A+ Handicapping, upgrade.

[John]

A+ Handicapping has just upgraded their Software.

Anyone know anything abot the upgrade.

Mike's letter was very confusing.Plus he is asking arounf $90.00 for the upgrade

John

[trying2win]

John,

Do you use the A + Handicapping Software? If so, what do you think of it?

Sorry, I've never used it myself, so I can't help you with your question about the upgrade.

Thanks,

Trying2win

[Lefty]

More of an add-on than a upgrade. He's adding a db called Tracker. If you go to the site it seems quite clear, with plenty of examples of the Tracker.

[John]

Lefty, Do you have "Tracker" and is it worth what A+ is asking.

His web page is confusing. It takes the top 4 picks and starts with a win bet on the higher odds of the 4. Then every combination there is for a Exacta , Trifecta, and Super. It cost a fortune to cover all bets.

Trying2win,

Yes I have 7.0 version. It is a speed software with no pace figures. You cannot use the TSN .50 files because it looks at the Racing form speed and track variant.[ You wonder with all the better speed ratings out there why it still uses the old track speed and variant.]

I have a friend that still has the first Manual Data impute version that runs in DOS and claims it is better than all of the Window version and picks good prices.

If you are interested, Try ebay.com you might find it there.

[andicap]

Several years ago I actually did try to track his overlays on the old cards he puts up on the site. It was promising, but took too much time and I had a hard time accounting for scratches, etc.

[trying2win]

John,

Thanks for the info on the A + Handicapping software. It seems more and more software products are adding things on to track results. I guess this type of add-on, allegedly is supposed to give you an "edge". I believe it's done by studying past results and looking for biases, patterns, profiles etc. of the winners at a specific track. I suppose that might help, but I don't know if that's the magic formula to riches. I'm a little skeptical, but who knows.

Maybe some other PA members can give a testimonial as to their usefulness. Or, perhaps they can suggest to us, that it's not worth the extra expense for the software tracking add-ons, or past result files.

Regards,

Trying2win

[Lefty]

Roca, Tracker is new and he didn't start shipping to buyers until yest. Dec2. I took adv of $99 deal since I had A+7 but never used it because of the $1 Bris files. Now you can also use TM C files and they can be had unlimited for $79 mo. I will try that.

[Lefty]

Forgot to add, the Tracker uses the FREE tsn results.

[John]

Lefty. Please keep us posted on your experience with "A+ Tracker" I just don't know how yesterdays results can enhance you winners with todays card.Maybe I am just "Hard headed."

[Lefty]

Well, i'll do this mo. that i'm signed at TM for and we'll see. My luck hasn't been that great with dbs either but some guys I respect swear by 'em. We shall see about A+

[John]

Thanks lefty, good luck.....

[JimG]

Lefty,

How's it been going this month with A+ and Tracker?

[John]

Ya Jim, I was waiting for something from Lefty too.

I got "Tracker" for a Christmas gift. It is installed, but I have not worked with it yet,I guess the way it works is: You have all these past A+70 generated reports with the results, stored in a file. That becomes your data base. Now ask ? lets say, how many A+ top picks that are favorites in sprints at one or all the tracks WIN from the race that you have in your data base. Bang. it comes up on your screen How many plays, how many winners how much you bet[ $2.00 ] and how much you won or lost. Also can do that with exacta and trifecta too.

It is pretty neat. maybe Jim , if you are interested I can ask MIKE, at A+ to post something. If you like I will ask.

John Martino

[Lefty]

Well, a mo. ain't long but lost about half a short BR. Gonna give it up for now and play with something else. I'm probably too impatient. A+ by itself may be a little better than using Tracker, but hey, a mo. is shortterm. I'm too impatient...

[Speed Figure]

Lefty,

What program do you use to handicapp the races? It's seems like you have so many that you never give them any time to see if they work.

[Lefty]

Yeah, i'm like a gal with too many shoes. Can't wear em all at once. I do tend to skip around, no question. I handicap with what i'm testing at the moment. I play short BR's and small bets trying to work em up. Sometimes I get one going great guns get a small BR doubled or tripled and then the slide dn usually starts. Frustrating.

[JimG]

Lefty,

Thanks for the report.


Rocajack,

I appreciate the offer but I would rather hear from customers like yourself and Lefty than the creator of the software.

[JimG]

Got a flyer in the mail from some outfit known as Pie Publishing. Anyhow, they are advertising their Triple Diamond Race Report with Daily Selections and blah blah

Anyhow, what I thought was interesting is that I recognized that the printouts are from the A+ program and new database module.

Dave...is it ok if I start a selection sheet with HSH output?
Nathan...ok if I start a selection sheet with Equisim output?

I'm obviously kidding about the questions above, but I find it amazing what some people will do to make a buck.

[John]

Jim, that is interesting. Does Pie Pub. have a website. maybr that tracker does work.

John

[JimG]

Originally posted by rocajack
Jim, that is interesting. Does Pie Pub. have a website. maybr that tracker does work.

John

www.piepublishing.com

[John]

JimG

sure does look like A+ screen...I guess you can cerry their pick for a cut of the sale.I am not sure.

John

[Lefty]

Yes, it surely does look like A+. You think the guy would be smart enough to redesign the page. Maybe he's doing it with Mike's blessing. Be interesting to find out.
Some prgms when you buy them, say specifically that you may not sell selections from the output of prgm.

[Mike at A+]

Hi everyone. I was cruising around the web today between bets and saw this website. I noticed a few questions about my software and thought I'd take a few minutes to answer them.

First off, A+ now uses the 50 cent TSN files with a free patch you can get on our website. This patch also has the effect of using the BRIS speed ratings when applied to the BRIS single file DRF. It will have no effect for Trackmaster "Type C" file users.

Regarding Tracker, it is not an upgrade - although most new A+ Thoroughbred customers are also ordering Tracker. Tracker is an add-on which currently uses the output of 7.0 and matches the GAR files up against the TSN Instant Chart files and tracks the effectiveness of different betting strategies broken down by track, surface, distance and class. For version 8.0 of A+ Thoroughbred, a new feature will allow you to determine suggested bets based upon the historical information stored in Tracker. In other words, if you are looking at a Sprint/Dirt/Claimer at Belmont, 8.0 will note that a 3-horse exacta box in such races shows an 18.91% ROI (at the time of this post). Tracker currently has a database of over 32,000 races at about 50 tracks and is growing every day. Of course, if an 8.0 user does not have Tracker installed, they will just get the vanilla GAR report. 8.0 is currently in the works and will likely be released later this year.

We are currently running a sale on A+ Thoroughbred, A+ Tracker and a "package deal" for both. Check our website for details.

[Lefty]

Mike, great about tsn but will it also use the the tsn advantage procaps files? These are the best deal cause at $59.95 a mo. they include results. I have the A+ and tracker but quit using it because it used those TM files and then you had to get prgm nos. etc. I'll get the patch.

[Mike at A+]

Yes I believe it uses the ProCap files. At least that's what some guy called them when he emailed me a few sample files to work with. They are exact in layout with the BRIS Single File DRF's. There are 1,435 data items per horse on both files. And yes, he did mention the fact that it was $59.95 for unlimited downloads.

[Lefty]

Sounds like the ones. In fact when I ordered ver.7 I think I sent you a few Procaps files, so it might've been me. Glad you included them.

[Mike at A+]

Just to update my last few posts, today I completed coding of some more modifications to the most recent patch (705) dealing with TSN and BRIS files. The patch now includes recognition of the ".EG" and ".PCS" file extensions so you no longer have to rename the files to ".DRF". Also included is a fix which corrects the problem of A+ "hanging" when a file containing quarter horse races is encountered. As always, this patch is free to all users of A+ Thoroughbred version 7.0 and is now available on our website for download. The file name is PATCH705.SF.

[Mike at A+]

Regarding the recent comments on Tracker, I have just updated my website with Tracker stats for May and June (yes I know I'm getting lazy and should have had this stuff there weeks ago). Also added fresh year-to-date comments "ACROSS ALL TRACKS" and "ACROSS ALL RACE TYPES".

On another note, I'll be up at Saratoga from August 18th. through August 23rd (definately) and a few days during closing week (maybe). John promised me a beer. Think he'll spring for the sampler at the Original Saratoga Springs Brew Pub? On a serious note, their beer is excellent and it's a great place for lunch. Running a close second in the beer category is Davidson's in Glens Falls.

Our favorite dinner spots are Wheat Fields (great Italian food on the strip), Mikado (in Glens Falls for you sushi lovers), One Caroline (eclectic menu and free live jazz), Leon's (Mexican place owned by jockey Filiberto Leon right near the track), The Flower Drum Song (good Chinese in Queensbury) and Massi's (another Italian joint in Glens Falls where you can make a meal out of the free appetizers they put out before the food arrives). And the LONGSHOT SPECIAL has to go to Esperanto off the strip in Saratoga where I had the best slice of pizza I've had since my younger days in Brooklyn. They have a very limited menu and it encompasses 4 or 5 ethnic groups. OK, I better stop before I raid the fridge.

Anyway, hope to see some of you up there!

[Mike at A+]

Decent opening day at SPA for A+ Thoroughbred 7.0.

4 winners on top for 60% ROI.
3 cold exactas for 164% ROI.
2 quinellas paying peanuts (1 with the exacta, 1 without).
1 cheapo trifecta cold (that I needed a DQ to hit).

Best winner was the #7 in the finale at 5/1 with John V. Won easy and was 20 points better than second choice. Was my only win bet of the day.

Not a bangup day but still in the "W" column. Any winning day in the SPA mud is gladly accepted. Bigger prices to follow hopefully. Right John? Three weeks from today and I'll be there. I am counting the freakin minutes.

[John]

Right Mike, A+ did well considering a muddy track and off the Turf. Plus a zillion scratches.....Good start, keep it going.

John

[PMDIC]

Where can i find a+ ?

[charleslanger]

http://users.rcn.com/aplus/indext.htm

[Mike at A+]

Here are a few WPS bets I'll be making at the SPA today:
Race 3: #2 at 8/1+
Race 4: #10 at 5/1+
Race 5: #9 at 4/1+
Race 7: #2 at 8/1+

[Hosshead]

Out of those 4 plays, you were- 0 for 1 .
R4 - needed 5/1+, went off at 3.60
R5 - needed 4/1+, went off at 3.50
R7 - Scr

I wasn't watching the tote at the time, but races 4 and 5 could have been "plays" at 1 or 2 min to post, then dropped to NON-Plays after all the money is in. This happens all the time. THAT IS THE PROBLEM with "must be certain odds to play", in this day and age.

[Hosshead]

I was refering to Winners in the above post. Race 3 did show.

[Mike at A+]

Originally posted by Hosshead
I was refering to Winners in the above post. Race 3 did show.

Yeah it was kind of a so so day at the SPA for me. I did go lightly because I made a big hit the night before in the 6th at Penn ($1,331 superfecta) and my tendency is to send it in after such a score - but I DIDN'T surprise surprise. Maybe I'm getting more careful in my old age. I opened a BrisBet account back in May and quickly ran $100 up to about $1,000, blew through that $1,000 and another $1,000 of my own (that EZMoney transfer from checking account is ALL TO EASY and I could see some guys who lack willpower and discipline giving their wives a bit of a shock at the bank or the cash machine).

Today, I'll look at the following plays at Saratoga:
Race #1: 1A at 8/1+ (1 can scratch but 1A must run)
Race #3: 1 at 4/1+ (1A can scratch but 1 must run)
Race #9: 8 at 6/1+
Race #10: 12 at 12/1+

All bets are 10 WIN, 20 PLACE and 40 SHOW

[CapperLou]

Hello Mike:

Can you explain why these plays are set up on this win, place, show amount ratio?
Does it have anything to do with tracker or the program or what?
I so understand the need for certain odds minimums--does that come from tracker or A+ or neither?

All the best,

CapperLou

[Mike at A+]

Originally posted by CapperLou
Hello Mike:

Can you explain why these plays are set up on this win, place, show amount ratio?
Does it have anything to do with tracker or the program or what?
I so understand the need for certain odds minimums--does that come from tracker or A+ or neither?

All the best,

CapperLou

Hi Lou,
The 1:2:4 ratio is a method used by an acquaintance of mine who has had success with it. The theory is that you bet top picks when they are fairly significant morning line overlays (or post time overlays if you're tote watching). Usually, all they need to do is run 3rd to make money with that bet ratio and often times they pay very nicely if the favorite runs out of the money. I've found it to have a decent combination of safety and return. Also, Tracker shows some good numbers on the NY circuit for the "WPS/2x Overlay" type of bet, especially in dirt sprints. But in reality, who knows? Anything can happen in this game. I'm usually an exacta/trifecta bettor but at Saratoga, picking one horse is difficult enough.
Mike