as a starter who made a prior start in the race. For example Congaree made his first Cigar Mile start in 2002 and ran back to win in 2003.
Starters who have previously run in the Cigar Mile have performed relatively well to win 21.4% of the time and run in the money 42.9% of the time.
The Cigar Mile has generally been an interesting betting race where favorites have under-performed and an occasional longshot wins.
The average winning odds since 1991 are 7-1 with a median of 4.5-1 and an average $16.00 payout for a $2 win ticket. Since 2010 those averages have dipped slightly to average odds of 6.7-1 and $15.40 to win. Medians since 2010 dropped much more to odds of 2.7-1 and $7.50 to win.
The winner on average has been the 3rd choice (3.67) since 1991 and remained so since 2010 (3.11). The favorite has an average finish position of 3rd (3.82) since 1991 and has improved slightly since 2010 (3).
Stalkers/Pressers have performed best since 1991 winning 55.6% of the time. This trend has roughly continued in the past ten years with stalker/pressers winning 50% of the time.
Winners have predominately come from Belmont Park since 1991. Field size has been above the 2017 average of 7.7 starters with an average of 8.96 starters since 1991 and 8.11 starters since 2010.
