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Old 08-17-2013, 02:33 AM   #1
kingfin66
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Products for Handicapping with Tablets

While playing in this year's Horseplayer World Series, I noticed that one of the player's at my table was using his iPad to handicap. Laptops have, of course, been a fixture for handicappers, especially those at contests, for many years now, but you don't see too many handicappers using tablets...yet. After receiving a quick demo of the product he was using, I determined that I was going to try to find a product that I too could use on a tablet. I am going on 3 (or is it four?) years of owning an iPad. I love the device for many reasons and prefer it to a laptop. The bad news is that I have not yet settled on a product. In fact, the introduction of TimeFormUS has made the decision more difficult.

The purpose of starting this thread is to briefly discuss three products that work very well with an iPad and I may even lament the fact that some products with stellar reputations do not yet have web-based interfaces, otherwise they would be major contenders. Hopefully, some of you have experience with these products and can offer feedback. Or, better yet, you may know of other products that are well suited to tablets.

Disclaimer: This is not intended to be an advertisement for any of these products. I have no affiliation with any of these products other than the fact that I have checked them out.

TimeformUS - This is the new product that seems to be very well-received already and for which CJ is affiliated. On its information/blog page, TimeformUS sets themselves apart from other products by stating:

TimeformUS is a new horse racing product which is optimized for tablets and the web, and will modernize the way horseplayers view Past Performances.

When you look at the product you see that this is very true. Now I have to confess that I have never used the DRF Formulator, so I cannot offer any comparison between Timeform and DRF. I can, however, compare it to both Bris and PTD. Timeform definitely delivers on being optimized for tablets.

Among the features Timeform offers are:

-The Pace Projector - Perhaps the strongest and highest profile single feature of the product.

-A different type of speed figure that incorporates pace and other factors.

-A race preview tab that shows info including, but not limited to, the Pace Projector race shape, Spotlight speed figures, Timeform selections, and the race strength rating.

-Fast PPs that list running lines, trainer/jockey ratings, and pedigree info/ratings for each horse.

-Deluxe PPs which are not yet available, but are expected (per Timeform) to be available sometime this month.[/list]
Timeform appears to be intuitive to use and contain all of the information that you would expect from past performances.

Cost: Timeform has a monthly subscription rate of $49.99 for all days, all tracks. Or, you can opt to buy a one day subscription to all tracks for $3.99. This is indicated to be an introductory offer and there is no indication what the long-term price will be for this option. Finally, handicappers can purchase cards one at a time for $1.50 per card.

Overall, I like what see so far. The $49.99 monthly rate seems reasonable enough. In fact, it may be a steal. I have found that the loading time for pages (races or horses) can be a little bit slow with both 3G or Wifi, but not excessively so. The product is just now being rolled out and Timeform is continuing to release product features, fine tune programming, etc. There have already been many suggestions made to Timeform regarding possible improvements. I am not going to repeat those here.

More info at www.TimeformUS.com

Full Card Reports - This is the product that the handicapper I met was using at the contest. Prior to that, I had never heard of Full Card Reports. Google searches actually led me to Pace Advantage. There hasn't been a lot said about FCR, but some of the people who have asked about it have been accused of being shills. Also, PA himself appeared to get pissed at the owner of FCR who posted here as 'x-file' when he tried to get free advertising.

In my own research I have found that the reports work very well for a tablet because they are uploaded to the site in PDF format. This enables a user to open them in apps like Goodreader, which then enables the handicapper to annotate the file.

Full Card Reports are just that; many reports for all tracks running in North America. The are both full of data, but also have visual elements in the icons representing a multitude of factors.

One thing that I really despise about FCR is that once the reports are uploaded, there are no further changes or ability to alter the reports due to scratches. Sure, you can annotate the PDF with a line through the horse, but this does little good since the various ratings and icons are not updated. You can imagine a full field at Saratoga with lots of AEs and MTO horses. The reports fall far short in this regard. Compare this to Timeform which scratches the horses for you continuously throughout a race day and adjusts the Pace Projector.

As far as the ratings and data go, I cannot honestly tell you how they fare. I can say that the winner does often appear in the top four contenders, but as is the case with any non-database driven software or web-based product, you cannot conduct testing. This where products that are database oriented, products like HTR, Jcapper, and HorseSense have an advantage.

Cost: FCR costs just $27.95 per month. Is this a great deal, or is it a case of you get what you pay for. I am far from ready to slam the product, but I am also far from using it as a long-term tool for handicapping. The jury is still out.

More info at www.FullCardReports.com

Betmix - This is perhaps the most unique product I have come across. Another of the handicappers at my HPWS table writes blog posts at www.Anddownthestretchtheycome.com. It is part of SBnation and is an enjoyable blog. One of his posts was about this product. He came across Betmix while doing Google searches related to his interests outside of racing.

All indications are that Betmix is a fairly new product, but not quite as new as TimeformUS. The idea with Betmix is that handicappers can create their own handicapping mixes based on 32 factors. Weights get assigned by the user and mixes can be stored.

Since I have a tendency to "Like" a variety of horse racing related sites, I get many notifications of new posts. Once such notification that I received today is an interview with the developer of Betmix. Rather than me try to stumble through explaining what I think it is, it is a much better idea to let him explain his product: http://www.racingfuture.com/content/...-dave-williams

Betmix looks to be another product that is trying to listen to the players and give them what they want.

Cost: Betmix costs a flat $30 per month for all days and all tracks.

More info at www.betmix.com

The great news is that all of these products are priced very competitively in the market place. They are also very unique to one another.

My lament: There are some software based products in the market place that have stellar reputations. I am referring to products like HTR, Jcapper and HorseSense. These programs sell monthly data subscriptions to the tune of $109-$129/month or thereabouts. HTR is free to download while Jcapper and HorseSense must be purchased.

Because programs such as these are software based, they are pretty much useless for using with a tablet. Sure, one can do some workarounds such as printing PDFs with programs like CutePDF, or even using a remote login app. I know because I have done these things, but I am here to tell you that it just doesn't work that well in the long run. This is not a criticism of people like Ken Massa, Jeff Platt, or Dave Schwartz. I know that it would require a lot of programming changes to develop a web platform for the products, not to mention that they would have to work with Equibase and HDW to make the data workable on the platform. I just have this dream of being able to log into HTR on the web with my iPad and use the program in that format. BTW, I do know that there is a tablet version of HTR, but it is for Windows tablets.

That is it for now. I don't know if I was necessarily close to settling on one of the products (FCR or Betmix) listed above, but the entry of TimeformUS has now complicated the issue. I would like to hear what experiences, if any, folks have had with the above products. Even better, if you have other sites you would like to recommend to myself and other members of PA, please share them here.

Thanks for reading.
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Old 08-17-2013, 02:43 AM   #2
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join those who are waiting for a decent windows tablet..............get in line behind me.........
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Old 08-17-2013, 03:03 AM   #3
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You could always use Logmein on your Ipad and have your laptop or desktop right on your Ipad and use your software program. I've seen this done before and it's pretty nice. A guy I met at Del Mar last week was using a Galaxy Note 8.0 and taking some notes with the S-Pen on the screen. It could be the best tablet out because it's not to small or to big.
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Old 08-17-2013, 03:09 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Speed Figure
You could always use Logmein on your Ipad and have your laptop or desktop right on your Ipad and use your software program. I've seen this done before and it's pretty nice. A guy I met at Del Mar last week was using a Galaxy Note 8.0 and taking some notes with the S-Pen on the screen. It could be the best tablet out because it's not to small or to big.
I have actually done this. The remote login apps work well for accessing a desktop. Where you run into trouble is in the mouse action. Having to drag your finger across the screen and then complete the finger commands is not efficient. Also, I am not crazy about leaving my computer on when I am not home. With a tablet, you get the touch screen action which is much, much easier IMO.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 does indeed look like a nice product. I just bought my nephew a Google Nexus 7 for a graduation gift. It looks sharp too. As for me, I really enjoy my iPad and want to get a couple of more years out of it.
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Old 08-17-2013, 08:42 AM   #5
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Good thread Kingfin! Like Ralph, I would like to see a really good windows based tablet that does not cost an arm and a leg. I'll be in line behind Ralph.

When I was in FL on vacation early this year, I used JCapper on my ipad exclusively at Tampa Bay Downs and it worked fine. With JCapper, the handicapping portion for me is an html report that you can print to pdf and it already will include whatever udm's that you have specific to the race. You could also print the pp's within jcapper and create a pdf report as well if that is your thing. The html report can be out of the box, or user created which I find extremely handy.

Good luck in your quest kingfin!

Jim
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Old 08-17-2013, 09:37 AM   #6
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We have a couple of people who use tablets with our software - only by logging into their PC remotely.
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Old 08-17-2013, 10:46 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfin66
I Where you run into trouble is in the mouse action. Having to drag your finger across the screen and then complete the finger commands is not efficient.
I believe you can solve that bit of frustration.....Simply get a decent "pen style" pointer that is designed to be used with "touchscreens"....I have a nifty one, that has a soft tip "carbon" end on it, and it makes "swiping & typing" a beautiful thing....The one that I have also doubles as a nice quality ball point pen, and is lusciously chromed to boot....$5.00 online....Once you get acquainted with it, you would probably be lost without it from thereon...

I use it on my smartphone and it makes typing so ez, I am irked when I am out and about, and without my "Touch-pen"...
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Old 08-17-2013, 01:53 PM   #8
eqitec
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Handicapping With Tablets

If anyone is going to be at Saratoga Sunday or Monday, 8/18-19, I'd be happy to show you the handicapping software I use on my iPad. It runs natively on the iPad, meaning a WiFi connection is not needed.

The Main Menu can be seen here:

https://app.box.com/s/jq8p20bpzdaoeolsmevz

Reply here if interested.
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Old 08-17-2013, 06:25 PM   #9
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FWIW, RDSS runs just fine on my MS Surface Pro Tablet (Win8). I'm here at the PA tent in Saratoga, tomorrow as well. Just drop by to see how it looks (or really, how any Windows app would look at 1920 x 1080 res scaled down to a 10.5 inch screen).

Use the keyboard or just as a touch tablet.

I'm using a mouse and also a stylus. When I output the screen to a 24inch monitor, it looks as good as any other modern 64 bit OS Windows computer).

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Old 03-02-2015, 09:40 AM   #10
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https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id727622263?mt=8

Easy annotate PDF editor is free today, but I think it might be a trial.....can't hurt to checkout

Normally $5
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfin66
I determined that I was going to try to find a product that I too could use on a tablet. I am going on 3 (or is it four?) years of owning an iPad.
My Handicapping app is not web based, it probably never will be. It runs on Windows, plus Android phones and tablets. A future translation will be to Apple products. The problem with developing Apple products is that it costs a relative bundle to get started properly... upwards of a grand just to develop and publish an app.

I know there are lots of other developers on here with wildly variant ideas, this is just my .02 cents. I'm a huge Apple fan with a long history of developing for Apple products. My first Mac was a 512 KE, folks... so, I'm just saying it as I see it.
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Old 03-10-2015, 10:01 PM   #12
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Just to let you know that Betmix works on my Android Samsung 12.2 Note Pro Tablet when I use the Photon flash enabled browser (App) which is available for about $10.00 per year.

As well, Betmix is currently $50.00 per month for unlimited tracks and all of it's features unless Dave has lowered his prices.

I can say that it's an enjoyable piece of software to use and they are constantly improving it. This vendor constantly sends suggestions and tips on what might be a successful way to use his software at no charge.
I believe that once you learn what this software is capable of, one can definitely hold there own and then some. It is an excellent vehicle for uncovering the "key horse in the race".
In my humble opinion, it's a fairly decent product.
It was refreshing for me to get away from the run of the mill software that's been around for years and for the most part is totally useless.
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Old 03-11-2015, 09:00 AM   #13
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I see that this thread was begun back when useful tablets running desktop operating systems were just being introduced.

Due to QuickHorse being almost entirely driven by large easy to see "buttons", our users claim it's perfect in Windows 8 with the new Microsoft Surface Pro tablets which can also serve as your laptop. Fully "touch screen" compatible with larger buttons means quick navigation.

I am sure you've seen the Microsoft Surface ads on TV.

QuickHorse allows you to use the same concept as BetMix (and we've been doing it since 2002) does but with much more flexibility in that you can actually apply those concepts to algorithms rather than just data points.

We provide our free data which doesn't cost the user anything.

With a 60 day free trial being offered to Pace Advantage Users there's not a better time to dive into a download our trial - its a full and complete shorter subscription to the typical year long subscription which sells for just $90/year. Just click on the link provided "Authorized Advertiser" to the left of this post or search QuickHorse in google for more information.

QuickHorse runs on windows platforms or Mac platforms with windows emulators. Also, you can use remote screen viewing software on your tablet to operate your computer at home.

Another feature is that QuickHorse can be run remotely using our own free companion QHApp which allows you to access many of QuickHorse's features (running on your desktop at home) from your Android Smart Phone while at the race track.
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Old 03-30-2015, 04:43 PM   #14
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HTR works fine on Tablet

The HTR software, used by the 1st through 3d-place finishers at the just=completed HPWS
(as well as another Dozen in the top 50) runs great on a Windows Tablet, There have been some VERY useable ones available recently at around $79.95 at the Microsoft Store and on Amazon. The HP Stream is one example.
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