Quote:
Originally Posted by ateamstupid
You're looking at this wrong. Beyers are computed relative to the times of other races that day, not races from past years, so you can't compare times from 42 years apart and try to match up the time differential with Beyer points. It's apples to oranges.
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OK, but since Beyers are compared to each other all the time for multiple contestants, which is the point of speed handicapping, there must be some correlation between the actual speed and the speed figure. We don't require that the Beyers to be compared be earned on the same day at the same track.
I was under the impression that one of the advantages of Beyer Speed Figures over the old speed index approach with the track variant was that the difference in track condition was already rolled into that single number so that comparisons would then be easier.
Acknowledging that there is likely to be a huge difference in track conditions over 42 years, is the difference between the speed figure values over the same distance by the respective horses believable, even after taking into account a very large track condition difference?