SPEED HANDICAPPING GLOSSARY

ADJUSTMENTS
Changes made to par times, running times, and speed figures based upon various factors of handicapping.

BEYER SPEED FIGURES
The official speed figures of the Daily Racing Form; a scale of speed figures based upon the value of one-fifth of a second, or one length, in races at various distances and completed in relatively fast or slow final times; developed and popularized by speed handicapper Andrew Beyer, also the racing columnist for The Washington Post.

DAILY TRACK VARIANTS
The measure of how fast or slow a track surface has been on a particular day in relation to what is normal; calculated as the average deviation between par times and actual times for sprints and routes, respectively.

EARLY PACE
The position and beaten lengths of a horse at the second call.

EARLY SPEED
The position and beaten lengths of a horse at the first call.

FINAL TIMES
The official running times of races measured at the finish line, either in fifths of seconds or hundredths of seconds.

FRACTIONAL TIMES
The running times of the lead horse at the various points of call.

PAR TIMES
The average times a specific class of horses runs a particular distance at a particular race track, such as $20,000 claiming horses running six furlongs at Church Downs.

POINTS OF CALL
The position and beaten lengths of horses at various Intervals In the race; in sprints the first call occurs after horses have run two furlongs and the second call occurs after the horses have run four furlongs; in routes the first call occurs after the horses have run four furlongs and second call varies according to the distance of the race; in all races the stretch call occurs at the eighth pole, one furlong from the finish line.

SPEED FIGURES
A numerical representation of how fast a horse has run in a race; an estimate of actual speed based upon final times that have been adjusted by the daily track variant and maybe other factors, such as trips and weight; the numbers facilitate comparisons among horses that have run on different race days, at different distances, and even at different race tracks.

STANDARD ADJUSTMENTS
Regardless of race track or time of the year, adjustments to par times and speed figures based upon sex and age.