chris,

beyer's explanation for not including ground loss in his number is that the being closer to the rail is not always an advantage. he feels there are times when the horse on the inside might be running on a deeper part of the track and thus, the outside horse does not deserve a figure bump for his trip. that's we he has been preaching bias analysis as a supplement to speed figures for the last ten years or so. i'm not saying i agree with him, just my understanding.

why did he pick who did? hard to tell. why did len pick suprah blitz and peace rules as his top two and thorograph picked brancusi and indian express as its top two. i know last year at saratoga he took quite a bit of ribbing for not selecting the top beyer horse in the 2002 derby. he's great to listen to, but you have to turn him off around derby time. i think his derby record is pretty close to mine.