Speed And The Thoroughbred

For serious handicappers and serious horse owners, racing provides attainable goals. Both are in search of speed. As Handicapping Speed looks at each factor, from the industry in general to the finest details of the mathematics of time, it will be for the purpose of finding what adds and detracts from speed.

Designing Speed in the Racehorse is an indispensable reference by Ken McLean, one of the world's foremost bloodstock advisors and pedigree experts. McLean discusses genetic affinities and pedigree patterns, analyzes the pedigrees of important sires and ancestors to isolate elements of speed and stamina, explains what characteristics to look for in a sire, and updates the elite mare list. Breeders will be especially interested in McLean's analysis of the conformation of many of the breed's most illustrious sires and the physical attributes and faults they passed on to their progeny. Best of all, he tells the current sire and dam lines most likely to produce quality racehorses. With his recommendations at hand, today's Thoroughbred breeder has an edge in the competitive world of racing.

Why the Thoroughbred was created, how, by whom, and how its progenitors survived war, politics and the ambitions and jealousies of monarchs, noblemen and politicians is the subject of this book.

Written in Beyer's clean, rapid-fire prose, this book explains how to relate speed figures to such factors as pace, track bias, and track conditions. It discusses exotic wagers such as the pick six and reveals optimal uses of the figures based on computer analysis of more than 10,000 races. Blending colorful anecdotes, it presents a revolutionary way to play the horses.