I want to be clear that I'm not trying sell or convince anyone to use Formulator. The product simply offers some features that 'fit' my way of play. Formulator is simply PP's with some extensions to peripheral information. The product in no ways compares to HSH. But for those of us who enjoy examining PP's its a strong product.

Hey William, I will try to check that out. I currently print the PP's and mark up the hard copy. One could save the PP's as a PDF and mark up the PDF. I will check if the Formulater product can be marked up within the constraints of the product.

Dave, I'm sorry if I wasn't clear but I don't know of a way to assign notes to jockeys or trainers. You can add notes for individual horses, a race (which adds the notes to each horse in the race) or by card which adds the note to every horse on the card.

Dave,
Here is a screen shot of the data entry box that opens when you select the 'notes' option on the result charts. Followed is a shot of a PP. Note that one can also enter notes for a specific horse by typing them into for notes box on the top right corner of each PP

Dave, I utilize Formulator to accomplish. From within Formulator there is an option to access race charts. Then I can drill down into a specific race chart such as the one found below.



The race in question is for 2-18-23, race 6 at Aqu. When you examine the results chart you can see that both the winner and runnerup came from near the rear of the field and the 2 early leaders both faded to finish near the rear. I marked this race as an inverted race, as I believe the winners may have benefitted from the race setup and the early speed types may have been compromised by the setup. To do this, I simply click on the 'Notes' button located on the right side of the line beginning with standard chart. A small window will open allowing me to enter 'Note' for each horse in the race as well as a note for the entire race (which will be added to the PP's of each starter.) I could also choose to enter a note for the entire card which will display in the PP's of each starter.
The next time each horse runs their PP's will include the notes. I then have the option of printing the notes in future PP's.
Dave if this doesn't answer your question please let me know.

Hi Jim, thanks for the feedback. I was never able to try place/show betting. It just didn't seem to fit my personality. But let me say this. Regardless of your handicapping or wagering methodology you are going to encounter bad streaks. I am so fortunate to do this professionally and I still have to fight through droughts and losing streaks.
My point is try to develop a methodology that 'feels' good to you. Then don't be too quick to abandon it. Make small wagers, if any, and consider tweaks you could make. The friends I have in this industry all struggle through some lean weeks and months.

Can't argue that point. Just like most successful businesses.

I will reply sometime this weekend. Just a busy couple of days handicapping ahead. Thanks Dave

Thanks Jack! Only 4 of 5. What I was hoping to illustrate was how to get the most out of your money through ticket structure. I posted 6 tickets, all of which included an all A's combination. IF the bet was successful with all A's winning (we had 4 A's win) we would have hit the P5 6 times. This type of structure provides opportunities for bigger scores.

Thanks Tom, love the idea of mentally scanning the results charts!! Minimizes the time investment while providing an improved explanation of how the race was run! I believe that any information not easily available to the general public improves our edge.

Thanks Ranch. You make a good point as we must balance the 'time investment' in the handicapping process. Formulator does offer quick and easy access to result charts and toggles back to the PP's.

Hi Dave, there are really not any products. There are podcasts and articles not available to non members. I enjoy listening to those things and hear different perspectives.
I do believe ITM offers a product named ThoroPace but I've never looked at it.

Ranch, keep in mind that before from a vets list runs back they are required to go through vet exam to get 'off' the vets list and more likely than not a published workout in front of a vet. Then on the next raceday the horse must pass a standard raceday vet check.

Excellent point Ranch! It's not unusual to see voided claim horses come back to win their next start. In the state of PA the use of the voided claim should be used only when a post race exam by a vet deems a horse unsound to the point the horse would be added to the vets list. I am not sure if other states are using the exact same standards. For example I am aware of a time in Arizona when the stewards suspended the use of the voided claim. I'm hopeful that HISA will make this a more consistent process.

In another 'similar' situation, reason for pre-race scratch needs to be classified more precisely. Typically the reason will be stewards, trainer, vet etc. What does a vet scratch mean? Was the horse unsound during a pre-race exam? Did the trainer tell a vet a horse was coughing or didn't eat up?

Jack, thanks for sharing you analysis sheets through the weekend. The chicken-scratch all over my printed PP's is not nearly as professional as your approach.

Tom, thanks again for your thorough explanation. I've followed your posts on this and other forums and it's clear that you have a lot to offer. I really appreciate your time. Here are my thoughts on your suggestions!!

Many E horses can run as EP horses if they need to. Be very cautious labeling one a need-t-lead.
Good observation. I will admit that speed duels do not always develop when I expect them to. This is something to keep in mind!

An EP horse drawn inside may be forced to send early.
I 100% buy into this statement. We can find examples of this at every track, every day!

An E horse drawn outside the other early speed may well sit off the pace.
Interesting observation, one supported regularily by Richard Migliore on America's Day At The Races. I really trust the Mig's analysis.

When 2 E horses are side by side,, re-examine the QSPs. An E4 may well show moe early speed than expected and challemge or even out-pace an E6 . QSPs, if limited to the lat 3 lines are as much form as speed. The E4 might well be an E7 or E8 when in good form. I use Dave's definition of an improving horse as good reason to look at back-speed.
I have to research this one a little more. I use a lot of Dave's processes in my handicapping and wagering but I haven't found his definition of an improving horse yet. But your point is well made.

Dave's New Pace idea for rating early is tedious by hand, but excellent in practice.
I'm going to have to 'brush the dust' off my copy of New Pace. I have to admit I got a little sidetracked when listening to it and never really evaluated it fairly. Thanks Tom

The Rs/Pos method by Jim Crammer iis excellent and structureenough to take out a lot of indecision.Much detailed iFREE nformation at HDW.
I am familiar with RS/POS as I used the ThoroManager product during a brief stint as a jockey agent. What I found interesting is that RS/POS used the fastest first quarter time. The raw time was used with no adjustment for track or variant. The results were surprising accurate. For some reason I have never put enough time into pace evaluation in the past.

If you use BRIS or have access to pace figuures, try adding the QSPs to the E1 or the E2 pace rating. I use B2L4 pace figs at E1.
I have no real experience with current BRIS products. I occasionally download a card and print it for a friend of mine, but I have not looked at their pace numbers. Maybe I'll download a card and look at the pace numbers. As PP's I prefer DRF Formulator. On a similar note, do you have any comments or experience with TimeFormUs or EquineEdge. Both products tout accurate pace numbers. CJ from TimeForm appears to be a stand up guy. I've heard him on many podcasts and he certainly does his homework.

If you play NYRA, use the Track Trends column for rail bias, very good information
I love and use track trends. I think I mentioned it in another post on this board. I supplement my own bias notes for NY with Andy's thoughts on track trends.

Tom, your feedback is much appreciated and I will provide updates as I progress. Thanks again

Thanks Jack. Sometimes balloons deflate quickly. lol I was disappointed in the final odds on Now Showing @ 5-2. It was interesting that Liam's Champ and Chad's FTS (the winner) both worked on 4f on 1-22. I don't know if they worked in tandem but the FTS worked 3/5 quicker than Liam's Champ. I may have downplayed that fact in my analysis.

On 1-29 I do 'like' a horse in race 5 at Aqu. In this race I can key my selection in both P5's. I expect Now Showing to run a much-improved race.
In her 11-20 debut all starters (excpet Now Showing) have already run back. 7 of the 8 starters improved their Beyers in the subsequent start with several improving significantly. Only the winner did not post an improved Beyer but finished 2nd in a $100k Stake race.
I realize.that there is a Pletcher debut horse as well as 2 horses from Chad Brown in this heat. Hopefully they will sweeten the potential return on Now Showing.
Good luck to all.

Good observations!! But yes I did get sucked in by this one. I ended up singling Pirate in a bad call by myself. I typically try to avoid horses going for 4 or 5 consecutive wins. One thing for sure in this business, you can't win them all.
The feedback this team provides is excellent and should help make us all better players.

Good rule that has been in place in many states for several years. In practice, many horsemen have been less than satisfied with the outcomes due to different interpretations by various vets. Specifically, horsemen often struggle with a vets opinion of soreness or lameness. Hell often times vets can't even agree on it.
Hopefully this rule becomes more acceptable to horsemen as it is good for all involved in the buiness