Pace Makes the Race Software

[mikesal57]

not a "nagging troll"....

just a "rich" nagging troll with my CD Picks....with a free software

[kingfin66]

Very disappointing thread.

[Tom]

Agree, KF.....it is amazing how many jealous loser are out there.
I would think if one were winning half what they claim, they would be too busy cashing tickets to make utter asses out of themselves. And on top of that, they somehow know just how good everyone else is doing.

Yet none of them ever have anything of any value to add, just troll poop in the threads.

[mikesal57]

Sorry guys

Been cleaning up at Churchill

What did I miss?

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by Tom

Agree, KF.....it is amazing how many jealous loser are out there.
I would think if one were winning half what they claim, they would be too busy cashing tickets to make utter asses out of themselves. And on top of that, they somehow know just how good everyone else is doing.

Yet none of them ever have anything of any value to add, just troll poop in the threads.

I don't know what is going on Tom. I thought I was going to be reading lots of cool stuff that is going on with Dave's new software. Instead, I get to read that:

Those who respect Dave and his work are "shills."

Attacks on Dave.

People calling you fat.

Raybo getting hammered and somebody actually putting him on ignore. Probably a first for that one!

Disappointing is the word that came to mind. If we are lucky, the mods will clean it up.

[steveb]

Originally Posted by Tom

Perhaps what you see as reality is distorted because your head is so far up your ass.

when i went to see springsteen in melbourne aust. a few years back, he reckons that "us americans can't pronounce arse because of our american accents, and that is why we say ass."
is not an ass your average american racing horse?

[cbp]

All the buy-everything-in-sight winners are in Monaco, the haven for those looking for a tax break. Tom has won so much, with all the programs he's purchased, that he regularly dines with the royal family. It's gourmet food and the best wine for Tom. And then he woke up, in armpit upstate NY, with a Little Caesar's pie and 5 BIG GULPS. The HIGHLIFe we're all envious of

Anyone can have it by buying some of Dave's stuff

[Dave Schwartz]

I thought I was going to be reading lots of cool stuff that is going on with Dave's new software.

Indeed.

Perhaps I should try to get that ball rolling.

From a development standpoint (for the programmer audience), I have been concentrating on writing a ton of functions. My general rule of thumb is that if I am going to need it more than once, it needs to be in a function. (Any programmer can tell you how much discipline it takes to live up to such a commitment.)

For non-coders that means, never write the same piece of code twice. It also means that the going is slower in the beginning because it takes a little more effort to write a function with 5 lines of code that it does to write the 5 lines of code, but, eventually, the entire 5 lines (or 50 lines) is replicated with a single line!


From a Features and Benefits standpoint, I am writing this FIRST from the standpoint that most users will NOT BE DOWNLOADERS and will be working with a minimum of data.

Basic race and entry data is brought into the program from one of several FREE programs/entry pages out there. The process is for the user to copy the page and paste it into the software, which then parses it into individual races. Thus, each card is copied and pasted (i.e. if you were handicapping 5 tracks, then you'll need those 5 pages).

This is done at least for the first provider. Other providers will likely be added after the beta is released.


Next comes the data. How do you get REAL data into the software?

There are initially 2 options:

1) Enter by hand
or
2) HDW downloads

Since #2 is very obvious, I will concentrate on #1.

Let's begin by understanding the nature of the data that YOU might want to use. Here are a few examples. Please add your suggestions for what else you might want. (Suggestions like BRIS single-file format will not work because there is no sustainable business model there for anyone except BRIS.)

Examples:
A. I am a Sartin-type player. I want to select contenders, pick pacelines, build models.

It would be nice if the program remembered past races I have entered so that I never have to enter a paceline more than once.

I'd like some very cool ways to analyze the models.

It would be nice if there was an artificial intelligence engine in place to help with the interpretation of the models.

I do not want to become a "database administrator" and have to "manage" large databases.

Sometimes I look at BRIS-type reports. It would be nice if I could integrate those into the program.


B. I use other programs (perhaps more than one) and I want to bring the output of those programs together into one place to build probabilities, models, databases, etc.

Sometimes I look at BRIS-type reports. It would be nice if I could get those reports to appear inside the program.

Sometimes I use a spreadsheet. It would be nice if I could import some of the data from my spreadsheet directly into the software.


C. I buy picks. I also use free picks. What I'd like to do is track those picks, by track, surface, distance, type of race, etc. and see how good they are.


D. I will use HDW downloads but I want to do all of the above things sometimes.



These are examples of what you can expect.


Please add to the discussion with your requests and ideas. The earlier I plan for them, the easier it will be to accomplish them.

[Speed Figure]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

Indeed.

Perhaps I should try to get that ball rolling.

From a development standpoint (for the programmer audience), I have been concentrating on writing a ton of functions. My general rule of thumb is that if I am going to need it more than once, it needs to be in a function. (Any programmer can tell you how much discipline it takes to live up to such a commitment.)

For non-coders that means, never write the same piece of code twice. It also means that the going is slower in the beginning because it takes a little more effort to write a function with 5 lines of code that it does to write the 5 lines of code, but, eventually, the entire 5 lines (or 50 lines) is replicated with a single line!


From a Features and Benefits standpoint, I am writing this FIRST from the standpoint that most users will NOT BE DOWNLOADERS and will be working with a minimum of data.

Basic race and entry data is brought into the program from one of several FREE programs/entry pages out there. The process is for the user to copy the page and paste it into the software, which then parses it into individual races. Thus, each card is copied and pasted (i.e. if you were handicapping 5 tracks, then you'll need those 5 pages).

This is done at least for the first provider. Other providers will likely be added after the beta is released.


Next comes the data. How do you get REAL data into the software?

There are initially 2 options:

1) Enter by hand
or
2) HDW downloads

Since #2 is very obvious, I will concentrate on #1.

Let's begin by understanding the nature of the data that YOU might want to use. Here are a few examples. Please add your suggestions for what else you might want. (Suggestions like BRIS single-file format will not work because there is no sustainable business model there for anyone except BRIS.)

Examples:
A. I am a Sartin-type player. I want to select contenders, pick pacelines, build models.

It would be nice if the program remembered past races I have entered so that I never have to enter a paceline more than once.

I'd like some very cool ways to analyze the models.

It would be nice if there was an artificial intelligence engine in place to help with the interpretation of the models.

I do not want to become a "database administrator" and have to "manage" large databases.

Sometimes I look at BRIS-type reports. It would be nice if I could integrate those into the program.


B. I use other programs (perhaps more than one) and I want to bring the output of those programs together into one place to build probabilities, models, databases, etc.

Sometimes I look at BRIS-type reports. It would be nice if I could get those reports to appear inside the program.

Sometimes I use a spreadsheet. It would be nice if I could import some of the data from my spreadsheet directly into the software.


C. I buy picks. I also use free picks. What I'd like to do is track those picks, by track, surface, distance, type of race, etc. and see how good they are.


D. I will use HDW downloads but I want to do all of the above things sometimes.



These are examples of what you can expect.


Please add to the discussion with your requests and ideas. The earlier I plan for them, the easier it will be to accomplish them.

When will you have screen shots available?

[Delta Cone]

Lets say I'm sitting around one day and I grab on old DRF from a month back... will I be able to enter in a bunch of pace lines from that form so that next time I might encounter those horses my data entry for those races is already done?

[raybo]

Originally Posted by cbp

All the buy-everything-in-sight winners are in Monaco, the haven for those looking for a tax break. Tom has won so much, with all the programs he's purchased, that he regularly dines with the royal family. It's gourmet food and the best wine for Tom. And then he woke up, in armpit upstate NY, with a Little Caesar's pie and 5 BIG GULPS. The HIGHLIFe we're all envious of

Anyone can have it by buying some of Dave's stuff

People like you can never say things like that to someone's face, in the real world, because they'd soon get their face smashed in, or worse (probably worse), so they join forums and spread their filth and vile, anonymously. What a wasted use of time and energy, and what a lonely, pathetic life they must live. Ignorance and lack of backbone cannot be hidden long, in the real world, hope you have your running shoes on, you'll be needing them very soon, once again, cowards face that dilemma constantly. You've offered nothing positive to this forum since you joined, only extreme stupidity, negativity, and hate, you deserve what's coming to you.

[Delta Cone]

Since you asked, here's how I envision using the software...

I'm primarily a weekend player; I follow southern California racing closely, but also keep an eye on NY, FL, KY and IL at various times.

I'd like to be able to grab a DRF and manually enter data for a handful of pacelines for each horse for a couple of tracks on a Saturday (while building up a database so data entry efforts lessen as time passes).

Hopefully the data entry process is easy. Since I only follow a couple of circuits, its not too much work, and I actually enjoy doing it. I just don't have the need to download massive amounts of data. One or two tracks, a few races a day to enter, keep it simple.

Friday night I'd get the DRF, enter the missing pacelines as necessary, then handicap the card as I usually do.

I tend to get lost in paralysis-by-analysis if there are too many numbers. I use the DRF and love the Beyer figs, they provide the framework for my understanding of the game. But too often I get lost looking at fractional times, pace figures, etc.

I also understand that pace is critical and there are many situations that reveal pace figures to be superior to final time figures. I'd like to keep my traditional (and probably antiquated) method of pen and paper and DRF...but I'd also like to supplement it with some pace analysis in the vein of Modern Pace Handicapping.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by cbp

All the buy-everything-in-sight winners are in Monaco, the haven for those looking for a tax break. Tom has won so much, with all the programs he's purchased, that he regularly dines with the royal family. It's gourmet food and the best wine for Tom. And then he woke up, in armpit upstate NY, with a Little Caesar's pie and 5 BIG GULPS. The HIGHLIFe we're all envious of

Anyone can have it by buying some of Dave's stuff

Wow, can you be any more of a child?
Hiding behind an internet fake name, too much of a coward to use your real name, pretending your are winner while acting like a total ass, or arse as the other ass calls it. Wassup with that? Afraid that NAMBLA will track your down and demand those past dues? Now hop your girl's bike and peddle it on out of here.

[DeltaLover]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

Indeed.

Perhaps I should try to get that ball rolling.

From a development standpoint (for the programmer audience), I have been concentrating on writing a ton of functions. My general rule of thumb is that if I am going to need it more than once, it needs to be in a function. (Any programmer can tell you how much discipline it takes to live up to such a commitment.)

For non-coders that means, never write the same piece of code twice. It also means that the going is slower in the beginning because it takes a little more effort to write a function with 5 lines of code that it does to write the 5 lines of code, but, eventually, the entire 5 lines (or 50 lines) is replicated with a single line!

Dave, what you are saying here is only scratching the surface.

What is more important that the implementation of the functionality of your code (something that is also known as definition), is the declaration of the contracts that need to implemented. Ideally, you need to declare your interfaces in a platform neutral way, assuring the interoperability with any piece of complying software, favoring an IoC approach versus any kind of static binding. Early approaches of this concept can be found in IDL and its related ecosystems (like COM or CORBA), while today the preferred way is almost always a Web Service implemented on top of SOAP of more frequently REST.

Modern data access APIs are often delivered as RESTfull APIs (usually described as micro-services) an approach that allows developers to build on top of specific Interfaces while not caring at all about the lower lever details that are never exposed making refactoring easy and cheap.

As an example of what I am trying to say here, think about the par times that I have purchased from you earlier this year. The way you are delivering these data, is by bundling it to some huge files that I later had to understand their structure, write a script to insert them in my databases and also write a component to make them accessible to my higher lever code. If you were using a REST API, my job as a developer would had been way simpler and efficient, since I would only need to know the routes to call and I would never had to alter my database schema, understand the details of the structure and write database related code to load them in run time.

[Dave Schwartz]

Lets say I'm sitting around one day and I grab on old DRF from a month back... will I be able to enter in a bunch of pace lines from that form so that next time I might encounter those horses my data entry for those races is already done?

Yes.

Let's say that today is Jan 15.

You enter horse A that raced in AQU 1st race on Jan 1. When you entered the data for that paceline, you had to enter info about the race (i.e. surface, distance, times, etc.) and then information about the horse - lengths behind, etc.

On Jan. 22, Horse A runs back. All of that paceline info is already there and, when you enter the date, track, race number, it will grab it.

Also on Jan 22, Horse B runs back from that same race on Jan 1st. You have never entered him into the system before. However, when you enter the date, track, race number it will grab the surface, distance, times, etc. so that you only have to enter the paceline info for this horse.

In other words, it remembers whatever you entered so that you never have to enter a race twice.

Think about what happens if you bought a day of data for Jan 22 (about $9 for the entire country). When you import the data for Jan 22, it sucked in every race that any horse on that day had a paceline for and kept it forever!