So I got my copy of the Thoroughbred Times today, and saw the part where "Ragozin looks at the Triple Crown Preps", and felt compelled to send the TT the following e-mail:

"Gentlemen-- I publish the Thoro-Graph sheets, and am Len Ragozin's competition. But give me a break, will you guys-- you continue to publish your little box saying he is the "father of speed figures", when he is nothing of the kind. If you watch the DVD from the DRF Expo last year, you will hear me discuss (with Len Friedman of Ragozin's office sitting right there on the panel), a book called "Consistent Handicapping Profits", by E.W. Donaldson, which was first published in 1933 (when Ragozin was 7), and which went to 15 printings. The book shows you in great detail how to make your own figures, using ground loss, and discusses weight and other factors. My copy (which I displayed at the Expo, second edition, 1936), also has an ad in the back for order-by-mail, ready-to-use speed figures as well-- figures that were used by the general public.

You guys are journalists. If you research it for 15 minutes you will find out that Ragozin's self aggrandizement notwithstanding, there were LOTS of guys making figures, DECADES before Ragozin came on the scene, and what you are doing is a slap in the face to all of them. Do your homework, and get it right. A correction would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath".



Beyond the false claim, I had some other interest in the article as well. The figures for several prep winners were given out (once again dramatically cheapening the value of the data-- buy and manage your million dollar Derby horse for free!), but you get what you pay for. The relationship of the numbers they gave Scipion, Closing Argument and Sort It Out is off, by quite a bit.



TGJB