Part-1: ORIGIN
In June of 2006 after more than 6 months of testing races HRP and the SRF introduced the SRF figures to the HRP racing world. Almost immediately from that starting time those figures have been debated. Many suggested an unseen agenda, others thought this would favor the big stables and high rollers of the game who would spend extra money and use it to their advantage. It was both received with fanfare and cinicism and on my end it was interesting yet a bit terrifying. I was interested to see the general reaction while terrified not if they would be rejected but rather if the figures would hold up through time in a virtual gaming world. At the time speed figures for virtual horses was uncharted territory. Before I can begin to explain the process of this and how it became a part of the SRF and HRP racing I think we should look back to the time and origin of the figures themselves but to do so we have to go back 50 years.
Born at Sea
The SRF figures that all of you know today started out in a very different place and in a very different time. Contrary to what some may believe these figures did not just pop up in the HRP racing game. These figures are not a copy cat of the Beyers nor are they derived as a spinoff from BRIS or Equibase figures. These figures have a beginning unto their own. As a matter of fact these figures have been around long before those that I just mentioned. They were born at sea.
Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s the foundation was beginning. A man by the name of Fritz Tortestine (may the captain forgive me if I misspelled that last name) was working on a passion of his. He loved horseracing but was not a gambler. Rarely did he place a bet. Instead his thing was numbers, he was a mathematician and had previously worked for the Department of Navy. However at this time he was a Captain of an ocean going vessel where one day by mere chance he would meet my father. According to my father that encounter would happen on a cold December evening in
New Orleans. The Captain, as I would come to know him as a very young lad, had just pulled into port and was looking for a ride to a hotel. My dad at the time was young man and drove a Liberty Bell cab #1734 pulled up and picked the Captain up. The two talked about
New Orleans and the Fair Grounds and the races. From the start they had a liking to each other and the Captain bought my dad a soft shell crab po-boy for dinner. They arranged that my dad would pick him up when he was heading back out to sea in a couple of days.
Captain Fritz had a request to ask my dad, he asked him to buy and hold onto all the racing forms he could he would pay him for them, also asked him if possible to pickup the Morning Telegraph version as it included fractional times and charts. Every few months the Captain would come back to port, him and my dad became good friends and the Captain would actually come and stay at our house on his trips in. He had great stories he would tell and he and my mom would drink coffee til late at night and talk. He was a tall stern looking man, my mom would say he had the prettiest blue eyes, I remember looking, he did.
On each visit my dad would give him stacks of forms. He would take these forms and while out at sea work on them and in that process he would calculate and figure out and break down a class for the horses. Remember this is the early 1960s, there are no computers, there are no other speed figures available. Everything that is done is done manually and calculated by hand. From studying long hours through trial and error he came up with a class concept that a track variant could be derived from. His concept was a Class based variant which would readjust the raw speed figure that was based off the track record. He first devised this with sprint races. He called it the Delta S system. Delta taken from the Greek symbol and S meaning sprint. Delta S meant changing the sprint time.
Through studying all classes of horses he drew up the first Class chart which went from $1400 claimer through Handicap horses (No graded races in those days). He also broke it down further by basing Class Claiming money value, gender, age, time of year, maiden. Based on that simple principle points would be deducted from the class.
Example: 1965 Class chart (Jan-April)
4yos and up
Hcp 97
ST 96
ALW 95
20,000up 94
10-19,900 93
8100-9900 92
6500-8000 91
5000-6400 90
3600-4900 89
2600-3500 88
2100-2500 87
1800-2000 86
1400-1700 85
Maidens -5pts, 3yos -2pt, 3yo fillies -3pts, Starter Alw add 1pt
On the simple chart above you will note there are not that many classes of horses and also note the claiming prices were not that high. Remember the time, early 1960s you rarely had a $100,000 race anywhere in the country. The ALW races at the FG had a $5,000 purse at that time. Racing was a lot different than it is today.
Once this was in place the next thing was to test it. This the Delta S was invented as a handicapping tool. It was not made just to give a horse a figure but instead give a figure and a reason for a certain way a horse runs. One thing he found out through the long nights of studying that if a horse ran four or more points (equal to lengths) better than his class he has a great opportunity to win on his next outing. In addition he even has an excellent chance of winning stepping up in class. The reason in order for a horse to perform such a race he must be in the best shape possible physically. It means he is in peak condition which usually means he is very sound. Based on this his turnaround in two weeks he still should be in top form giving him an opportunity to win. This is what we call a Plus 4. This is what was the keystone to the system, it still is today.
Now as the years passed racing began to evolve into what it has become today. Back then it was a little simpler in the way races were drawn up and horses would race differently. Today the main concept is speed and now you have all sorts of various classes of horses to judge from. Through time the Delta S system also had to grow and evolve. That is the nature of this business either go along with it or fade away. The first adjustments took place in the early seventies as my dad and I began working on a route variant. Up until then you would extrapolate variants based on a curve. However by using class and studying times at many tracks a 100 base figure could be determined and a variant created. With the addition of graded races and separation of classes further a complete overhaul of the system occurred in the early 1980s this is also when we met Gene Lussan another handicapper who had a system similar to ours. We joined forces and revised the system taking into account some of the things Gene had come up with.
Gene was well respected around the Fair Grounds and was a confident with Louie Roussel. Gene even advised Louie with his handling of Risen Star. If you ever see Louie Roussel just ask him about Gene, his eyes will open wide.
Though overhaul the base structure or key numbers used in certain classes remained unchanged. Through trial and error which at that time came out of your pocket the system was working beautifully. It was about this time that I last saw the Captain. My dad called me over to his house I believe it was April 1983. The man I remembered had grown old but still had the blue eyes my mom talked about. My dad and I showed him what we had done to the system he started. He was very pleased and took a copy of the class chart back with him to
South Carolina. I never saw him again.
In the upcoming weeks here in the By the Numbers section I will go over how the SRF figures became a part of HRP racing. I also will try to explain the theory behind the figures and go over things you should look for when reading the numbers. I know there has been some skepticism over the figures and maybe rightfully so as I have not been one to explain things more. I have done that privately but never through the publication. This may clear some misconceptions and hopefully make for better understanding on what the figures are and what they are not.
Tonight though I just wanted to give you the origin of the SRF figures, they are the Delta Speed Figures in honor of the handicappers of the past who each contributed and developed them. Those gentlemen are Captain Fritz, Anthony La Rosa(my dad), Gene Lussan the eldest at 92 and still handicapping today the only one left beside myself. Those men worked at this for countless hours through many late nights. They did not have computers they did not have anyone explain things to them they studied and compared ideas and came up with something that no one else had. As my dad and I would say it was more the satisfaction of knowing why a horse ran like he did or won when he did and all based on the numbers, that was the most rewarding feeling.
The Delta System has adjusted through time with the last revision done in 2009. Today the class chart takes into account GR-1,2,3 Stakes/Hcp, ALW, $75000CL&up down to $2000CL. That is 19base classes for six different sex/age groups. There now is the possibility to break down class into 366 different groups. There is an maturity progression which occurs every two months instead of the every four months.
