I think my post might’ve veered off the subject a bit. To answer the original poster’s question: in HSH, I use rcClass, but I’ve never used class to select contenders. I’ve used it to break ties among contenders or add a longshot contender if the horse is ranked first or second in rcClass.

This is a good question as there are many forms of class to consider: purse, claiming tag, track (is the horse shipping in from a higher or lower class track?), trainer, or jockey. These considerations aren’t based on time but are certainly reflected in the odds. My question is when are these factors more predictive than past performance data?

One thing to remember is that New Pace was developed with the non-HSH user in mind. Consequently, Dave had to develop a contender selection process that could be used with DRF or BRIS past performances, for example. I personally got better results using the PickMaster for contender selection. To select contenders, try experimenting with the NP contender selection rules but using the PM to select the factors, as opposed to using only the RegSpeed factors.

I just read on Pace Advantage a post of Ron Tiller’s from 2004 in which he describes Dave as an “artificial intelligence/neural network bon vivant”. Hah! A perfect description 21 years later!

RIP Ron. Thank you for your humor and your support!!!

Here’s the thread at PA:

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97708&postcount=11