A couple multicaps field questions

[CBedo]

I'm cleaning up/refactoring my multicaps file parser, and trying to get every field (before I only pulled the data I needed). Lookng at the "reserved" set of fields, there are obviously a ton of them that actually have data. I think I have most of them figured out (thanks in large part to all of you here at PA), but there are a few I'm stil not sure about.

Field 250 -- appears to have a number for each race, which have example values of 1, 6, and even 19.
Fields 1375-1377 -- numbers that look like race or class ratings such as 113.3, -109.9, etc.
Field 1418 -- large number that could be 1000, 1135, etc.

Also there are three sets of fields that appear to be jockey or trainer stats that have starts, wins, places, shows, roi, but I want to make sure I have the right category.

Fields 219-223 -- Jockey/Trainer last 365?
Fields 1378-1382 -- Category??
Fields 1413-1417 -- Jockey/Trainer Meet?

Thanks for the help.

[Jeff P]

Can help with one of those:

1418 is Post Time in Military Time Pacific (without the ":" character)
(added by Brisnet for JCapper 11/2009)


-jp

.

[Handiman]

Talked to Bris today and 219-223 is numbers for Jockey/trainer when they are pared together. I have been looking for this info for some time.


Handi:)

Congrats to S.F. Giants!

[raybo]

Talked to Bris today and 219-223 is numbers for Jockey/trainer when they are pared together. I have been looking for this info for some time.


Handi:)

Congrats to S.F. Giants!

And, the Texas Rangers!! Ist league championship and trip to the Series. Been along road.

[Trotman]

Raybo the Rangers sure did bitch slap those dammed Yankees and you have to like their chances to win it all, good luck. :ThmbUp:

[Handiman]

I have connections to Texas also. Should be a good series. I would not bet this series with your money.

So not to get into trouble......some horse talk. Saw Secretariat movie and it was very cool.

Handi:)

[raybo]

I have connections to Texas also. Should be a good series. I would not bet this series with your money.

So not to get into trouble......some horse talk. Saw Secretariat movie and it was very cool.

Handi:)

Yeah, I'm anxious to see the movie. I have this thing about dominating performances, no matter the discipline involved.

BTW, I was a Yankee fan long before the Rangers existed. Did I say I have a thing about dominating performances? The Yankees, back in the day, personified that.

[Trotman]

Raybo I was too until the day The Mick died.

[PaceAdvantage]

This is all well and good, but please refrain from taking this thread any further off topic.

Thanks.

[CBedo]

Continuing to hijack my own thread: I'm a long time Rangers fan (from the Dallas area originally), and am jacked they are in the Series. I think I have to be in San Fran during game 6 & 7. I'll definitely be going to a game if the series is still going on.

Now, back to the actual topic at hand.

From comparing different pdfs and file types:

1376 is Back Speed
1377 is ACL

1375 might be Back Class (this is an educated guess, not a 100% sure)

From the single pp file description:

219-223 is jockey/trainer last 365
1413-1417 is jockey/trainer for the meet.

Which leaves:

1378-1382 is also a jockey, trainer, or jockey/trainer stat series, but doesn't match jockey with run style or jockey/trainer last 60, so I still don't know what the stat is.

250 -- I'm still clueless on this one, it's an integer which seems to define something for the race, not the horse.

Lastly, as far as I can tell, these fields all contain nothing at all.
8, 42, 48, 59-61, 237, 252-255, 706-715, 1016-1025, 1026-1035, 1374, 1431, 1433

(1432, 1434-1435 contain some brisnet codes it seems).

[chickenhead]

I think I have to be in San Fran during game 6 & 7. I'll definitely be going to a game if the series is still going on.


Further hijack -- San Francisco, or The City. No Frisco. No San Fran. This is serious business. :)

[DJofSD]

Now, now, don't get your denim jeans all in a bunch.

[CBedo]

Finally almost finished with parsing the full multicaps file, and have a question about the contents of a couple fields.

1) In the company line codes, I understand the I,Y,C or "blank" in three spots (one for each of the horse in the company line/top finishers spot, but the column specification is 4 characters long not 3. Anyone know why? Also, I noticed in one file, There was an "&" character (I've only checked about 5-6 files and haven't seen it in any other) in the first spot. Any clue what this is?

2) In the "Code for prior 10 starts," I see "x" for off the turf, but the spec also shows the possibility of "s" for nasal strip. Has anyone actually encountered this in a file (again, I've only checked a small number of files and haven't seen it).

[CBedo]

1) In the company line codes, I understand the I,Y,C or "blank" in three spots (one for each of the horse in the company line/top finishers spot, but the column specification is 4 characters long not 3. Anyone know why? Also, I noticed in one file, There was an "&" character (I've only checked about 5-6 files and haven't seen it in any other) in the first spot. Any clue what this is?After looking at a few more files, I found some more examples of the "&" and it appears that it is always in the first slot (four character field), and signifies that the race was an international race.

Just one more example of how poorly these files are put together. Why in anyone's rational mind would company line codes and an international flag be crammed into the same field?

[TRM]

I download the single file format and when you convert to PP's using the PP Generator, I see that it lists the leader E2 and leader Speed rating. Does anyone know the location of these fields?

[DJofSD]

#210

http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/static.cgi?page=drfsff

[raybo]

I download the single file format and when you convert to PP's using the PP Generator, I see that it lists the leader E2 and leader Speed rating. Does anyone know the location of these fields?

The leader's E2 and Speed Rating are not listed in the data file. In order to get the leader's pace and speed figures, from the data file you have to calculate it yourself.

I assume that Bris either has these ratings, already, and show them in the PPs created with the PP Gen, or, they do the converting, to get them, during the running of the PP Gen.

I have created the leader's E1, E2, and LP, as well as the leader's speed rating, from the data file, in Excel, using the horse's pace and speed ratings, kinda "reverse engineering".

[raybo]

#210

http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/static.cgi?page=drfsff

Field #210 is the run style designation.

[DJofSD]

Thanks, Ray. I guess I didn't read the question carefully.

[TRM]

Ray-

That's what I was afraid of......I can create those, but was looking for a shortcut.....Thanks.

[raybo]

Ray-

That's what I was afraid of......I can create those, but was looking for a shortcut.....Thanks.

"Shortcut"? I've heard this all my life: "Ain't nothin' free". :)

I think the omission of leaders' pace figures and speed figures, by Brisnet, was a result of their (and many other people's) failure to realize that pace and speed figures mean very little unless you understand how they were earned. The inclusion of these leaders' figures in the PP Converter PPs I believe, was a result of Brisnet's realization, finally, that they were important and were desired by their users.

Why they haven't been added to the data files is still a mystery to me. Probably a financial decision, the more expensive data files, like AllWays and Neurax Pro, may have them.

[TRM]

Just for sh$ts and grins, I am going to call Bris about this and see what they say......

[CBedo]

Converting horse pace to the leader's pace is too easy to need a shortcut. All their pace ratings are 2 points per length no matter the distance.

Their speed ratings, on the other hand, their speed ratings are calculated using differing points per length depending on distance.

[raybo]

Converting horse pace to the leader's pace is too easy to need a shortcut. All their pace ratings are 2 points per length no matter the distance.

Their speed ratings, on the other hand, their speed ratings are calculated using differing points per length depending on distance.

Correct. But, you'd be surprised (or maybe not), how many players don't know how to make simple calculations like these.

If you're going to sell data, why would you not sell "all" the data you have to all the users? Because some users don't need all your data, they can create their own, from just some of your data. Others can't, so they need more data from you. And for this need, you can charge more for something you already have.

It is about, after all, Money.

[CBedo]

Correct. But, you'd be surprised (or maybe not), how many players don't know how to make simple calculations like these.

If you're going to sell data, why would you not sell "all" the data you have to all the users? Because some users don't need all your data, they can create their own, from just some of your data. Others can't, so they need more data from you. And for this need, you can charge more for something you already have.

It is about, after all, Money.if it were all about money, wouldn't we have better, more clearly and concisely defined data structures, free (or extremely cheap) old data, and ease of access to customer service helping us figure new and better way to use the data? :rolleyes:

[raybo]

if it were all about money, wouldn't we have better, more clearly and concisely defined data structures, free (or extremely cheap) old data, and ease of access to customer service helping us figure new and better way to use the data? :rolleyes:

What I meant by it all being about money, was in terms related to Brisnet's reason for being. To them, it's all about money. Why would they offer .drf files for $1, then fill in a couple of "reserved for future use" fields with RR and CR and charge $3 for the .mcp files. Then they add some other "proprietary" fields for Neurax and AllWays and charge $7 or $10 for a file.

If it had anything to do with what is best for the user, all the files would cost the same, because they all start with the same raw data.

[Light]

When a horse comes out of a race to win its next start,it is italicized in the company line. Does anyone know if there is a field in the data file structure that is assigned to that item in the single or multi data files?

[raybo]

When a horse comes out of a race to win its next start,it is italicized in the company line. Does anyone know if there is a field in the data file structure that is assigned to that item in the single or multi data files?

Fields 1192-1201 contain the Company Line codes, but, I don't know what the codes mean. There is no description for them that I have been able to find on Brisnet's site.

[CBedo]

Fields 1192-1201 contain the Company Line codes, but, I don't know what the codes mean. There is no description for them that I have been able to find on Brisnet's site.The company line codes are:

'I' => :won_next_out,
'Y' => :ran_against_horse,
'C' => :ran_againt_and_won_next

[raybo]

The company line codes are:

'I' => :won_next_out,
'Y' => :ran_against_horse,
'C' => :ran_againt_and_won_next

Where did you get these code descriptions? Or did you just figure them out?

I notice that some of the codes don't start on the left side of the field/cell. Are there some spaces involved, also? Like if the "I" is 1 space from the left side of the field/cell, is it referring to the 2nd placed horse? Confusing, at least when the data is put into Excel.

[raybo]

Where did you get these code descriptions? Or did you just figure them out?

I notice that some of the codes don't start on the left side of the field/cell. Are there some spaces involved, also? Like if the "I" is 1 space from the left side of the field/cell, is it referring to the 2nd placed horse? Confusing, at least when the data is put into Excel.

Never mind, this was covered in an earlier post, there are "blanks" involved.

[CBedo]

Where did you get these code descriptions? Or did you just figure them out?

I notice that some of the codes don't start on the left side of the field/cell. Are there some spaces involved, also? Like if the "I" is 1 space from the left side of the field/cell, is it referring to the 2nd placed horse? Confusing, at least when the data is put into Excel.I just pulled a bunch of files and looked for patterns to determine what the codes were, a total pain in the butt that should have been unnecessary.

There are spaces since there could be three codes to represent the three horses that finished 1st-3rd, so the first space is the the first place horse, second space is the second place horse & third space for the third place horse.

Oh, I almost forgot, the field is four characters long, not three. The first character could be an '&' which represents whether the race is an international race or not. I think (could be wrong, but vaguely remember this) that you have to check the first character for the ampersand, then check for the company line codes. If I remember correctly, if the race is international, the first place horse's company code is in the second spot, not the first. This is just one example of how pathetic these field definitions are, not only the lack of explanation, but the actual field structure itself.

[raybo]

I just pulled a bunch of files and looked for patterns to determine what the codes were, a total pain in the butt that should have been unnecessary.

There are spaces since there could be three codes to represent the three horses that finished 1st-3rd, so the first space is the the first place horse, second space is the second place horse & third space for the third place horse.

Oh, I almost forgot, the field is four characters long, not three. The first character could be an '&' which represents whether the race is an international race or not. I think (could be wrong, but vaguely remember this) that you have to check the first character for the ampersand, then check for the company line codes. If I remember correctly, if the race is international, the first place horse's company code is in the second spot, not the first. This is just one example of how pathetic these field definitions are, not only the lack of explanation, but the actual field structure itself.

Thanks!

Yeah, pretty pathetic.

[ranchwest]

I'm cleaning up/refactoring my multicaps file parser, and trying to get every field (before I only pulled the data I needed). Lookng at the "reserved" set of fields, there are obviously a ton of them that actually have data. I think I have most of them figured out (thanks in large part to all of you here at PA), but there are a few I'm stil not sure about.

Field 250 -- appears to have a number for each race, which have example values of 1, 6, and even 19.
Fields 1375-1377 -- numbers that look like race or class ratings such as 113.3, -109.9, etc.
Field 1418 -- large number that could be 1000, 1135, etc.

Also there are three sets of fields that appear to be jockey or trainer stats that have starts, wins, places, shows, roi, but I want to make sure I have the right category.

Fields 219-223 -- Jockey/Trainer last 365?
Fields 1378-1382 -- Category??
Fields 1413-1417 -- Jockey/Trainer Meet?

Thanks for the help.

250 -- I don't know
1375-1377 -- I don't know
1418 -- Post Time Pacific time
219-223 -- Jockey/Trainer 365
1378-1382 -- I think this is Jockey/Trainer 30
1413-1417 -- Jockey/Trainer Meet

[ranchwest]

1375 is the class rating of a specific past race, but I haven't figured out how to determine which race.

1376 is the speed rating of a specific past race, but I haven't figured out how to determine which race. It is not necessarily the same race as 1375.

1377 -- I still haven't figured this one out at all.

[zerosky]

Found myself at a lose end what with belmont on the slop....

Lookin' for info on field 213 (212 is race rating (RR) Par for race)
am I right in thinking that 213 is the expected winners Class Rating (CR).

Thanks

[ranchwest]

Found myself at a lose end what with belmont on the slop....

Lookin' for info on field 213 (212 is race rating (RR) Par for race)
am I right in thinking that 213 is the expected winners Class Rating (CR).

Thanks

Yes, 213 is the CR Par.

[zerosky]

Thanks....

fiddlin' around with these files is an irksome task, I'm thinking of just sticking with the printed pp's.
It might be my imagination but I seem to do better with just the basics.

[ranchwest]

Thanks....

fiddlin' around with these files is an irksome task, I'm thinking of just sticking with the printed pp's.
It might be my imagination but I seem to do better with just the basics.
Working with the files, you can do less, more, whatever.