More than one Thoroughbred trainer has said that “time only matters if you're in jail,” but try telling that to a horseplayer. In North America, the fractional and final times of every race listed in a horse's past performances can play an important role in a bettor's decision-making process, not to mention the performance ratings – from Beyer and Brisnet speed figures to Thorograph and Ragozin sheets – that many horseplayers use.
The method of timing races at some tracks has changed in recent years from traditional beam systems that are tripped when the first horse passes designated poles to a GPS system based on transponders placed on a horse's saddle towel. The transition has not been seamless, and some tracks are now using a hybrid of both systems to compile accurate race times and running positions. Even that system can produce inaccurate times, as evidenced by several races on the two-day Breeders' Cup world championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.
In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Equibase president Sal Sinatra joins publisher Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth to talk about the race-timing challenges he inherited when he joined the company earlier this year and how he hopes timing problems will be resolved. Sinatra, a longtime racing executive who worked in the statistical department of Daily Racing Form when he was just getting started in the business, understands the importance of accurate data, including times, in a horse's past performances.
Paulick and Hackbarth review undefeated Woodbine Star of the Week Lady Speightspeare's victory in the G2 Bessarabian Stakes under Emma-Jayne WIlson. Owned and bred by Charles Fipke (who also owned and bred Lady Speightspeare's multiple graded stakes-winning dam), the 3-year-old Speightstown filly is trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield.
Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:
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