1. Timeform Standard Times Square
2. Timeform Standard Times

Timeform is a sports data and content provider located 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. Since 2 February 2016, it has been owned by Flutter Entertainment.

History[edit]

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]

Timeform is a specialist sports content and data provider. Formed in 1948, we have a long-established reputation for accuracy, credibility and judgement. Get the latest news, form, tips and betting offers from racing's experts. Horse Racing Greyhounds. Times-Standard: Local News, Local Sports and more for Humboldt County.

TimeformUS PPs at Daily Racing Form. Stay Updated with DRF Morning Line. Free Race-of-the-Day video analysis & PPs, DRF Bets Gameplan Play-of-the-Day, all the latest racing news and more. HORSES IN FOCUS AT AQUEDUCT EXPERT COVERAGE FROM NEW YORK. Posted by TimeformUS Our Race Preview Section is your go-to source for daily Highlight Horses and Horses in Focus from our NYRA analyst David Aragona. PUT TIMEFORMUS TO WORK FOR YOU. Powered by Real Time Racing. The scale used for Timeform ratings represents more than 3 lb a length at five furlongs, 2 lb a length at a mile and a quarter and 1 lb a length at two miles. When the field gets strung out, and the cumulative margins between the first six are much bigger, it suggests rating the winner much higher than if the field had finished in a heap.

Data system[edit]

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:

• 140+ – An outstanding horse
• 136-139 – An almost outstanding horse
• 130–135 – Above average Group 1 winner
• 125–129 – Average Group 1 winner
• 115–124 – Average Group 2 winner
• 110–115 – Average Group 3 winner
• 100–105 – Average listed race winner

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 IArlington Million.^[2]

Flat vs hurdle vs steeplechase[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

The figures below are official all-time Highweights for horses who raced in Australia, 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.

Top-rated horses on chase courses[edit]

The figures below are official all-time Highweights for horses racing under National Hunt rules on chase courses.^[6]

Top-rated Thoroughbreds on hurdle courses[edit]

The figures below are all-time ratings accorded by Timeform for race horses that competed under National Hunt rules on hurdle courses.^[6]

* 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[edit]

1. ^McGrath, J A (25 November 2006). 'Betfair set to buy Timeform for £15m'. The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
2. ^'Daily Racing Form PDF (login required)'(PDF). Drf.com. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
3. ^Greg Wood at Ascot (19 June 2012). 'Frankel hailed as greatest ever after Royal Ascot Queen Anne Stakes win Sport'. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
4. ^'Battaash confirms he's the real deal'. Timeform. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
5. ^'Royal Ascot 2017 News Lady Aurelia's King's Stand win at Royal Ascot earns her a huge Timeform rating'. royal-ascot.timeform.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
6. ^ ^ab'Timeform's greatest racehorses'. Timeform. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2016.

External links[edit]

Timeform's Radio offers exclusive live UK & Irish horse racing & greyhound commentary from Betfair, along with embedded episodes of Betfair's Racing... Only Bettor Podcast from their home of their betting podcasts, on SoundCloud.

Click the button to listen to Betfair's live racing commentary now...

...or listen to Betfair's Racing... Only Bettor Podcast below

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Episode 15, 23/12/2019: The Joseph O'Brien Special

Episode 14, 20/12/2019: The Betfair Exchange Trophy

Episode 13, 14/12/2019: Barry & Kevin Share Notes

Episode 12, 07/12/2019: Sandown Special

Episode 11, 30/11/2019: Apples Jade Will Have To Improve To Win

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Episode 10, 22/11/2019: The Betfair Chase 2019

Episode 9, 15/11/2019: Tiger Roll Latest

Episode 8, 07/11/2019: National Hunt Season Preview

Episode 7, 31/10/2019: Once Bitten, Eight Times Shy

Episode 6, 24/10/2019: It Looks Like He’s Going To Walk It

Episode 5, 17/10/2019: We Have To Talk About The ‘B’ Word

Episode 4, 10/10/2019: Swing For The Fences This Week Lads

Episode 3, 03/10/2019: I really just hope Enable goes and wins.

Episode 2, 26/09/2019: He may be Evs, but we all oppose the fav in this race

Timeform Standard Times

Episode 1, 19/09/2019: I mean, it's a great race for E/W players