Mattel Horse Race Analyzer

[bigmack]

Anybody ever use this little honey?



The Analyzer was about the size of a couple of blackboard erasers laid end to end, and it existed on batteries, eating them whole, it sometimes seemed. Cell phones, at that time, were not that far removed from what soldiers on the front lines used at Normandy to call in air support. The Horse Race Analyzer was considered a fancy piece to brandish in any Jockey Club. But the buttons were tiny, and it could take an hour to program a race that left you with the chalk, which you might have been able to find on your own.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...jay&id=2774143

[tupper]

My mother has one of these. I remember her using it a few decades ago.

[betovernetcapper]

Never used on but did read Confessions of a Racetrack Fiend by Maurice Zolotow who relied on it. You punched in numbers for post position-purse-distance-speed rating and running positions for first three points of call for last 2 races. It could only rate four horses at a time, then needed to restart. It's algorithms were created by William L Quirin, so probably state of the art circa 1980 but still no Capper or HTR.

[boomman]

Mack: Yes, I remember those little contraptions...They were around shortly after I started in the business around 30 years ago, as I used to see people bring them to the track. I seem to remember that "chalk" players loved them because they seemed to have a propensity for coming up with the "chalk" horses in each race often 1-2-3-4 in order of the morning line. They didn't seem to stay around long! LOL

Boomer

[highnote]

Asche and Quandt write about it in their outstanding book "Professors Guide to Race Track Betting". I seem to recall that they said that it made a profit in their small sample study, but they seemed to doubt it could remain profitable.

My father-in-law had one. I've used it, but without the manual, I wasn't sure if I was entering the data correctly.

I would think that if you kept records, you could probably find places or types of races where it still works.

[Zman179]

Are you kidding? I had two!

I remember, around 1985, entering the information into a race at Hialeah and the computer gave me as the top choice a 50/1 shot shipping in from Detroit Race Course. A DRC to Hialeah shipper at that time was equivalent to a Penn National to Belmont shipper. But I didn't know better, so I played it to win and boxed the first two horses it gave me in the exacta.

On track, the horse won and paid $113, and the exacta paid $1150. However, I bet it at NYCOTB which had separate pools. At OTB, it paid $45 to win and the exacta came back $450. You think that the computer was popular in New York?

Funny thing is, I don't think that I've picked a winning $1000 exacta since. So please excuse me if I disagree with that chalk statement.

[bigmack]

Originally Posted by Zman179

Are you kidding? I had two!

What did they cost?

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mattel/HorseRace.htm

[bobphilo]

This brings back memories of a similar product from the late 60's. It was called the Kel-Co Class Calculator. Anybody remember that?

Bob

[Zman179]

Originally Posted by bigmack

What did they cost?

IIRC, they cost around $200 to $250. Fortunately, both were given to me as gifts.

[Handiman]

I may still have mine. Last time I saw it, was when we moved 9 years ago. Must still be in storage.


Handi

[bigmack]

Originally Posted by bobphilo

This brings back memories of a similar product from the late 60's. It was called the Kel-Co Class Calculator. Anybody remember that?
Bob

Well sure

[LurkingBettor]

Originally Posted by bigmack

What did they cost?

Big (and Zman),

I was thinking around $100 ? Similar to Zman, mine paid for itself several times over with a $400+ exacta at LaD. We lived in the DFW area and the wife at the time would drive while I entered figures the whole drive over. Got burned out on the data entry real fast though.

Still have the analyzer. Have been through at least a couple of the wives.

[timtam]

Actually I own 3 analyzers. I had my original which cost $100 back in

1983 and picked up 2 on ebay for under $50. The one problem was

the number 6 key stuck on a few machines and it did eat batteries. After

awhile Mattel sold the rights to advanced (something) technologies which

sold the analyzer and it came in a little pouch with a drawstring. Once in

awhile I get one of them out and try a card (especially if I had a bad day)

the problem is it takes forever to punch in a race and you do get chalk many

times. I remember when I first got it I couldn't wait to punch in the

analyze button after entering all the data and waiting for the magic 4 .

numbers. I found out later you could analyze after each and every horse

which took much of the suspense away. I think if the purse is over a certain

amount of money you have to put in the data analyze the horse turn off

the machine and do horse number 2. I took it to the OTB one day and

was like the hit of the old folks. One guy offered me $100 on the spot

to buy it. I should have taken him up on the offer. It does appear on

ebay many times in the course of a year for any nostalgic horse players

to take a trip down memory lane. In this case memory lane will turn

into the Boulevard of broken dreams

[bigmack]

Originally Posted by timtam

the problem is it takes forever to punch in a race and you do get chalk many times.

What are the numbers it asks that you punch in, and after completion has it ever read "Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine"?

[dylbert]

I have analyzer that my late father-in-law gave me in 1980s. I was only family member that had patience to input data. Yes, it gave out a lot of chalk selections, but occasionally it did yield nice exacta horse. I haven't used it in years. (This is long before trifectas and superfectas arrived at Louisiana Downs.)

As others have stated, it did have sticky key from time to time. Grrrr... When 7-digit purses and 7-digit earnings arrived, it created more havoc. I never found satisfactory adjustment. Also, this was pre-Beyer Speed Figure era. I have considered experimenting with BSF in lieu of DRF speed figures.

Analyzer's algorithm seems very much based on average purse calculations that most folks learn as novice handicappers. All and all, it was good fun for $100 investment. My father-in-law did well boxing exactas. I enjoyed several Sunday steak dinners from his winnings!