You’ve heard the buzz around “Fast Figs,” but this isn’t some buried number in a race sheet — it’s its own chart. Clean, simple, and built for speed. One page lists every race, every horse, and one key rating beside each name. That single number — the Fast Fig — tells you who’s bringing the right mix of class and performance today.
What Fast Figs Are
Fast Figs is a class/performance rating created by Today’s Racing Digest.
It measures how well a horse has been performing relative to the strength of the competition it’s faced.
It blends the three factors that decide most races:
- Speed – how fast a horse can actually run.
- Pace – how that speed is distributed through the race.
- Class – the quality of rivals in previous starts.
Fast Figs rolls them all into one clean, comparative number. Instead of juggling separate speed and pace figures, you get a single value that reflects both ability and opposition. The higher the number, the stronger the projected performance for today’s race.
How the Sheet Is Laid Out
Each Fast Figs file — is organized race by race.
Every race starts with a header showing the Class Par — the average winning figure for that level.
Below that, each horse appears by post position, with its Fast Fig listed beside the name.
This rating is a combined class/performance figure based on the horse’s overall effort and the strength and level of the fields faced.
Horses scoring within five points of the top figure should be considered contenders in today’s race.
If a horse’s rating is followed by a ( + ), it signals potential improvement — generally worth about five extra points.
Runners rated “X” are either first-time starters, shippers from a new circuit, comebackers off more than four months, or simply horses that could not be assigned a reliable rating.
The Par — the average winning number for each class — is also listed for every race.
How to Read It
- Start with the Class Par.
That’s the baseline strength for the race. - Find the highest Fast Fig.
That’s the horse to beat. - Stay within five points.
Those are your true contenders. - Watch for the plus sign.
A “+” means upside — the horse may be sitting on a better effort than its figure suggests. - Handle the Xs with care.
Unknown quantities — playable only with a good price or strong buzz. - If there’s a tie at the top, use the Digest’s FIRE or CPR numbers to separate them.
Why It Works
Fast Figs has a proven edge because it doesn’t just reward raw speed — it weights that speed by competition strength.
A 110 earned in a weak claimer doesn’t equal a 110 against allowance company; the formula adjusts for that difference.
That’s why, over time, betting the top Fast Fig in every race has shown average returns around 112% for win bets, with place and show near 106% and 102%.
It consistently highlights value horses the public overlooks.
Quick-Pick Method
There’s no mechanical system that hits every race — but then, there aren’t handicappers who do either, no matter how hard they grind or what they claim.
What follows is the simplest way to use Fast Figs as a quick-pick tool.
All you need is the Fast Figs and access to near-post-time odds:
- Bet the horse with the top Fast Fig if it’s not over-bet.
- Use any horse within five points of that top number as your backup or exotic key.
- Skip races loaded with “X” horses or chaotic form.
You don’t need a Form — just the Digest’s Fast Figs, the odds board, and a willingness to trust the data.
Bottom Line
Fast Figs strip handicapping down to what matters: who’s faster, tougher, and more likely to fire today.
One page. One number per horse. No fluff, no guesswork.
If you want a faster path to smarter bets, start right here — with the Fast Fig.
