Probets examples

While HedgeHog is the best way to BET on a race it's only half the battle, you must also know WHICH RACES are playable and WHICH HORSES have a legitimate chance to win. Some races are so full of contention that they are poor bets and you may not be able to isolate a small enough group to make a profit, even with HedgeHog. To really optimize your efforts, a method is needed to ISOLATE CONTENTION. This task is impossible without KNOWING SOMETHING ABOUT EACH HORSE IN THE RACE. If there is sufficient past performance performance data available on each horse in the race, the fastest most reliable way to get it into your computer is via a download service.

Over the past several years the costs of downloading past performance data files has dropped dramatically to the point where anyone who owns a computer cannot afford to not take advantage of this technology. I've been downloading racetrack files for as long as anyone in the business and maintained a computerized database of past performances years before downloadable data was available in any form. When Bloodstock first made their non-comma delimited racing forms available, I was the first to offer a "parsing " program that could convert their "text only" data to a comma delimited file readable by a computer database program. My main handicapping program, SpeedPlus, when put to the test by Phillips Racing Newsletter, hit nearly 50% winners using ONE HORSE and is the primary program used by hundreds of successful handicappers all over the country. At one time I even maintained my own downloading service and offered files specifically designed to quickly download into SpeedPlus.

Today, however, there are so many programs on the market, and so much data is available it just doesn't make any sense for me to maintain a separate download service. Also, I'm a firm believer in the fact that downloaded files should be shared by more than one program. This is a concept on which many service and software providers don't agree with me. While I can understand their position from a purely economical perspective, I think it's a disservice to the handicapper who wants to maximize his investmen t in software and data, as well as his investments at the betting window. When I first wrote SpeedPlus I knew that I'd eventually be importing information from a variety of sources and I didn't want to have to change the program to accommodate every new source of data as it became available. To this end I created a special "transport format" for SpeedPlus that contains all the information used to compute its ratings. This format is a pure comma delimited text file that any programmer can duplicate and is the "target file" that I use whenever I add a utility to take advantage of another download source. This gives me (or any programmer) the flexibility of creating completely separate UTILITIES to transport data from other sources to SpeedPlus.

Originally these utilities were sold separately or offered as updates and sold for $50 to $125 each. However, I'm now including the most popular conversions, along with the SpeedPlus program itself for only $145. You'll get the latest version of SpeedPlus and utilities to convert Bloodstock's Comma Delimited Past Performance files, or the TRACKMASTER database files.

If you're downloading any of these formats now, you can use them with SpeedPlus for another look at the races. Since SpeedPlus accumulates up to 19 races for each horse, your database will eventually be deeper then each day's individual download. If you're not downloading now or don't own a program that utilizes one of these files, SpeedPlus alone is really all you need, and you can always add the other programs later.

Handicapping with SpeedPlus is a breeze as it shows you GRAPHICALLY, AT A GLANCE where each horse has run relative to all the other horses in the race. You'll be able to zero in on which races are playable, immediately spot the contention, and isolate the top prospects.

SpeedPlus is a DOS program...
However it runs fine under windows in a DOS or Text Box. For me to go back and rewrite it in windows just isn't worth the time and it would not enhance the program in any way. In fact, it the program would be much larger and be yet another program in your windows registry. As it is now, it's easy to transport from computer-to-computer and can be quickly and completely removed. It'll even run on a floppy disk or CD. The one concession made to windows programming is the printer interface. The original version of SpeedPlus was designed to send all past performances to a dot matrix printer so the handicapper would have a "graphic racing form" at his disposal. In my opinion, this is the best way to use SpeedPlus because you can see everything at once. Which horses are the fastest, which can stay with today's pace, which will falter, what will today's pace-of-the-race be, can a horse go from a sprint to a route, can he go the other way, etc. Because most users no longer have dot matrix printers and the DOS-to-Windows Printer interface was confusing at best and unreliable at worst the latest versions include a utility that captures this output and displays it in a windows box so you can view it on-screen and optionally print it out on your inkjet, laser or dot matrix printer from within windows.

WHAT IS SPEEDPLUS?

In short, SPEEDPLUS converts races from different tracks, distances, and surfaces to a common standard so you can analyze each horse on common ground. It does this by comparing PAR times for the track, distance, and surface from each race you enter to an extensive set of PARS for all the tracks in the country. All times are then adjusted to a common non-biased standard. The net effect is you wind-up with times that would have been run if each horse had run on the same track, the same day. In addition to the TRACK-TO-TRACK adjustment, the daily variant can be applied as well. The information you need to input are the horse's name, track, distance, call times, lengths back, and surface. This takes only a few seconds per horse and if you use one of the free download utilities there is no manual input required.

SPEEDPLUS RATINGS

In addition to SECOND CALL, OVERALL, and THIRD FRACTION speed ratings for each race, SPEEDPLUS computes and displays ADJUSTED TIMES for each fraction, ADJUSTED PACE-OF-RACE ratings, and two powerful CONTENTION RATINGS. If you're handicapping a SPRINT and have several horses with ROUTE pacelines, SPEEDPLUS can optionally convert ROUTES TO SPRINTS by utilizing the internal fractions of the route pace-lines to construct how those races would have been run as sprints. If you're handicapping a ROUTE and there a re several horses with only SPRINT pacelines SPEEDPLUS has the answer there as well. All you have to do is compare the adjusted FINAL SPEED of the sprinter's pace lines with those of the router's and qualify the sprinter's "closing power" or stamina with his 3rd fraction adjusted speed or a special SPEEDPLUS biased third-fraction rating.

DISPLAY AND OUTPUTS
Here is an example of SpeedPlus' "Print the Entire Day Option."

SPEEDPLUS offers three ways of viewing your data within the program itself as well as a powerful "print the entire day" feature. If you like to see your contenders sorted one way or another, perhaps by final speed, first, second, or third fraction, second call, or some combination of factors, the "SORT SCREEN" will do this for you instantly and interactively. Can you visualize the race better graphically or through a table of numbers? Your choice, the graphic display shows at a glance which horses will set the pace, which ones can stay with that pace, which ones have the fastest speed, which ones like to take the lead, which ones like to close, and which ones are in-form. Both ADJUSTED PACE-OF-RACE and PACE-OF-HORSE are shown for each pace line. If you like the scrutinize tabular data, fine. There's a tabular display that shows it all. And you can flip between graphics and tabular with a single keystroke. Want to see it all at once? You can print out the entire day's card adjusted by SpeedPlus either graphically, in tabular form, or both. For this you'll need to download a Bris or Trackmaster file.

THE STABLE

One of the major features of SPEEDPLUS is its STABLE. This is a database of horses that holds up to 19 races for each horse. You can build your own database manually, or DOWNLOAD all the races for the next day's card from BRIS or TRACKMASTER. With a STABLE and list of horses that are running, you can simply tell SPEEDPLUS to print out all the races for the day. In a few minutes you'll have a race-by-race printout of each horse and all its pacelines in graphic form, tabular, or both if you wish. This is way I use SPEEDPLUS. I like to see everything in front of me at once. Or you can access the horses in the stable one at a time and move whatever pacelines you wish to a "COMPARISON SCREEN" and analyze how the race matches up using "representative paceline analysis". So, whether you rely most on SPEED, PACE, MATCH-UP, or FORM-CYCLE, SPEEDPLUS has the ideal output for your taste.

WHAT SPEEDPLUS IS NOT!
SpeedPlus is not designed to "pick a horse" for you. It's much more than that as it will show you which races are too contentious and not worth playing, which horses really have a chance in the race and which horses you should be afraid of because of something hidden in their past performance history. If you're looking for a program that tells you to bet this horse or that horse in every race SpeedPlus is definitely NOT FOR YOU. If, on the other hand, you want a tool that will give you insight into the possible interactions between the horses in a race and each horses true potential it could be the only program you'll need.