Eventually, he was invited to join the professional handicapping team of The Dallas Morning News. Don began typing Daily Racing Form charts and handicapping selections under a column called Toney's Final Figures. The 'Final Figures' were a combination of speed figures and class ratings Don was developing and were the beginning of Thoroughbred Performance Ratings.

In 1987, he was made the handicapper for the Dallas Morning News. He has had selection columns for the DMN on Louisiana Downs, Trinity Meadows, Oak Lawn Park, Retama Park, and Sam Houston, as well as special selections for Grade I events covered by the Morning News. After over ten years of development, Toney Performance Ratings were published in the Dallas Morning News in April, 1997.

While typing charts, Don began to closely examine the distance margins between horses, paying particular attention to the final call. He had been calculating his own speed figures based on Andy Beyer's "Picking Winners" and felt there should be a better, more accurate way to judge a horse's performance. Don knew there were flaws in speed figures, especially in determining a variant. He also knew the most consistently ignored information in the form was the beaten lengths. There must be a way to combine them.

Toney Performance Ratings are a user friendly mathematical photograph of a horse's racing performance. They are measurements which compare all performances equally. Don has tested these measurements for years and realizes that these are the most consistent, reliable ratings he has even seen.

We believe that these ratings are the most mathematically accurate handicapping tool available today!