No dog in the hunt Jimbo, with your SEK back and forth prattle, yet your genuflection to Beyer is a bit over the top. While Andy is the best known figure maker he is certainly not one of the "creators", nor one of the best, though I respect his contributions to handicapping.

Speed figures, emanated some two centuries ago in England. Punters, as they do now, adjusted their odds, often reflecting the time of race, at the expense of the company kept, distance, configuration etc.

During the great depression Donaldson published his epic piece on racetrack profit using speed figures. Good luck on finding a copy now, yet it created a sense of hope for horse players and led to entrepreneurs beginning their own "for sale" products.

Encouraging SEK, to question/change/improve Andy's numbers is not a bad idea, since perhaps the blind eye towards weight, ground loss and most importantly inner race dynamics being largely ignored, should concern competent cappers.

bbb