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 . contents 1 history 2 data system 3 flat vs hurdle vs steeplechase 4 publications 5 top rated thoroughbreds on flat courses 6 top rated horses on chase courses 7 top rated thoroughbreds on hurdle courses 8 references 9 external links 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 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 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 i arlington 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 can not 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 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 dubai millennium 1996 140 harbinger 2006 140 sea the stars 2006 140 vaguely noble 1965 140 arrogate 2013 139 pappa fourway 1952 139 reference point 1984 139 dancing brave 1983 138 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 generous 1988 136 shergar 1978 136 alcide 1955 136 allez france 1970 136 ballymoss 1954 136 bering 1983 136 black caviar 2006 136 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 edit 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 edit 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 edit mcgrath j a 25 november 2006 . betfair set to buy timeform for 15m . london the telegraph . retrieved 5 april 2008 . daily racing form pdf login required pdf . drf.com . retrieved 2012 08 20 . 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 . a b timeform s greatest racehorses . timeform . 17 february 2014 . retrieved 6 april 2016 . external links edit timeform official website timeform official australia and new zealand ratings jockey timeform retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title timeform & oldid 736510491 categories publishing companies established in 1948english magazinescompanies based in halifax west yorkshirehorse racing organisations in great britain1948 establishments in englandpublishing companies of englandhidden categories use dmy dates from august 2011 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout 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