NEWS
Graded stakes committee to use speed figures
Posted: Thursday, October 22, 2009 6:16 PM
by Jeff Lowe
The American Graded Stakes Committee will add performance figures to the mix for its annual grading session on December 2.
Committee members will receive ThoroGraph figures in the statistical information they consider for assigning grades to races.
Andy Schweigardt, the committee’s secretary, said the winning horse’s ThoroGraph figure would be included in the statistics for each race, along with a race average that is based on the figures for the top four finishers.
Schweigardt said the committee incorporated Bris speed figures in the 1990s, before relying more on annual classification ratings from the North American Rating Committee, which is a panel of five racing secretaries.
The committee looks at five-year statistical histories in evaluating the quality of a race within the context of 14 divisions.
For an explanation of the grading session workbook that was provided to committee members in 2008, click here.
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
