Timeform
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Headquarters | Halifax, West Yorkshire |
| Industry | Publisher |
| Website | Timeform |
Timeform Publications is a publishing company in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948 to provide information to fans, bettors, and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006.
Contents |
[edit] History
Portway Press Ltd was formed in 1948 by Phil Bull, who wanted to establish a mathematical link to a horse's performance, based on the time the horse recorded. At a time when such data were virtually unheard of, Bull started publishing a racing annual, which evolved into the "Racehorses Of.." series. The company was purchased for a reputed £15 million by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006.[1]
[edit] Data system
According to the publishers, a Timeform rating represents "the merit of the horse expressed in pounds and is arrived at by careful examination of its running against other horses using a scale of weight for distance beaten which ranges from around 3 lb a length at five furlongs and 2 lb a length at a mile and a quarter to 1 lb a length at two miles".
The Beyer Speed Figure used in the United States is similar to a Timeform rating. The popular rule of thumb for comparing these two numbres is to add 12-14 points to the Beyer score to estimate the Timeform number.
Timeform ratings for 3-year-olds & up are as follows:
- 140 - An outstanding horse
- 130-135 - Above average Group 1 winner
- 125-129 - Average Group 1 winner
- 115-120 - Average Group 2 winner
- 110-115 - Average Group 3 winner
- 100-105 - Average listed race winner
Timeform states that 2-year-old averages are slightly lower.
The Daily Racing Form gives an example of the evolution of ratings for horses from age two upwards in the American Grade I Arlington Million.[2]
[edit] Flat vs Hurdle vs Steeplechase
Timeform maintains different scales for horses racing on the flat, over hurdles and over fences. The scores cannot be compared for the different race types. For instance Arkle at 212, Flyingbolt at 210, and Mill House at 191 are the three highest rated steeplechasers ever. The highest rated horse over hurdles is Night Nurse at 182, while the table below lists scores for flat racers.[3]
[edit] Publications
Annually in March, the company puts out its book Racehorses of .... which currently contains more than 1,200 pages and provides information and ratings on the top flat horses in Australasia, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, North America and Scandinavia. Also, annually in October the company publishes Chasers and Hurdlers, a thorough review of every horse that ran under National Hunt rules in Britain, as well as the best National Hunt horses to have run in Ireland and France.
Timeform publishes a number of other books. Its Horses to Follow: Flat Season is comprised of short essays on fifty horses deemed worthy of following in the upcoming year's classics. The horses are selected by Timeform's own team of experts along with five leading broadcasters. The book also provides a guide to the most significant two-year-old performances from the previous year.
Timeform also compiles a system based on speed and class which appears in the Daily Racing Form for all horse racing events run in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the United Arab Emirates.
[edit] Top-rated Thoroughbreds on Flat Courses
Steven A. Roman, Ph.D., a professor at Columbia University created the Chef-de-Race website, a resource that contains significant information on speed ratings for Thoroughbred racehorses. The figures below are official All-Time Highweights for horses who raced in Australasia, Dubai, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and Scandinavia as supplied by Mr. Neil O'Connor of Timeform.
In August 2008, Timeform assigned a 134 rating for the American runner, Curlin, calling him the best horse in the world on dirt. [1]
[edit] References
- ^ "Betfair set to buy Timeform for £15m". The Telegraph. 25 November 2006. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/11/25/shexcl25.xml. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Daily Racing Form PDF (login required)
- ^ Timeform's greatest racehorses
- A Comparison of Performance Figures, Beyer Figures, Timeform Ratings, Racing Post Ratings, BRIS Ratings and Equibase Ratings
- Timeform highweights at Chef de Race
- Timeform official website
- Timeform official Australia and New Zealand Ratings
- Jockey Timeform
- Historical Timeform
