Andrew (Andy) Beyer has been a horse racing columnist with The Washington Post since 1978 and regularly writes for The Daily Racing Form (DRF.com.) He is best known for developing the Beyer Speed Figures. Today, the Beyer number is only available on The Daily Racing Form. It is the best publicly-available speed rating in horse handicapping.
Andy is a colorful figure in the world of horse handicapping. He has been featured on several TV shows. He is a highly successful bettor, who has spent his life marching to the beat of a different drummer. Andy steadfastly maintains that he is a gambler rather than an investor.
Andy has written four books about horse racing: Beyer on Speed: New Strategies for Racetrack Betting, Picking Winners: A Horseplayer’s Guide, The Winning Horseplayer: An Advanced Approach to Thoroughbred Handicapping and Betting, My $50,000 Year at the Races.
In Picking Winners, Andy showed people how to make speed figures. This led to a small revolution in which people began making their own figures. His instructions for making speed figures are legendary. It began with, Start with a stack of Racing Forms, then gets a bottle of Jack Daniels.
For me, Andy’s best work is My $50,000 Year at the Races. This book is simply the most entertaining horse book of all time and still teaches horse handicapping techniques.