How are equibase speed figures and pace figures determined?

Question

What do these numbers mean exactly and which is more important? I'm a bit confused because on a racing program I have 2 horses than ran in the same race but have different pace figures and one of the horses that came in 2nd place had a pace figure of 46 and a speed figure of 70 while another horse that came in 5th had a pace figure of 14 and a speed figure of 64. Can someone please explain these to me.

Answer 1

pace figure is early pace only. speed figure is final time only.  p.s. pace makes the race.  guru54

Answer 2

Just like Dave explained, the speed figures are for the final time and the pace figures are for the first pace call. This is after the 1st quarter in sprints and half mile in routes.

The pace figures main value lies in helping to interpret the speed figures. If the pace figure is exceptionally high or low compared to the speed figure, it can excuse a poor speed figure since the horse had gone either too fast or too slow early. Check them out next to each other and you'll see the relationship.

Some people also use the pace figures of the horses to try to predict the pace of the upcoming race. Sometimes this is even more unpredictable than finding the winner.

There are also other figure makers like Beyer in the DRF and Thoro-Graph which I find more accurate than the Equibase figures but the Equibase pace figures are better.

Good luck whichever you use and how ever you use it.

Bob