Timeform

Timeform Ltd
Private company
Industry Publisher
Founded 1948
Headquarters Halifax, West Yorkshire
Website Timeform

Timeform Publications is a publishing company in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948 to provide information to fans, bettors, and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006.

History

Portway Press Ltd was formed in 1948 by Phil Bull, who wanted to establish a mathematical link to a horse's performance, based on the time the horse recorded. At a time when such data was virtually unheard of, Bull started publishing a racing annual, which evolved into the "Racehorses Of.." series. The company was purchased for a reputed £15 million by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006.[1]

Data system

According to the publishers, a Timeform rating represents "the merit of the horse expressed in pounds and is arrived at by careful examination of its running against other horses using a scale of weight for distance beaten which ranges from around 3 lb a length at five furlongs and 2 lb a length at a mile and a quarter to 1 lb a length at two miles".

The Beyer Speed Figure used in the United States is similar to a Timeform rating. The popular rule of thumb for comparing these two numbers is to add 12–14 points to the Beyer score to estimate the Timeform number.

Timeform ratings for 3-year-olds and up are as follows:

Timeform states that 2-year-old averages are slightly lower.

The Daily Racing Form gives an example of the evolution of ratings for horses from age two upwards in the American Grade I Arlington Million.[2]

Flat vs hurdle vs steeplechase

Timeform maintains different scales for horses racing on the flat, over hurdles and over fences. The scores cannot be compared for the obvious differences between the race types. For instance, Arkle at 212, Flyingbolt at 210, Sprinter Sacre at 192 are then followed by Mill House and Kauto Star, both at 191, are the highest rated steeplechasers. The highest rated horses over hurdles are Night Nurse at 182, Istabraq and Monksfield, both at 180, and Persian War at 179. The table below lists scores for flat horses only starting with the highest, rated at 147 which is the British horse Frankel.[3]

Publications

Annually in March, the company puts out its book Racehorses of ...., which currently contains more than 1,200 pages and provides information and ratings on the top flat horses in Australasia, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, North America and Scandinavia. Also, annually in October the company publishes Chasers and Hurdlers, a thorough review of every horse that ran under National Hunt rules in Britain, as well as the best National Hunt horses to have run in Ireland and France.

Timeform publishes a number of other books. Its Horses to Follow: Flat Season is composed of short essays on fifty horses deemed worthy of following in the upcoming year's classics. The horses are selected by Timeform's own team of experts along with five leading broadcasters. The book also provides a guide to the most significant two-year-old performances from the previous year.

Timeform also compiles a system based on speed and class which appears in the Daily Racing Form for all horse racing events run in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the United Arab Emirates.

Top-rated Thoroughbreds on flat courses

The figures below are official all-time Highweights for horses who raced in Australasia, Dubai, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and Scandinavia as supplied by Neil O'Connor of Timeform. Until very recently (approximately 2000), horses who raced exclusively in America were never given Timeform ratings, so they can not be compared directly to their European counterparts.

Horse Born Rating
Frankel 2008 147
Sea Bird 1962 145
Brigadier Gerard 1968 144
Tudor Minstrel 1944 144
Abernant 1946 142
Ribot 1952 142
Windy City 1949 142
Mill Reef 1968 141
Dancing Brave 1983 140
Dubai Millennium 1996 140
Harbinger 2006 140
Sea The Stars 2006 140
Shergar 1978 140
Vaguely Noble 1965 140
Generous 1988 139
Pappa Fourway 1952 139
Reference Point 1984 139
Alleged 1974 138
Alycidon 1945 138
American Pharoah 2012 138
Celtic Swing 1992 138
Cigar 1990 138
Daylami 1994 138
Exbury 1959 138
Nijinsky 1967 138
Star of India 1953 138
Tulloch 1954 138
Easy Goer 1986 137
Sunday Silence 1986 137
Apalachee 1971 137
Dayjur 1987 137
Ghostzapper 2000 137
Grundy 1972 137
Kingston Town 1976 137
Mark of Esteem 1993 137
Molvedo 1958 137
Montjeu 1996 137
Moorestyle 1977 137
Never Say Die 1951 137
Peintre Celebre 1994 137
Pinza 1950 137
Princely Gift 1951 137
Ragusa 1960 137
Rheingold 1969 137
Reliance 1962 137
Right Boy 1954 137
Troy 1976 137
Zilzal 1986 137
Alcide 1955 136
Allez France 1970 136
Ballymoss 1954 136
Bering 1983 136
Black Caviar 2006136
Black Tarquin 1945 136
Bustino 1971 136
Crepello 1954 136
El Condor Pasa 1995 136
El Gran Senor 1981 136
Floribunda 1958 136
Gentlemen 1992 136
Habibti 1980 136
Hafiz 1952 136
Hawk Wing 1999 136
Helissio 1993 136
Herbager 1956 136
My Babu 1945 136
Manikato 1975 136
Northjet 1977 136
Old Vic 1986 136
Relko 1960 136
Slip Anchor 1982 136
Suave Dancer 1988 136
Sakhee 1997 136
Tantieme 1947 136
Texana 1955 136
Thatch 1970 136
Warning 1985 136
All Along 1979 135
Arazi 1989 135
Arbar 1944 135
Arctic Prince 1948 135
Chanteur 1942 135
Charlottesville 1957 135
Coronation 1946 135
Dahlia 1970 135
Intikhab 1994 135
Known Fact 1977 135
Kris 1976 135
La Tendresse 1959 135
Le Moss 1975 135
Match II 1958 135
Nashwan 1986 135
Never So Bold 1980 135
Pebbles 1981 135
Petingo 1965 135
Petoski 1982 135
Right Royal 1958 135
Royal Anthem 1995 135
Sagace 1980 135
Sassafras 1967 135
Shadeed 1982 135
Shahrastani 1983 135
Shareef Dancer 1980 135
Sicambre 1948 135
Sir Ivor 1965 135
Souverain 1943 135
St Jovite 1989 135
Supreme Court 1948 135
Teenoso 1980 135
Tenerani 1944 135
The Bug 1943 135
The Minstrel 1974 135
Trempolino 1984 135
Youth 1973 135

Top-rated horses on chase courses

The figures below are official all-time Highweights for horses racing under National Hunt rules on chase courses. [4]

Horse Born Rating
Arkle 1957 212
Flyingbolt 1959 210
Sprinter Sacre 2006 192p
Mill House 1957 191
Kauto Star 2000 191
Desert Orchid 1979 187
Dunkirk 1957 186
Burrough Hill Lad 1976 184
Moscow Flyer 1994 184
Long Run 2005 184
Master Oats 1986 183
Denman 2000 183
Don Cossack 2007 183
Captain Christy 1967 182
Carvill's Hill 1982 182
See More Business 1990 182
Best Mate 1995 182
Azertyuiop 1997 182
Kicking King 1998 182
Well Chief 1999 182
Cue Card 2006 182

Top-rated Thoroughbreds on hurdle courses

The figures below are all-time ratings accorded by Timeform for race horses that competed under National Hunt rules on hurdle courses.[4]

Horse Born Rating
Night Nurse 1971 182
Monksfield 1972 180
Istabraq 1992 180
Persian War 1963 179
Comedy of Errors 1967 178
Le Sauvignon 1994 178
Lanzarote 1968 177
Limestone Lad 1992 177
Bula 1965 176
Sir Ken 1948 176 *
Birds Nest 1970 176
Golden Cygnet 1972 176
Big Buck's 2003 176
Faugheen 2008 176
Salmon Spray 1958 175
Sea Pigeon 1970 175
Gaye Brief 1977 175
Baracouda 1995 175

* Timeform started compiling ratings for jumps racing in 1962; therefore Sir Ken's rating (among others outstanding Jump horses) was retrospectively assessed by Timeform when Cheltenham introduced its Hall of Fame in the 1990s.

References

  1. ↑ McGrath, J A (25 November 2006). "Betfair set to buy Timeform for £15m". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  2. ↑ "Daily Racing Form PDF (login required)" (PDF). Drf.com. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  3. ↑ Greg Wood at Ascot (19 June 2012). "Frankel hailed as greatest ever after Royal Ascot Queen Anne Stakes win | Sport". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  4. 1 2 "Timeform's greatest racehorses". Timeform. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2016.

External links

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