>There are no ratings in the United States that are comparable to Timeform's and, until somebody develops them, numbers generated in our country will remain sketchy at best. <

Some people have developed personal methods for measuring the "quality" of fields and horses.

All the pieces of the puzzle are generally discussed, but few people put it all together. Most horse players identify themselves as speed handicappers, trip handicappers, pace handicappers, class handicappers, trainer handicappers etc... They typically argue about the merits of their own approach and the weaknesses of others instead of drawing upon the strengths of each to compliment and enhance their overall understanding and to address any weaknesses from another direction.