Graded Stakes Results And Divisional Standings (7/8/12)

I finally finished updating the graded stakes results for the past month. We're essentially at the half-way point of the 2012 racing season and most divisions are beginning to take shape. However, as Steven Crist of the Daily Racing Form pointed out the other day, most of the Grade 1 races slated for 2012 are scheduled to take place over next five months. So while the calendar says we're only half-way through the racing season, the graded stakes schedule indicates we're just getting in to the swing of things.

As usual, you can find the entire Graded Stakes and Divisional Standings spreadsheet at the link below (via Google Docs).

2012 Graded Stakes Results and Divisional Standings

If I get a little free time in the next week I am going to go through and summarize the speed figure rankings for each division. There are bonus points for winning a race with a speed figure that ranks in the top 5%, 15% and 25% of all stakes races in each division. Speed figures from Beyer, Bris and Equibase will be ranked within each system and then merged to form a Speed Index Ranking. Horses in the top 5% will receive 15 bonus points for each figure in that group; 10points for figs in the 6% to 15% range, and 5 points for the 16% to 25% range. Here's an example from the 3YO Colts Division.

There have been 44 graded stakes races in 2012 for 3YO Colts in which we have figures from all three of Beyer, Bris and Equibase. After ranking each winner within each figure system, and then creating a Speed Index Rank ((Beyer Rank + Bris Rank + Equibase Rank))/3), bonus points will be assigned to each horse based on figures that rank at the top of the list. Horses ranking in the Top 5% of the Speed Index Rank - currently Trinniberg* and Bodemeister - receive an extra 15 points each. Horses in the Top 15% - currently I'll Have Another, Gemologist, Hansen, Neck 'n Neck and Secret Circle - each get a 10 point bonus. I'll Have Another would receive a 20 point bonus because he has two races that rank in the Top 15%. The Top 25% receive 5 bonus points - currently Out of Bounds, Creative Cause, Hierro and Trinniberg.

*Yes, routers and sprinters are mixed together in the 3YO Colt and 3YO Filly categories; it's not perfect and I'll probably tweak this moving forward after we see how things play out by the end of the year.

The bonus points won't be determined until the end of the year, but we can at least get an idea of which horses have performed at a high level at various times during the season.

Something to take note of with the Standings is the split with the Older Classic and Dirt Mile divisions. Because the sport cards so many races at 8.5 and 9.0 furlongs (and due to the fact that I decided to draw the line between the two division between those two distance), we see some horses that we think of as "Classic contenders" showing up in the Dirt Mile rankings (To Honor and Serve, Mucho Macho Man, etc.). I don't think there is much we can do about that unless we put 8.5 furlong races in the Older Classic category which I'm hesitant to do.

Perhaps in future versions of this system I'll simply have a category for Older Horses and then subcategories for milers and Classic horses but I'm not sure how much good that will do. It's simply the nature of the game in the U.S. today that our "Classic" horses spend a lot of time running in races that aren't exactly Classic in distance.

One additional point, there are a lot more nine and ten furlong races on the horizon as we roll into the latter half of the year which should help to provide better separation between the Older Classic and Dirt Mile divisions. But we'll have to wait and see whether that actually happens.

Below are the top 10 standings for each division as of Saturday, July 7th, without any speed figure bonus points.