The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
racehorses
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
in
North America designed in the early 1970s by
Andrew Beyer
Andrew Beyer (born 17 Nov 1943) is an American expert on horse race betting who designed the Beyer Speed Figure.
In the early 1970s, while working for the ''Washington Daily News'', Beyer did extensive work on the concept of speed figures and w ...
, the syndicated horse racing columnist for
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
. First published in book form in 1975, the
Daily Racing Form
The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceh ...
began incorporating Beyer Speed Figures in a horse's past performances in 1992 and the system now assigns a Beyer number for each horse race. On the Beyer scale, the top
stakes horses in the United States and Canada typically earn numbers in the 100s, while extremely strong performances can rate in the 120s. In
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
Timeform
Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by t ...
has a similar rating scale that yields a number, but with a different value. The popular rule of thumb for a rough equivalent of the Timeform score is to deduct 12-14 points to achieve the Beyer figure. For
American Quarter Horse racing, the
Speed index
Speed index (sometimes speed rating) is a system of rating the performance of Quarter Horse racehorses. The American Quarter Horse Association (or the AQHA) has used two systems over the history of Quarter Horse racing to evaluate racing performan ...
rating system is used.
The Beyer Speed Figure is calculated by looking at the final time and distance of the race, adjusted by the track variant, which is a measure of the inherent speed of the racetrack in question. The track variant considers both the historical average time at the racetrack for the distance in question, called the "par time", and the average speed for the day in particular. The latter calculation compensates for a racetrack running faster or slower than usual. The Beyer Speed Figure specifically does ''not'' consider other variables such as the early pace or traffic problems a horse may have faced during a given race. The figure may however be adjusted if the raw numbers are unusual based on the field's previous performances. The figures are generally less reliable in turf races, which often have a slow early pace resulting in slow final times that do not reflect the horse's true speed.
Records
The record for the highest Beyer Speed figure is held by
Groovy
''Groovy'' (or, less commonly, ''groovie'' or ''groovey'') is a slang colloquialism popular during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. It is roughly synonymous with words such as "excellent", "fashionable", or "amazing", depending on context.
History
The ...
, the 1987
American Champion Sprint Horse who earned 133 and 132 in back-to-back races,
in the
Roseben
Roseben (1901–1918) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame race horse who grew to such an enormous size (one inch less than 18 hands) that he was known as "The Big Train." Because of his great size, he was slow to mature but when he finall ...
and
True North Handicap
The True North Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four years old and older held over a distance of six and half furlongs on dirt scheduled annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event ...
s at six furlongs in 1987. (Note that this speed figure was assigned before the numbers were published in the Daily Racing Form, so may not be included in some listings of the top speed figures.) In 2004,
Ghostzapper
Ghostzapper (foaled April 6, 2000) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2004, outdistancing Roses in May by three lengths in a track record time of 1:59.02. His gate-to-wire Classic victory completed a 4-for-4 season, ...
earned the highest Beyer Speed Figure for the year at 128 while winning the
Philip H. Iselin Stakes
The Philip H. Iselin Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses three years of age and older, the race was first run in 1884. In 1891, New Jersey state legislator ...
.
Formal Gold
Formal Gold (foaled April 20, 1993 in Ontario) is a retired Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in the United States. He is famous for defeating Hall of Fame champion Skip Away in four of their six meetings, with major stakes wins incl ...
ran successive numbers of 126, 124 and 125 in 1997 in the
Whitney Handicap
The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...
(actually losing by a nose to
Will's Way), Iselin Handicap and
Woodward Stakes
The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward.
The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Rac ...
. These were three of the eight highest figures earned in the 1990s.
Flightline earned a 126 speed figure in winning the 2022
Pacific Classic Stakes at
Del Mar Racetrack
The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundi ...
in 2022.
Easy Goer
Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988 and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in t ...
and
Sunday Silence both earned 124 speed figures in the 1989
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...
, which tied for the fastest speed figure earned in any Breeders' Cup race.
Easy Goer also routinely ran in the 120 Beyer Speed Figure range on a regular basis in his races, while arch-rival Sunday Silence did so rarely and only when it was required for him to prevail. It is noteworthy that Easy Goer's overall speed figures were substantially superior to principal rival Sunday Silence, despite Sunday Silence's slight three to one edge in their head-to-head races.
Easy Goer
Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988 and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in t ...
ran a 122 in winning the 1989
Belmont Stakes, the best Beyer Speed Figure in any Triple Crown race since these ratings were first published in 1987.
Easy Goer also ran 121, 120 and 119 speed figures in the 1989
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...
,
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the s ...
and
Whitney Handicap
The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...
.
In 2007 the highest Beyer Speed Figure was 124 assigned to
Midnight Lute
Midnight Lute (foaled May 13, 2003, in Versailles, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named American Champion Sprint Horse in 2007.
Background
Midnight Lute was bred by Tom Evans, Macon Wilmil Equines & Marjac Farms, Inc. a ...
in the 7 furlong
Forego Handicap
The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...
at
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...
.
Commentator, who once ran a 123 in his career, scored a 120 as a 7-year-old, possibly a record for a horse that old.
Alysheba
Alysheba (March 3, 1984 – March 27, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners.
A bay colt, Alysheba was sired by Alydar out of the mare Bel ...
ran a 122 speed figure in his career.
Holy Bull
Holy Bull (January 24, 1991 – June 7, 2017) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Although he finished a disappointing twelfth in the 1994 Kentucky Derby, his major wins that year in the Florida Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, Metropolitan Handicap, ...
earned a 121 in his career.
Easy Goer is also the record-holder for a two-year-old, earning a 116 Beyer Speed Figure in the 1988
Champagne Stakes.
Top Beyer Speed Figures earned
Beyer speculated that had his figures existed in 1973,
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
would have scored 139 in his classic 1973 win at the Belmont Stakes. This implies that
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
would have had the highest ever Beyer speed figure.
However, Beyer also acknowledged that by some calculations,
Count Fleet's Beyer speed figures might have reached 150.
As Beyer has noted, a speed figure is a numerical expression of a horse's final time, universalized for distance, track surface, and the daily variant on that surface. While Beyer has also noted that "speed figures tell you how fast a horse ran in the past; they do not necessarily predict how it will run today," their use as a handicapping tool is premised on their ability to shed light on how a horse is likely to run in its next start. In ''Betting Thoroughbreds'', Steve Davidowitz claimed that (in 1974), "the top-figure horse wins 35 percent of the time, at a slight loss for every $2.00 wagered." This is an example of using the top figure as a "power rating," or singular measure of a horse's ability. In horse racing, power ratings are generally called class ratings. Because multiple horses are in each race, as opposed to two teams (binary) in a sport (or chess, which uses the Elo rating system to make power ratings), the task of adjusting power ratings is much more complex. Several other companies produce and sell power ratings, but most do not reveal their precise methodology.
History
The first published work on creating speed-figures was E.W. Donaldson's ''Consistent Handicapping Profits'' (1936), which was cited by Jerry Brown as the method on which the Ragozin and Brown "sheet" figures are based. The Beyer numbers trace their roots back to the work of Ray Taulbot's parallel-time chart (1959), with Beyer pointing out the flaw of adding a fixed amount of time to slow or fast times at other distances, driving the numbers out of proportion. In 1963, Taulbot sent his parallel-time chart to Beyer's Harvard classmate, Sheldon Kovitz, who adjusted it to account for velocity (e.g., a horse who runs six furlongs in 1:09 will run its seventh furlong faster than one who runs 1:13, and so forth). From this work, using the same principle, Kovitz derived the beaten-lengths chart which Beyer published in ''Picking Winners.''
Beyer's subsequent research added the last piece of the puzzle. In ''Picking Winners'', Beyer claimed a breakthrough when a study of claiming races at Calder Race Course showed Beyer that 1:13 for six furlongs was equally fast to 1:26.1 at seven; from there, Kovitz's math was used to generate perfectly accurate parallel-time and beaten-lengths charts, which Beyer then used to make ''par times'' for classes, against which each race is measured to determine if the track is faster or slower than normal. Each day's races are compared to their pars, with the variant representing the average deviation, and then added to the raw speed rating to yield the par-time based figure. Once horses have built a figure history, Beyer projects a figure based on the figures earned by the horses in the race, in place of the par, making the numbers much more accurate. For example, a horse who earns three consecutive figures of 102, and defeats a horse with three consecutive figures of 92, would indicate a projected figure of 102 for that race is accurate. Sometimes, variants are split during the day if the surface changes drastically enough.
In 1992, Beyer began making turf figures, which were made more accurate by his adjustment of the beaten-lengths chart, in which he uses the six-and-a-half furlong beaten-lengths chart for all races at that distance or longer, to reflect the nature of turf racing, where horses jockey for position most of the way, and then sprint home with almost all of their energy in reserve, making the competitive part of the race more akin to a sprint than to the race's actual distance.
References
{{Reflist
Horse racing in the United States
Horse racing in Canada