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SPEED OR PACE FIGURES?

Arguments debating the desirability of speed figures vis-à-vis pace figures are as fundamentally specious as the arguments a generation ago about speed and class. Both are fundamentally important, and both are frequently interdependent.

That is, higher pace figures will frequently result in lower speed figures. Higher speed figures will frequently result from lower pace figures.

Furthermore, although the relationships between speed and pace figures will frequently be symmetrical, notably among ordinary horses, they are not causal. Other factors can play a vital role, especially class and form. In numerous handicapping situations, final decisions regarding the relative importance of speed and pace figures will remain analytical. Handicappers will be challenged to determine which numbers should be most meaningful today.

Nonetheless, several typical situations will be best analyzed by emphasizing pace figures in relation to speed figures, or vice versa. Below are common scenarios and the kinds of figures most likely to impress.