TGJB

That is the best argument in support of the very counter-intuitive backward sheet's scale that I have yet heard. Unfortunately, once you cross into negative territory, you lose that property to some degree. Also, if horses are getting faster, it becomes difficult to maintain an intuitive feel for the figures. I guess that is one reason you might want to consider shifting the scale to the right. How much is the question? What should "0" represent? Currently, it is completely arbitrary and has no definable, consistent or intuitive meaning. Simply shifting right 5 points will only be a Band-Aid and will not solve your long-term problem.

I have a suggestion that I think makes a lot of sense. Simply take all of the figures assigned in your database over the last year and determine the current 99.999 percentile (i.e., the figure that represents a level that is achieved or exceeded only once for every 100,000 figures assigned). Assign this "0" and shift everything accordingly. That would anchor your scale to something measurable and fairly intuitive. It would also allow you to consistently shift the scale in the future (say annually or as frequently as you think it needs to be updated). That way "0" would always represent a figure that is achieved only once in every 100,000 efforts. When a horse earns a "0" you would have a sense of what it means (like the proverbial "100 year flood") and the meaning would never change even if horses get faster or slower in the future.

Think about it.

Chris