Members of the team that calculates Beyer Speed Figures occasionally encounter data that defies common sense. If a horse earns a seemingly implausible figure, we may override it and assign a number that does make sense for most of the horses in the field. We don’t do this lightly, but we don’t want to publish figures that undermine our own credibility. This was our initial reaction to the results of Saturday’s second race at Gulfstream Park, won by a 2-year-old first-time starter named Rated by Merit.  The race was fast — very fast. If we took the data at face value, Rated by Merit might be the fastest 2-year-old to race in the U.S. this year. Such a performance would hardly be expected at Gulfstream Park in July. Most elite stables left Florida for the North months earlier, and took their top horses with them. And Rated by Merit hardly had the credentials of an elite horse. He is a son of a little-known stallion, Battalion Runner, who stands at stud for a $2,500 fee and has never sired a runner of note. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Despite his modest background, Rated by Merit ran six furlongs in a quick 1:10.50, and he wasn’t aided by a souped-up racetrack. (The next race on the card indicated that the racing surface was not especially fast.) And the margins in the maiden race were eye-catching. Rated by Merit won by 9 3/4 lengths over another first-time starter, Forged Steel, who was 5 3/4 lengths ahead of the third-place finisher. Big gaps like these are often the hallmark of races with big figures. While Rated by Merit hails from a relatively low-profile stable trained by veteran Michael Yates, Forged Steel is from the formidable barn of Saffie Joseph Jr., who ranks among the top 10 money-winning trainers in the U.S. this year. Forged Steel had sold for $190,000 at a sale of 2-year-olds in March, and Joseph told Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch that he thought the colt could develop into a stakes runner.  Forged Steel had recorded some very fast workouts, and he had worked on virtually even terms with the 5-year-old Of a Revolution, who had placed in graded stakes and earned speed figures in the low 90s on his best days.   According to Welsch, clockers at Gulfstream had held both Forged Steel and Rated by Merit in high regard. When Rated by Merit beat his rival by such a big margin, his performance had to be an outstanding one. While there was some ambiguity involved in the data for Saturday’s racing card, Rated by Merit’s speed figure of 92 is the best by any 2-year-old this year.   :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.