Equibase Recalibrates Scale of Speed Figure

(edited press release)
Equibase, the North American Thoroughbred industry's official database for racing information, announced Feb. 2 that it has recalibrated the scale of its Equibase Speed Figure, a numerical assessment of the quality of a horse's final time in a North American Thoroughbred race.

Introduced in 2000, the Equibase Speed Figure is the world's most widely distributed speed figure, published in more than 24 million official past performance programs sold in North America last year.

The revised scale, which took effect Feb. 1, yields a definitive measure of a horse's speed. The computer algorithms that generate the figure, however, have not changed, and historical figures have all been recalibrated to the revised scale.

The numerical scale now used more closely corresponds with ratings scales used in the international market to gauge the overall quality of Thoroughbred performances. The World Rankings Supervisory Committee (WRSC) publishes the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings twice annually and the list of World's Leading Horses multiple times throughout the year, based on ratings compiled by the WRSC.

"The increase in simulcast signals between North America and other parts of the world has created the need for performance measures that are comparable across geographic regions," said Phil O'Hara, Equibase's president and chief executive officer. "This recalibration is another step in facilitating the meaningful comparison of Thoroughbred performances worldwide as the scope of racing and wagering becomes ever more global in nature."

The Equibase Speed Figure reflects solely the quality of a horse's final time in a race, while international ratings reflect the quality of a horse's performance in a given race and are assigned by experts using additional factors, such as weight carried and strength of competition.

Equibase has also recalibrated the Equibase Class Rating, which measures the competitiveness of a horse, and the Equibase Pace Figure, which is a speed figure for the early part of a race, so that this suite of figures can be used together for more powerful handicapping analysis.