Who Remembers Figs Form?

[alysheba88]

Don't know what made me think of it. Does anyone else remember it?

[Tom]

Oh, yes. That was innovative well beyond its time. Too bad it could not have been sustained.

[cj]

I have a vague recollection of it...any more info to spur my memory?

CJ

[alysheba88]

From what I can recall it was kind of like a cross between a poor man's Sheets and the Racing Times. Had all kinds of kinky graphs and charts. Seem to recall it timing races to the hundreth also.

[cj]

I did love the Racing Times, still have some old copies from a Derby and a Breeder's Cup in the garage.

CJ

[Lefty]

Figs Form; pretty sure it was published by Amerpub.

[Dan Montilion]

I recall they gave them away to get things rolling. I tried to use it but it just did not FIG.

Dan Montilion

[MV McKee]

I actually have one of these in my old racing momento box. Dug it out, haven't looked at it in ages. November 4, 1989 Breeders' Cup Edition. Big pic of Easy Goer and Sunday Silence. Lots of graphs and other stuff I forgot what themeaning of was. Have to look through it and see if there are any good ideas in here.

By the way, bottom says:
COPYRIGHT 1989 ESRAC PUBLISHING, INC.

Who is that?

If there is an interest I can scan a page or two and attach or e-mail.

[Jaguar]

Robert Sinn started The Racing Times.

Mr. Sinn was an engineer(Univ. of Penn.) and a very successful entrepeneur, as well as an owner and breeder of thoroughbred
race horses.

Among Robert Sinn's patents are electronic medical devices and one of the first desktop stock market ticker displays.

Mr. Sinn patented his "F.I.G.S. Formula" and AMERPUB sold programmed hand-held calculators which allowed handicappers to quickly and easily(using differential calculus) measure a race horse's rate of slowing at different points during a previous race.

When Mr. Sinn developed his "F.I.G.S. Formula", the racing world was discovering Huey Mahl's "energy expenditure" theory, which hit the presses around 1978- and software developers, such as RaceCom, jumped on it.

Mr. Sinn's calculator picked the exacta cold when Alysheba thrilled the crowd with a tremendous late effort in the Kentucky Derby. If I remember correctly, the exacta paid $32.00. I ran around like a madman at OTB showing the figures and boasting to my friends.

Mr. Sinn had offices on 6th Ave. in Manhattan in the late 1980's and I was flattered that after a discussion with him about the nuances of handicapping, he offered me a job with The Racing Times.

When I saw the preliminary graphics and part of the marketing plan, I declined Mr. Sinn's generous offer. Having a background in advertising and public relations, I had a sense of foreboding concerning The Racing Times.

Moreover, I was spending alot of my time handicapping and getting paid then and there- in cash. Had I gone to work for Mr. Sinn, I would have essentially been assisting other people with their handicapping, and they would take the cash- while I would have to wait for a check.

The Racing Times was stillborn for several reasons. First, horrible graphics. Second, high overhead. Third, very difficult distribution problems. Fourth, high retail price. Fifth, a small market which was already dominated by the Telly(and no old-timers were about to give up the Telly for a bizarre looking, virtually unreadable publication which sold for only a dollar less than the Telly).

At the time- and I continue to believe that the concept would be successful, even today- I thought that Mr. Sinn could have made money selling a daily sheet featuring F.I.G.S. ratings for multiple tracks, for the price of $1, providing that the sheet was presented in simple, bold, easy-to-read text and numbers.

I am delighted that I had the chance to get to know Robert Sinn and his charming wife. Mr. Sinn was a very personable, highly intelligent individual- a true gentleman- (and a heck of a shrewd handicapper). The fact that I made some nice money with his calculator, during the 2-year period that I handicapped with it, is icing on the cake.

Every young handicapper should be so lucky as to have a mentor that is a real Mensch, such as Robert Sinn.

All the best,

Jaguar

[The Hawk]

Robert Sinn was a thief, which is why he fled to Florida while owing many people (including his employees) a lot of money. Florida is one of those states which is very, very kind to those who are legally responsible for financial restitution, the one and only reason he (and O. J. Simpson, for the record) relocated there. His wife, portrayed as a trainer, was witless and unsympathetic to the employees of the paper, who were sold a bill of goods by both. The Sinns continued to maintain that investors would save the paper while they high-tailed it out of town with the final payroll (and untold thousands of unpaid bills) in their pockets.

How do I know all of this? I worked there. As far as the paper's worth as a handicapping product, there's no doubt it was innovative and ahead of it's time, but as Jaguar said it was doomed from the start, due to under-capitalization, but also due to to Sinn's folly. I feel like the numbers were very good, even with luxury of hindsight, with all we know about the pitfalls of computer-generated figs. It may well stand up today as a "sheet" but the newspaper would have been tough to pull off, for the same reasons it failed in 1989.

[Dan Montilion]

I believe there is some confusion going on here. The Racing Times was owned by publishing mogul Robert Maxwell. Maxwell was said to be interested in The Racing Times for the express reason of going into head to head compeition with Daily Racing Form and more importantly, at least to Maxwell, with Rupert Murdoch who's News Corp. was the owner of DRF at that time. The Racing Times did seem to be making some in roads when Maxwell took a header off a boat and expired. For The Racing Times it was game over.

Dan Montilion

[The Hawk]

Right, Jaguar referred to Racing Times but clearly meant Figs Form, which is what I was referring to.

[Jaguar]

Hawk, thanks for correcting me. So much time has passed that I even forgot the name of the publication in question.

Very sorry to hear that The Sinns stiffed their employees. I would never have anticipated that, from a man who appeared to be a straight shooter.

The sad thing is, it is very difficult for rich people to do the right thing under duress, because they love their money too much.

Every rich guy I worked for disappointed me. One guy I worked for in Denver sold the store without bothering to tell the employees. It's an old story.

All the best,

Jaguar

[reckless]

hello everyone:

The story as I know it goes this way:

One day in late 1980s Robert Maxwell, owner of numerous media properties around the world, and the self-proclaimed savior of the New York Daily News, pays a visit to another world-wide media mogul named Rupert Murdoch, who happens to be Maxwell's No. One enemy!

Murdoch at the time was having huge financial problems and was considering closing down the venerable New York Post, among other properties. Maxwell offered to 'help' Murdoch with his financial pain by offering to purchase some of those ailing media properties--most notably the Daily Racing Form.

Murdoch, who often viewed Maxwell the way an elephant views a gnat, not only rebuked Maxwell's offer, but volleyed some disparaging remarks toward his rival.

Maxwell, angered as well as insulted, vowed to start a rival newspaper to the DRF and put it out of business. Thus, The Racing Times was founded.

In actuality, The Racing Times was a far superior product than the DRF and was making circulation headway when Maxwell died. Prior to, and up to the time of Maxwell's death, the DRF always figured The Racing Times was going to fold. The DRF often turned down offers to the buy the paper (such overtures were made to DRF after Maxwell's death). Only after there were circulation jumps at numerous sites (So. Calif., Louisiana and Kentucky) did the DRF jump in and bought the paper--to specifically shut it down soon after the deal closed!

Horseplayers and true lovers of racing were again forced to settle for the DRF -- until rescued a years later by Steven Crist (the former founding Editor-in-Chief of The Racing Times).

I miss The Racing Times!!

[Tom]

I think it was, even then, a better product than DRF is today.