Technology In Horse Racing: Part III - Statistics And Data

[andymays]

http://www.anddownthestretchtheycome.com/2012/1/14/2706205/technology-in-horse-racing-part-iii-statistics-and-data

Excerpt:

Horse racing, perhaps more any other sport, is an industry built on numbers and data. Odds, time, distance, weight, pace fractions, parimutuel payouts, pool handles; every year huge amounts of data is generated within the industry. But while tons of data exists in the horse racing industry much of it, sadly, is locked away from most players and fans.

Excerpt:

I get the sense that, in some ways, the shielding of the data -- the reason behind the wall of payments for even the most basic historical data in user friendly formats -- is driven by the need to keep that data from the mainstream from a parimutuel perspective. What I mean by that is gambling on horse racing is a game of player vs. player.

[toussaud]

from a handicapping standpoint, there are still strides to be made as far as organizing data in a way that the end user can successful use the data.

horse racing is like in the Byzantine era compared to the rest of the world when it comes to IT.

[cj]

It is absolutely amazing that the industry doesn't just give the basic data away.

[VastinMT]

Thanks for the introduction to this series. It's a nice review of where the industry is in terms of using technology, and where else it could go and where it will go in the near future.

[thaskalos]

It is absolutely amazing that the industry doesn't just give the basic data away.
I agree completely.

The past performances are as vital to the horseplayer as a restaurant menu is to a dining customer...and they should be provided freely.

Disgraceful...:ThmbDown:

[jelly]

It is absolutely amazing that the industry doesn't just give the basic data away.





I agree completely :ThmbUp:


If their goal was to limit the number of people's interest in horseracing their going about it the right way.

[chickenhead]

even if racing is not ready or able to give away the current basic data for free -- I wish they would seriously consider giving away a one-click download of all older data (say everything up to 6 months out of date). For potential customers with an interest in crunching numbers it would be a huge benefit at what should be such a low cost (I can't imagine way out of date PP sales result in very much revenue). It is ridiculously expensive to get a decent database populated.

[Track Phantom]

I compare it to MLB. MLB is heavily dependent on statistics, as well. For some reason, those stats are compiled and delivered to the public for free. Not sure why the same can't be done in the racing world.

[thaskalos]

Do you guys remember the "old" days, when we would buy past copies of the DRF for research purposes...and the DRF had the audacity to charge us the same price for those old copies as they were charging for the new ones?

What fools we have been...

[VastinMT]

I compare it to MLB. MLB is heavily dependent on statistics, as well. For some reason, those stats are compiled and delivered to the public for free. Not sure why the same can't be done in the racing world.

MLB didn't always make their stats available for free, and for all I know they still don't.

It wasn't that long ago that Mom and Pop fantasy baseball stat services were forced out of business because the Elias Sports Bureau (which was, and may still be, the official keeper of MLB stats) wanted to charge exorbitant rates for the information.

Result? Small shops closed. Lots of fantasy games now, but all run by big companies. I suspect those companies pay for the stats (possibly at minimal, negotiated rates) and the right to distribute them, but the companies consider them a marketing device to get fantasy players clicking in to their websites on a regular basis.

Racing could do the same (as most here would support), but there are no industry players big enough to take on the marketing expense this might entail to support the infrastructure needed to gather and record the data. But if handicappers had to use one or two or three websites to play this game we love, those sites would be passing out stats down to the jockeys' hat sizes. But since there is no centralized control of this game, and no centralized, long-term marketing in horse racing worthy of the name, it doesn't happen. That's my take.

[ranchwest]

Excerpt:

I get the sense that, in some ways, the shielding of the data -- the reason behind the wall of payments for even the most basic historical data in user friendly formats -- is driven by the need to keep that data from the mainstream from a parimutuel perspective. What I mean by that is gambling on horse racing is a game of player vs. player.

Seems to me it is industry against players. If I only had to beat the players, I'd be a wealthy man.