HANDIFAST VERSION X

[Handiman]

I use the rank and works especially to see how horses off long layoffs have done with their last to see if they are serious contenders.

[AAcoolguy]

Originally Posted by headhawg

In addition to Handi's question, does anybody use the last two columns of info at all -- WK and RK? I have been thinking about substituting a couple of other numbers for those so as not make the summary screen too wide. The numbers I was thinking about using were modified versions of Dick Mitchell's Class Consistency rating and Power rating found in his book Winning Thoroughbred Strategies. I've actually toyed around with the CC rating and modified the FAST score with it. It actually improves it a little (looking at a small test sample), but probably not enough to justify changing the FAST fig from what it is now.

I don't use the last two numbers myself and having read the Mitchell book, I would like to see those.;

[douglasw32]

Originally Posted by headhawg

In addition to Handi's question, does anybody use the last two columns of info at all -- WK and RK? I have been thinking about substituting a couple of other numbers for those so as not make the summary screen too wide. The numbers I was thinking about using were modified versions of Dick Mitchell's Class Consistency rating and Power rating found in his book Winning Thoroughbred Strategies. I've actually toyed around with the CC rating and modified the FAST score with it. It actually improves it a little (looking at a small test sample), but probably not enough to justify changing the FAST fig from what it is now.

That would be COOL!!! I say Dump em

[douglasw32]

Originally Posted by Handiman

I use the rank and works especially to see how horses off long layoffs have done with their last to see if they are serious contenders.

Glad you are back at it =)

[headhawg]

I'm going to do a bit more testing/tweaking probably tomorrow, and then I might make this available as a stand-alone experimental version that includes the Mitchell ratings and a modified FAST number. I'm not sure that these new ratings will be as helpful as I thought they would. The FAST number is pretty good already, and a surprising number of winners come from the top 4 "picks". I think that I might actually start using Handifast and stop trying to tweak it.

[douglasw32]

I have been there =)

[Pcon04]

headhawg

Has the S1 fig error been corrected.The last time i used the program it

had a differnt # there. The other 2 were correct..Maybe this ? should be for

Douglas.I'd still like to see a version that prints 4 races on a page or

doesn't have any page breaks.Oh will handifast be able to print to a file

or to the printer in a future version??

Thanks
Pcon

[headhawg]

Pcon,

The speed numbers are correct in Handifast but I think Doug is working on the S1 problem in FAST vX. As far as printing, I think Doug and Handi are better able to answer that question.

I have suggested that the Handifast output could be saved as a .csv file so that it could be loaded into Excel. The output could then be printed from there, and also users could track the performance and further manipulate the numbers if they desired. I believe that Handi might have been working on this before his health got really bad. He will probably respond here with the progress made on that front. If he is working on other aspects of Handifast I could make an attempt to help out with the .csv file routine.

HH

[Pcon04]

Thanks for the explanation

pcon

[Handiman]

I am slowly getting my coding legs under me as the anethstesia effects wear off. I am currently working on Handifast The Magic Version.....the magic part will probably be that it works at all...

Anyway I am losing the blue selection box and everything is done from the one major screen. I have a tendency to code with a hammer and chisel as where Headhawg codes with a scalpel. So when this next incarnation is done, he may need to clean up the patient.

I have it about half done. There will be a couple of hidden things for you to discover once you get a chance to use it. Nothing really big but maybe a neat aspect. That's again if I can make it work.

Handi

[douglasw32]

Originally Posted by Handiman

I am slowly getting my coding legs under me as the anethstesia effects wear off. I am currently working on Handifast The Magic Version.....the magic part will probably be that it works at all...

Anyway I am losing the blue selection box and everything is done from the one major screen. I have a tendency to code with a hammer and chisel as where Headhawg codes with a scalpel. So when this next incarnation is done, he may need to clean up the patient.

I have it about half done. There will be a couple of hidden things for you to discover once you get a chance to use it. Nothing really big but maybe a neat aspect. That's again if I can make it work.

Handi

I for one can not wait...I fixed the s1 problem and the fast figure in the summary is outstanding...all I am using now.

I will package it and send it along and I will explain to handi and hawg how I made the fast and see what they think about using it, once I can upload the newest package so others can comment about the tweak to the figure.

but it may be a week or so, the day job is rough at the moment.

[headhawg]

Originally Posted by Handiman

I have a tendency to code with a hammer and chisel as where Headhawg codes with a scalpel. So when this next incarnation is done, he may need to clean up the patient.

You flatter me, Handi. I would just say that I use a smaller hammer. Maybe. I have learned a lot of things from going through your code, and the debugging process has done a lot to improve my somewhat meager skills. I am looking forward to the next incarnation. It sounds like you have a lot of cool and useful things in mind to add to the program.

Glad to hear that your feeling better. That's the most important.

[headhawg]

Originally Posted by douglasw32

I for one can not wait...I fixed the s1 problem and the fast figure in the summary is outstanding...all I am using now.

I will package it and send it along and I will explain to handi and hawg how I made the fast and see what they think about using it, once I can upload the newest package so others can comment about the tweak to the figure.

Sounds great, Doug! Can't wait to see it. Will you also be telling us something about only three EZ payments of $29.95?

[headhawg]

I have tested the new ratings that I have added to Handifast and they seem to work fine. This (new) version includes replacing the WK and RK columns with C-C, P-S, and PWR, and adds an additional weighted rating to the FAST number.

What does this all mean? The C-C, P-S, and PWR are modified versions of the class-consistency, pace-speed, and power ratings found in Mitchell's Winning Thoroughbred Strategies book. (I have always been partial to that book as it was the first one that I read that put handicapping into perspective for me.) The C-C rating is based on EPS, Win%, and ITM%; P-S is a combined early pace and final speed rating. They are both based on 60 (low) to 100 (high) scale, and only compare the horses running in that particular race. In other words, a 90 rating in one race is NOT comparable to a 90 (or a 75 or 93) in another. The PWR rating is simply a weighted combination of the C-C and P-S ratings based on race distance.

The adding rating to the FAST number seems to move up horses' rankings for horses other than those in the win slot. So, you might find more likely underneath contenders for exacta, trifecta, and superfecta plays. It does not seem to improve the FAST fig for win contenders. (Again, testing was done on a small sample of races.)

I will make this version (now called FAST HHX v1) available to those who want it. I changed the name so as not to interfere with the current Handifast version (8.6.1). To get this to work, extract (unzip) the files to a separate folder from FAST. Rename the HandifastHHXv1.zzz file to HandifastHHXv1.exe. Then just double-click the exe file and it should run fine. If you prefer this version over 8.6.1, then yes it can be incorporated into FAST by using the same steps that were used to get 8.6.1 to work.

For those of you that requested 8.6.1 previously, just send me an email if you would like this version. I will be busy for the majority of the late morning/early afternoon, but I will send it out as soon as I can.

[Handiman]

I am so confused...but then the exact day and date is confusing to me now so that's not really any news...

This whole process, with the addition of headhawg and Doug's continued tinkering is really exciting to me. yea ok so I have a pretty low threshold for excitement, but you must remember, I'm just glad to still be alive. Anyway, with all the stuff going on, we to need to regroup a bit and decide where to settle for a day or two.

I have no problem dumping the rk and wk columns. Nor do I have any problem with changing fast caculations, or adding headhawg numbers. Just need to know what to put in my next version?

So please give me some direction before I go any further.

Handi