How can I learn more about lengths in betting horses?

Question

I know the program gives three lengths at various speeds the horse ran at for a particular race. Do I need to pay attention to all of that? How do I know what a significant number is and what's not? I have no idea about track lengths,etc. Can you help me out with a link?

Answer 1

A length is the distance a horse travels in 1/5 of a second. For time distance studies used in speed handicapping you might read some of the books by Beyer. (Beyer ratings) Handicapping is an art though and any method that turns a profit is a great method. I watch speed in the sprints and pace in routes, myself. Other factors come into play. Recency, weight, jockey, lasix, track bias, etc. I think if you study parallel time charts you can be quite successful.