New Racing Form Size

[detective]

Hi hear that the DRF will announce on October 6th they are changing the size of the DRF. It will be like the digest or smaller! I hope they keep it the size it is now for Breeders Cup. I will most likely go with formulator or Brisnet I won't care for a shrunk down form any thoughts?

[letswastemoney]

I found free BRIS PPs for every Belmont race today. No need for DRF.

[Tom]

What is the Digest - that stupid little road map sized thingy they sell for 50 bucks at
7-11??? Worthless.

Speaking of DRF, I bought the PDF for Belmont today - $2.95!
IF yo but the printed edition, which costs mores to produce, you get 6 tracks for %7.50 plus all the content.

Who runs DRF, Larry Fine?

[Pensacola Pete]

What is the Digest - that stupid little road map sized thingy they sell for 50 bucks at
7-11??? Worthless.

Speaking of DRF, I bought the PDF for Belmont today - $2.95!
IF yo but the printed edition, which costs mores to produce, you get 6 tracks for %7.50 plus all the content.

Who runs DRF, Larry Fine?

It's a joint venture between Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan.

[horseplayer]

I found free BRIS PPs for every Belmont race today. No need for DRF.
I do not see them advertised for free on their site -- where did you find them??

[Tom]

Whobet!

http://www.trks2day.com/trks2day.html

[DJofSD]

I guess the only question left is the new DRF printed on one or two ply paper?

[speed]

I guess the only question left is the new DRF printed on one or two ply paper?
Based on my filthy black hands after handicapping for a few minutes it is USED 1 ply paper. :eek:

[Fingal]

Hi hear that the DRF will announce on October 6th they are changing the size of the DRF. It will be like the digest or smaller! I hope they keep it the size it is now for Breeders Cup. I will most likely go with formulator or Brisnet I won't care for a shrunk down form any thoughts?

Haven't used a Racing Form in years, but that was one of the nice things as a kid starting out was the extra room around the entries to scribble notes & figures.

[DJofSD]

Haven't used a Racing Form in years, but that was one of the nice things as a kid starting out was the extra room around the entries to scribble notes & figures.
Yes, me too. And, I got to the point I had a color coding scheme -- ya, I'm anal that way.

[GMB@BP]

Why competition matters!

DRF had not really updated much since the release of Formulator 4.0, some minor additions like Ticket Maker, and the paper product has not changed in forever, now with the increased competition of TimeformUS and their target audience using modern media you get DRF's Steve Crist sending emails telling them "hey look at us, were making changes".

[DJofSD]

Why competition matters!

DRF had not really updated much since the release of Formulator 4.0, some minor additions like Ticket Maker, and the paper product has not changed in forever, now with the increased competition of TimeformUS and their target audience using modern media you get DRF's Steve Crist sending emails telling them "hey look at us, were making changes".
History repeats.

When was it, 20 years ago, Fig Form was started. As I recall the reaction by the DRF was to add some information but I don't recall the specifics.

[Tom]

Steve who?

[Shemp Howard]

It's going to look like the Armstrong Daily.

[detective]

DRF had a article up about how the color pictures look great in the new form! The new paper is 8.5 x 11. They took the article down as every public comment was negative. Several players in Las Vegas said it was crap and made out of cheep recycled paper. I am sticking with bris or TimeForm US when that it is updated.

[classhandicapper]

Just a quick thought.

Most people are very resistant to change in general and even more so when it comes to the layout and format of their reading material.

Given that this was probably mostly about cost savings because the cost of print is so high, I think if the DRF had passed "some" of the cost savings onto the customer with a slightly lower price, there would be less resistance.

[pandy]

I like it.

[thaskalos]

I hate it.

[Ocala Mike]

Took a quick look at it at the OBS ITW today; noticed that the price wasn't pre-printed on it (OBS was selling it for $7.50 plus tax). I thought the print was easier to read, so, all in all, I think it's an improvement.

[Tom]

I bought a copy tonight. I gotta say I like the new size. Easier to read in a car, on a table with my dinner, taking up so much less space....even if it doesn't lie completely flat.

I notice the Closer Looks are hit and miss - some race have it, others don't.
The paper is fine - the colors are good where they have them.

The PPs are the same size as before, but a lot of between space is gone, as Thask has lamented.

Not related to the size, but a gripe is that so many races have no Beyer Pars. Come on guys, you have a super-database of information and you can't come up with a par for Clm15000 n2l at Belmont?

All in all, I think is it is better.

[NJ Stinks]

I'm glad to hear some of you like it. Because there is no way I want to look at PP's on my computer for any length of time.

I'm going to buy Friday's DRF tomorrow. I'm anxious to see it.

[appistappis]

The six or seven older guys at my o.t.b. are not impressed...they never buy a form and the new size makes looking at mine tougher for them.

[NY BRED]

if there is one benefit of the original DRF it was comments made
on each of the entries, which, at least in yesterday's edition
have been eliminated.

I handed the new "elegant" edition back to the newsstand
owner and thankfully received a refund.

My prediction is the DRF will revert to its original size and
will demand an additional charge or no longer offer its daily paper.

The competition(BRIS/PTS/HDW) and DRF online offer the
advantage to sort the identical information in various ways, including the
ability to transport the information to third party programs.

If the target is the general public attending live racing at the track,
this product will not survive based upon the insane DRF pricing,
continual loss of fans attending races.

Final thought is that most tracks offer their own PPS at a fraction of
the DRF pricing.

[NJ Stinks]

Well, I bought Friday's DRF and I like it too. Much easier to go from track to track and the PP font size looked the same to me when I compared it to last Saturday's fonts. My Friday DRF has the following track PP's:

Belmont, Keeneland, SA, Meadowlands, Laurel, Finger Lakes, Woodbine, and Hawthorne

That's 8 tracks for $7.50 (newsagent bumps up price 50 cents). I consider the price to be more than fair.

My only "complaint" so far is that the "Closer Look" comments are hard to focus on and read. Either put the "Closer Look" comments in italics and/or better still - use a larger font.

One other thing: Mary Simon's "Last Look" on the inside back cover was a nice addition. (Mary was great in the Thoroughbred Times too for those familiar with her work in that defunct weekly magazine.)

[TheEdge07]

The six or seven older guys at my o.t.b. are not impressed...they never buy a form and the new size makes looking at mine tougher for them.

Hall of fame post..looking at yours will be tougher for them..how true...over the shoulder.

[Zman179]

Took a quick look at it at the OBS ITW today; noticed that the price wasn't pre-printed on it (OBS was selling it for $7.50 plus tax). I thought the print was easier to read, so, all in all, I think it's an improvement.

The price is on the lower left hand corner in very small font.

So far I'm in the negative camp here; it's not an improvement, it's a cost-cutting move disguised as an improvement. I feel like the DRF has gone via the food industry: Reduce the size and charge the same price.

[Ocala Mike]

The price is on the lower left hand corner in very small font.



Thanks; didn't see it the first day I looked, but saw it today. For what it's worth, OBS charges the higher (on track) price, plus tax, for a total of $7.90.

[Maximillion]

You always have the option of printing them.
You get any track you want and dont have to worry about buying both the am/pm edition.(both editions often omit many tracks almost at random)
You get the full 12 lines for all horses (or more with formulator)
You can get the pps sometimes as many as 3 or 4 days in advance.

[Tom]

And pay through the nose for them.

[Turfday]

should be in all bold face type just as the Works line.

In the Form's new version, the Closer Look type font is okay, but they made a bad choice but using light face, which doesn't jump out and is hard to read.

If anyone from DRF is reading this, simply change the light face font to bold in Closer Look.

[rrpic6]

The six or seven older guys at my o.t.b. are not impressed...they never buy a form and the new size makes looking at mine tougher for them.


That's hilarious! I think that's why I started printing out BRIS PP's so many years ago. Those guys would take a glance and move on. I also learned at a young age to take the Form with me if I had to use the restroom. If not it was gone when I got back to my seat.

RR

[Tom]

Lots of negative comments under the DRF article.

[BIG HIT]

Had a problem with old fourm and now worse with the book fourm.Which is the tracks are inbetween trks example bel started on page 2 to page 6 then thier is 3 trks inbetween then thrid race start up finishes bel program.What is problem with show them the way listed on front each with races acordingly so you don't have two hunt for everything

[Tom]

Rocket science to DRF.

They need to hire Gutenberg's descendant to figure out how to put pages 1-8 in order! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Simpletons!

[Tall One]

It's not that bad really. One thing I find I dont like is the even smaller abbreviations for the 1-2-3 runners in the PP's.

They should go back to old Eastern edition newspaper style. Journal edition I think it was called?

[parlay]

i appreciate the larger font. i didn't feel i was missing anything this weekend.
i prefer the comments on the side,rather than below.

[1st time lasix]

The abbreviation for the past three finishers in past performance is smaller..... making it far harder to identify key races. Since I make memorizing the names of talented two and three year olds part of my handicapping ( rather than just numbers) one of my small advantages using it has been nullified. A bit larger print mught be helpful as well.

[highnote]

The six or seven older guys at my o.t.b. are not impressed...they never buy a form and the new size makes looking at mine tougher for them.


LOL seems like a benefit DRF should be promoting. :D

[ManU918]

I usually do all my capping online but today I went to the track so I could bet the Santa Anita Pk6 and I bought the Form.. Its ****ing horrible. It reminds me of the "track programs"... They need to go back to the old format.

[RXB]

I was at a racebook today and bought the new format for the first time. I like it, especially the larger font.

[thaskalos]

I was at a racebook today and bought the new format for the first time. I like it, especially the larger font.

What larger font?

Is there a larger font outside the Chicago area?

[appistappis]

drf, lol, just bought tomorrows form and it is back to the original size but with the larger font and includes all the tracks for tuesday. Probably just a tease job.

[letswastemoney]

sometime in 20 years, paper pps will not exist. we will all have tablets and smartphones to look at the pps, like many of us do already, and fancy stylus pens will be used to write down notes with on those devices.

[jeebus1083]

drf, lol, just bought tomorrows form and it is back to the original size but with the larger font and includes all the tracks for tuesday. Probably just a tease job.

The DRF for Tuesday was the new small size in my market.

[Tom]

Same here.

[SandyW]

Same small size in Las Vegas.

[PaceAdvantage]

drf, lol, just bought tomorrows form and it is back to the original size but with the larger font and includes all the tracks for tuesday. Probably just a tease job.Must be a Canadian thing. Did you guys EVER see the small size yet?

[notoutofpounds]

On Saturday night at ASD I bought DRF's Player's Edition.

It has 14 tracks for $4.00, it is the same size, but way bigger fonts, way easier to read. Good value.

No beefs here.

[appistappis]

yes, last week we had the smaller ones, I posted the pics on here in the other thread.

[MJC922]

sometime in 20 years, paper pps will not exist. we will all have tablets and smartphones to look at the pps, like many of us do already, and fancy stylus pens will be used to write down notes with on those devices.

Yeah, they are definitely getting closer in this area. Like many people I still like paper but it'll eventually get to the point where it just doesn't make economic sense to ship paper around. You'll have one of these e-paper things sitting on your desk, it'll download PPs while you sleep and you'll wake up all set to go for a monthly fee.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/17/sony-prototype-e-ink-slate-video/

[burnsy]

I don't know, i kind of like it. The reason i buy the post parade (NYRA) is the "booklet" format. I could not stand paging through that newpaper. I don't really care about most of the articles anyway and half the tracks were useless to me. I ended up throwing a good portion out before i even started, just to get it out of my way. I'm not the only one that does that, you see "guts" of that paper strewn all over the place at the track and simulcast. The print gets on your hands and you wrestle the thing. I'll probably start buying it more now than i did before.

[PoloUK6108]

I don't know, i kind of like it. The reason i buy the post parade (NYRA) is the "booklet" format. I could not stand paging through that newpaper. I don't really care about most of the articles anyway and half the tracks were useless to me. I ended up throwing a good portion out before i even started, just to get it out of my way. I'm not the only one that does that, you see "guts" of that paper strewn all over the place at the track and simulcast. The print gets on your hands and you wrestle the thing. I'll probably start buying it more now than i did before.

I agree, always want to get the form but steer away from it when I'm going to be walking around alot bc its bulky and hard to deal with.

[cj]

yes, last week we had the smaller ones, I posted the pics on here in the other thread.

Probably changes size as the exchange rate changes.

[Tom]

Maybe it's that metric thing.

[so.cal.fan]

I haven't seen one yet, as we get PPs in print for Santa Anita only.
My friend hates the new DRF, he says it is missing information that they use to provide that is important to him. He is one of the best handicappers at Santa Anita, so I respect his opinion here.

[Immanuel Kant]

Was told by someone who should know that Monday and Tuesday's form are no longer published in Canada so we get the "new" version on those days. Wednesday through Sunday , DRF is still publishing in Canada, and those papers are the larger sized , "older" sized papers.

[Tom]

So it IS that metric thing! :D

[NJ Stinks]

I'm sure somebody complained about this previously but I didn't get how bad this was until today. The abbreviated names of the first 3 finishers in a PP line is horrible in the new print edition. Here's a quick look at the #1 horse (Rangi) in Friday's first race. In his last start on 9/29/13, the first 3 finishers in the print edition are abbreviated to:

TsTrbt SprnUp Hrntlspkn

The online PP's list the first 3 finishers of this race read as follows:

Tom'sTribute SpringUp Horizontlyspkin


What kind of crap is TsTrbt SprnUp Hrntlspkn? :mad: Come on, Steven. If you are going to continue the print edition, do it right for crying out loud.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Stinks, who is Steven?

[NJ Stinks]

Stinks, who is Steven?

Crist. (He'll know if he sees this.)

[1st time lasix]

t I didn't get how bad this was until today. The abbreviated names of the first 3 finishers in a PP line is horrible in the new print edition. Here's a quick look at the #1 horse (Rangi) in Friday's first race. In his last start on 9/29/13, the first 3 finishers in the print edition are abbreviated to:
TsTrbt SprnUp Hrntlspkn
The online PP's list the first 3 finishers of this race read as follows:
Tom'sTribute SpringUp Horizontlyspkin


What kind of crap is TsTrbt SprnUp Hrntlspkn? :mad: Come on, Steven. If you are going to continue the print edition, do it right for crying out loud.[/QUOTE] DITTO....it sucks!!!!!

[Saratoga_Mike]

Crist. (He'll know if he sees this.)

I doubt he made this call. As you probably know, he doesn't control the DRF. He works on the journalist/editorial side of the paper, not the "we really need to cut down on our publishing costs" side. He may have offered input/feedback, but I'd be shocked if he has veto power on such matters. I do agree with you on the abbreviations, though.

[Tom]

I saw one horse abbreviated as just "L"

[Hoofless_Wonder]

Stopped in my new "home" track Saturday, Portland Meadows, and bought the BC Preview and looked over a Form from earlier in the day lying on a table. Been using the Form since 1985.

I'm not impressed.

The "larger font" some people mentioned I believe is just an optical illusion, as the PPs are the same size, but the overall size of the page is smaller.

For regular PP use, the lack of margin space is an issue, but for me the biggest problem is they folded the damn things. I don't know if this is done at all tracks, but once folded, the form does not lay flat and turning pages is a chore. The second problem I have is that almost every race now spans multiple pages, requiring much more back and forth flipping than before.

The BC Preview Edition was a HUGE disappointment. Almost totally PPs and past Charts, with only a handful of articles.

I'm stunned by this move by DRF. Fortunately, I have one of my ADWs turned on again, so I'll be able to wager online again after moving to Washington.

I may have bought my last print DRF, ever.....<sigh>.....

[JustRalph]

TsTrbt SprnUp Hrntlspkn

The online PP's list the first 3 finishers of this race read as follows:

Tom'sTribute SpringUp Horizontlyspkin


What kind of crap is TsTrbt SprnUp Hrntlspkn? :mad: Come on, Steven. If you are going to continue the print edition, do it right for crying out loud.

That's incredible. Get right over to ye olde database and start searching for a horse named "TsTrbt" :lol:

[Irish Boy]

I saw one horse abbreviated as just "L"
Maybe it's a game?

"I can name this horse in one letter!"

[BlueShoe]

Did not expect to like the new version because I dislike changes in general, but must admit that it is not too bad, and it is okay, with one exception that is quite irritating. Perhaps this is only with the California edition, but the DRF is splitting the pp's of SA and GG. By that, I mean we may get the first three or four races in order, and then might get the first six runners of race 5 that ends on say page 16, then picks up again on page 44, after the pp's of several other tracks, for the rest of the field and the last few races. Have heard a few gripes from guys saying they were missing pages, having to be told to turn to page such and such, right after track so and so.

[therussmeister]

I saw one horse abbreviated as just "L"
Why would they do that?

Just for the "L" of it.