Beyers force breeders to breed for speed insted of stamina and durability
"The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America designed in the early 1970s by Andrew Beyer, the syndicated horse racing columnist for The Washington Post. First published in book form in 1975, by 1992 the Daily Racing Form began incorporating Beyer Speed Figures in a horse's past performances and the system has evolved to where today each performance by every horse is given a Beyer number which reflects the time of the race and the inherent speed of the track over which it was run. On the Beyer scale, the top stakes horses in the United States and Canada earn numbers in the 100's, while extremely strong performances may rate as high as the 120's"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyer_Speed_Figure
My Opinion of Beyer Speed-Figures
Every track in the country will do their best to have the fastest possible surface when they run Grade1 stakes, regardless of safety for horses and Jockey's, and only so the final Beyer speed-figures for the race will be as high as possible.
Breeders are using horses that ran hugh Beyer's on the track, even if the broke down in doing so, because that is what will sell at the 2 year old "breeze-up" sales. Once again we see the influence of Beyers.
This is My peronal opinion and should not be taken for facts.
Horses should run against horses not the stopwatch.
Quote
"Big Brown has not yet faced rivals who can challenge him. The supporting cast in the 133rd Preakness was a pitiful group, with only two graded stakes winners among them. The competition was so weak that bettors made Gayego the second choice in the wagering, even though he had lost the Derby by 36 3/4 lengths. The Derby field had been an unusually weak one as well. And in the race that marked Big Brown's emergence as a leading 3-year-old, the Florida Derby, his competition was negligible.
In his five-race career, Big Brown still has not beaten a horse of real quality, nor has he been fast enough to prove he is a horse for the ages. His Kentucky Derby time was on par with recent winners such as Street Sense; his Preakness time of 1 minute 54.8 seconds on a lightning-fast Pimlico track was undistinguished, thanks to Desormeaux's restraint"
End quote
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051702736.html
Once again I think Mr. Beyer shows his total disregard for the horses by diminishing the accomplishment because the final time in his opinion was too slow.
There is only one thing that matters in horse racing and that is being first over the finish line.
No one gets paid more because the horse wins going faster than it has to in order to beat the opponents.
In my opinon Mr. Beyer and his ever lasting chase for the hugh speed-figures should be tossed out of racing toghether with "legal" drugs.
If you look at international racing you will find that your lucky if there is even a time published for past races, it is about how a horse won or lost and who he did beat, horses run against horses not the stopwatch.
Beyer speed figures important in handicapping races Yes or No
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by Curt_On_The_Beach
I'm a recently retired Racehorse exercise rider, now trying my hand at e-commerce and marketing.
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