old speed ratings

[markg]

Hello, I am new to pace advantage. I am interested in horse racing history. i like to compare horses from various years and am looking for BRIS speed figures from prior to 2004 and Beyer figures from prior to 1990. I have gathered what i could from various sources i have found online and information in Beyer's books but don't have as much as I would like. Does anyone have some of that information they can share or know other sources where i could obtain that information.
Mark

[classhandicapper]

Thorograph and Ragozin have some historical speed figures at their web pages. What you’ll find is that the various sources do not agree. Beyer figures have been gently declining over the last 15 years, Thorograph has been getting faster, and Ragozin has been kind of flat with a little period they call the “steroid” era where they got faster. All are obviously very competent and have good explanations for what they are observing. So your guess is as good as mine. My guess was to use a different approach.

[markg]

I have looked at the archived information. I figured looking at more than 1 site might give me a better idea rather than just relying on 1 number. I know there has been the debate between beyer and Brown about whether horses are getting faster or are slower than in the past. Knowing how the beyer figures started and with $10,000 claimers being compared, I wonder how inflation over the years has affected the numbers.

[cnollfan]

I have a theory about the decline in Beyer numbers over the years.
Years ago, a $10,000 claiming race may have had a purse of $8,000. Now the purse might be $30,000. There is incentive for $10,000 claiming races to have horses worth $20,000 or more running in them due to the purse. A super-claiming trainer drops a $20,000 horse into a $10,000 race, possibly running on more than hay oats and water, and that race will be run much faster than the years-ago $10,000 claiming race. Meanwhile stakes races at most tracks are run without lasix, further narrowing the gap between $10,000 claimers and stakes horses.

The result is that Beyer numbers for the best horses are lower than they used to be, regardless of the stakes horse's innate ability.