thank you to Andrew Beyer
 

_________


the man is close to 80 now


surely there are certain things I didn't appreciate from him - some of his picks were really bad - and he had a certain arrogance about what he thought was correct

but his accomplishment in getting cappers to appreciate the value of speed figures is undeniable - and true, maybe they were quite often overvalued



but for me his greatest value was in his writing - both his books and his columns for the Washington Post

IMHO he had great insight into the world of racing and its famous and infamous characters

and his writing was so very crisp, insightful and entertaining to read



he has made an enormous contribution of the sport we love


.

I agree.

Well said.

I've always thought he should be in the Hall of Fame. There's a "Pillars of the Turf" category that is mostly big-time owners, but he would be a good fit.

His books were everything to me in my teens and early 20s. A very talented writer with a huge passion for the game. A legend IMO. I wish there would be one more book. I do think it's entirely possible he's moved past even some key aspects of his own prior work at this point, which would be controversial so I'd completely understand if there's any hesitation.

Someone that has made such a huge contribution to the sport and changed the way people think about the game should be in the Hall of Fame. We aren't just talking about creating interest and educating horse players here. Even the breeding industry changed. The ads don't just say "winner of 3 Grade 1 stakes". They also talk about "triple digit Beyers". In my book, it almost seems like a no brainer. If there isn't a category for people like him, one should be created. There are probably others than aren't in that belong too.

Starting gate >>>parimutuel betting >> Beyer Speed Figures

Landmark for racing. For the first time, we could accurately evaluate shippers.



:headbanger:

Very much agree on Beyer belonging somewhere. He could go in on the strength of EITHER his handicapping contribution OR his Washington Post journalism.

There has been some discussion of these type of issues with Asmussen's passing of Dale Baird for wins, and with Fairmount/Fan Duel getting some attention (St. Louis Derby) thereby bringing talk of Dave Gall in the mix.

I would love to see an area of the NMRHOF that celebrates the "small track" Hall of Famers. The ones who have made huge contributions for generations of local fans, though not national ones.

LEGEND!
 

Andy Beyer didn't just write handicapping books and create speed figures. He also became the best horseplayer advocate that we have ever seen...and he dared to address controversial issues that the other "handicapping authorities" couldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

Here is an example of the Beyer integrity, starting at the 15:35 mark:

great post thask the man speakth the truth . :headbanger:

My favorite Andy Beyer rant.

Thank goodness all New York tracks, Keeneland, Los Alamitos, and Canterbury now offer the traditional pick six.

I think most of us remember the "old days" of the horseplaying era, when the handicapping aspect of it was hijacked by the unscrupulous charlatans who were promising us untold riches for a mere $20 bill. The common notion is that Tom Ainslie was the first to "rescue" this game from the hands of the charlatans...but this isn't accurate, IMO. Ainslie might have been the first to present handicapping as the studious, intellectual challenge that it now is, but Ainslie didn't go far enough...because he didn't put himself out there the way Beyer did. Ainslie may have supplied the words...but Beyer also presented us with a vivid IMAGE of what a winning horseplayer was, and how he operated.

In Andy Beyer we saw a keen intellect and a fiery passion for the game we all loved...and because of him we no longer had to hide our racing form in shame whenever some "respectable guy" opened up and started reading his Wall Street Journal in a public place. Speaking for myself, I owe my participation in this game to Beyer and Beyer alone...and for that he has my everlasting gratitude. I figured, if this game was good enough for a smart guy like Andy Beyer...then it was good enough for me too. :ThmbUp:

__________



I loved his line in one of his books - I can't remember which one

but he wrote about dropping out of Harvard to bet horses

he skipped his English Lit class one day

and he wrote something like:


"I didn't know much about the "Canterbury Tales." But I knew a lot about some $5,000 claimers at Suffolk Downs."



_________________:lol:



.

___________


I'm pretty sure one of the reasons he stopped writing for the Wash. Post was that a few years ago the Post started allowing anybody to comment on their stories and the comments appeared below the story in their online edition.

the public being the public - there were quite a few idiots who made idiotic comments about him and his picks - and he didn't appreciate that at all - the fact that the Post allowed all of these comments to appear below his column



.

I still pick up some of his writing when I lose focus

That's unfortunate, but he had a good run and was born at the right time. The world has changed bigtime. Working for a newspaper these days must be similar to what is was like when I finally landed a job at Xerox in early 2000s. By that time every building was more than half empty. Now much like Kodak it's barely a name. A lot of people made a lot of good livings in the 60s and 70s, that'll never happen again. At this point even bookstores are on life support.