Magic!

[sparky]

My thanks to all of you for helping me shop for software several months ago. I'm happy to report that I did spring for Mike Pizzolla's Handicapping Magic and read it several times. I then bought the software and am using it for the racing season at Golden Gate Fields. Gulp. Turf races will never be the same! As you know, I'm a rank beginner, so could I ask you two more questions?

1) When opening Form Cycle Windows for a dirt race, do I delete the pacelines at the wrong distance and on turf? Pizzolla seems to say that they should be left in.

2) How can I use the second number that appears with the fulcrum? It's usually something like :341, :313. Is it the fulcrum at a common distance?

I promise to divide my superfecta winnngs with all of you.

Happy Holidays,
sparky

[Tom]

That :341 number sounds like it might be a third fraction
of 34 and 1?

Good luck with the program.

Tom

[Bob Harris]

Sparky,

When handicapping most dirt races you'll need to eliminate the turf races in the form cycle window...in most cases the PPF ratings will be much higher in those races than what the horse tends to run on dirt.

The posted third fraction of the fulcrum horse is just there as the standard to compare the other horses to when generating the PPF ratings.

Have fun with the turf races...they will be your highest ROI category as you compile your betting records.

Bob

[sparky]

Thanks, Tom and Bob. Yes, Tom, Bob says it's the third fraction of the fulcrum horse.

Bob, back to opening Form Cycle Windows: What if I'm handicapping a route, and some of the races in the horse's past performances are sprints? Do I throw those out? Or vice versa, if I'm handicapping a sprint, and some of the horse's past races are routes? The reason I ask is that the software does offer the option of eliminating whatever pacelines you want. If I leave all races in (except turf), the program goes ahead and generates PPFs for all races.

Sincere thanks,
sparky

[Bob Harris]

Originally posted by sparky
Thanks, Tom and Bob. Yes, Tom, Bob says it's the third fraction of the fulcrum horse.

Bob, back to opening Form Cycle Windows: What if I'm handicapping a route, and some of the races in the horse's past performances are sprints? Do I throw those out? Or vice versa, if I'm handicapping a sprint, and some of the horse's past races are routes? The reason I ask is that the software does offer the option of eliminating whatever pacelines you want. If I leave all races in (except turf), the program goes ahead and generates PPFs for all races.

Sincere thanks,
sparky



Sparky,

In a nutshell, whenever you're done opening your Form Cycle Window, take a quick glance at the races which have the best PBS and PPF ratings in the window...if the rating is inline with what the horse has shown he can do in the past, just go ahead and except it no matter what the surface or structure.

As I said earlier, the PPF ratings from turf races tend to run too high when handicapping dirt races and also the ratings from the internals of route races tend to be too high when working sprints. If they are inline, just run with them...getting too fine with numbers is extremely over-rated. When I do delete a race from the window it is usually because of one of those two situations.

Hope that helps...let me know if any other questions arise as you get more familiar with the program.

Bob

[sparky]

Bob, thanks a million. I really appreciate your insight. If you don't mind, I will take you up on your offer to advise me on future questions as I become familiar with the software.

Good luck to you on your own handicapping, although it sounds as if you already have that!

With best wishes for the New Year,
sparky

[mhrussell]

Sparky-

Nice to see you are a "Magician" now too!
Bob Harris is a great source of info on the Magician for this board and I was hoping he would answer your questions.

I use a somewhat different approach in that I will pick a single pace line to use in rating the horse's most likey performance at today's distance and surface. I'll look for either the best PPF or PBS race depending on whether the race is on the turf or what rating will be favored due of the shape of the race (closers or early speed).

I know as you get more experience you will have some good points to make on this board and I hope you post more often!

Happy Holidays...

[sparky]

Matt,
Thanks for your encouragement. I have printed out both your post and Bob Harris's for use with the Magician.

It was good of you to invite me to post more often as I gain experience, but I don't know if I'll be adding any insights -- just plenty of thick-headed questions!

Merry Christmas!
sparky