HTR Report Thoroughbred Handicapping Newsletter Mar/Apr 2016 Brought to you by – Ken Massa Handicapping Technology and Research Contents [1] Front Page [2] Book Review Betting the House [3] E-Book 2016 E-Book Preview Paradox Handicapping [4] Handicapping w/ HTR PER Review How the Public Thinks PER Stats and Data Tests Improve Rating, the PER Booster [8] Handicapping w/ HTR Last-Out Top PER Angles and Profit [10] Software Updates Scratch Screen and Ky Derby HTR-Tablet Update 2016 [12] Back Page Late Announcements The HTR Report newsletter is a PDF file for viewing with the free Adobe Reader. The newsletter may be viewed while on-line or the file can be downloaded to your computer hard-drive for off-line reading and printing. The newsletter is available bi-monthly. The current edition of the HTR Report is available on the Internet from our members’ web site only. The newsletter is included as part of a paid subscription to HTR’s monthly download service ($119/mo). All proprietary rights to this material belong to HTR alone. No portion of this product may be reproduced, copied or transmitted on the Internet without the express written consent of Ken Massa. All articles and information in this newsletter are written by Ken Massa unless otherwise stated. Test data files are pro- vided with permission from Handicappers Data Warehouse and Equibase Corp. The test results, analysis and opinions found herein are those of HTR only - Handicappers Data Warehouse and Equibase Corp are not responsible for the written contents of this newsletter and cannot be held accountable for any claims made in it.
Transcript
HTR Report Thoroughbred Handicapping Newsletter
Mar/Apr 2016
Brought to you by –
Ken Massa
Handicapping Technology and Research
Contents
[1] Front Page
[2] Book Review Betting the House
[3] E-Book 2016 E-Book Preview
Paradox Handicapping
[4] Handicapping w/ HTR PER Review
How the Public Thinks
PER Stats and Data Tests
Improve Rating, the PER Booster
[8] Handicapping w/ HTR Last-Out Top PER
Angles and Profit
[10] Software Updates Scratch Screen and Ky Derby
HTR-Tablet Update 2016
[12] Back Page Late Announcements
The HTR Report newsletter is a PDF file for viewing with the free Adobe Reader. The newsletter may be viewed while on-line or the file can be downloaded to your computer hard-drive for off-line reading and printing. The newsletter is available bi-monthly. The current edition of the HTR Report is available on the Internet from our members’ web site only. The newsletter is included as part of a paid subscription to HTR’s monthly download service ($119/mo).
All proprietary rights to this material belong to HTR alone. No portion of this product may be reproduced, copied or transmitted on the Internet without the express written consent of Ken Massa. All articles and information in this newsletter are written by Ken Massa unless otherwise stated. Test data files are pro-vided with permission from Handicappers Data Warehouse and Equibase Corp. The test results, analysis and opinions found herein are those of HTR only - Handicappers Data Warehouse and Equibase Corp are not responsible for the written contents of this newsletter and cannot be held accountable for any claims made in it.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
2
Book Review
Betting the House by Richard Roeper
We are starting off this issue with a book review that will lead us into a discussion of the 2016 HTR E-
Book on the next page. You're going to love reading "Betting the House" as it is an absolute buffet of live
gambling action as experienced by writer Richard Roeper. If the author's name sounds familiar, he is the
famous movie critic formerly the partner of the late Roger Ebert.
I had no idea Richard Roeper was such an experienced and enlightened gambler. There are lots of
references to horse racing in the book as he is a long-time horse bettor, but more importantly he is a keen
observer of the people and culture that surround all things in the gambling world. While he is based in
Chicago and has a gambling perspective that reflects life in the Windy City, he travels a lot to casinos in
the Mid-West and Vegas to really flesh out the vibe of the gaming world.
No matter how you feel about Andrew Beyer or Steven Crist in terms of their opinions on handicapping,
there is no question they are excellent writers. That's because they write prolifically about their favorite
topic (horse racing) and have been doing so for decades. Their impressions are interesting and their
thoughts flow smoothly to the reader. The same applies with Richard Roeper. He has amassed a mountain
of columns on movies with a keen perspective on how they influence our way of life. He carries that
same easygoing style with this book. You'll be compelled as I was, to finish this book quickly, as it is a
casual read that never gets boring unless the reader is a complete neophyte to any form of gambling.
The premise of the book is a 30-day gambling odyssey. He wagers a lot each day and includes virtually
every form of gambling. He doesn't have any sophisticated strategies, and relies on whatever information
he has learned during his gambling life or the advice of friends.
During his gambling adventure he indulges in: Horses (Harness and Thoroughbred, Live at the Track,
OTB and Online), Poker (Video Poker, Online Poker, Live Cash games and several Tournaments),
Blackjack, Craps, Slots, Dog Races, Lotteries, Raffles and more. He keeps a running tally of the results of
his bets using a minimum $1000 per day bankroll.
Roeper reveals that his biggest gambling score ever was a $600 Win bet on Birdstone at 36/1 in the 2004
Belmont Stakes. You'll recall that Smarty Jones was a popular 2/5 shot that year in his attempt to win the
Triple Crown. That was a major gamble on a longshot with limited credentials vs. a proven champion.
Although he cites the Birdstone's jockey/trainer combo (Prado and Zito) and a previous stakes win at
Belmont as motivating factors, it seems like he went with his gut based on a strong intuitive feeling. I
enjoyed the way he wrote about it. Just a few pages cover this topic, but he translates his emotions clearly
to the reader. All of us that have played the horses for a long time understand exactly how he felt as the
race unfolded into a big score.
He concludes the book with his day betting the 2009 Kentucky Derby at a Chicago OTB. He chooses the
race purposely for his final chapter. A hunch on another "bird" is not played (winner Mine that Bird) but
he laments with good humor and he reveals his final profit and loss for the month-long betting orgy.
You can buy this book on every tablet platform or from Amazon. It's inexpensive and certainly worth a
couple of hours of your time if only because the author gets you to smile throughout the book knowing
you have been there as well. The people and places are fascinating so it's an interesting character study
too. Two big thumbs up.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
3
E-Book 2016 Preview
The Paradoxical Nature of Thoroughbred Handicapping
The title of the 2016 E-Book has not been finalized and I'm just beginning to organize the material.
Expected release will be during the summer. As announced previously, we have decided to end our live
Las Vegas seminars after 20 years. Hopefully we will record a video seminar instead. The E-Book could
be a key part of that presentation. In any case, as with all our E-Books, the 2016 booklet will have
powerful and honest information you won't find elsewhere.
One title for the E-Book under consideration is "Handicapping Paradox". This E-Book looks at the
inverse nature of winners vs. profits. This is an advanced topic because it requires the reader to move out
of long held comfort zones with their analysis and suspend the notion that what works to pick lots of
winners must be abandoned if profit is the goal.
We have many solid ratings within HTR that have a proven record of instantly identifying contenders and
selecting a high percentage of winners. Yet they fail to provide an ROI on their own that comes anywhere
near profitability. This is true of virtually every handicapping methodology remaining in the retail market.
The design and marketing of modern thoroughbred handicapping software is all about winners, not
profits. That makes sense because it is way too difficult to convince potential buyers that your product
will make money if the win rate is below 20%. You don't show off losers if you are trying to earn new
customers.
Fortunately our HTR membership has been willing to hear the message that the old school thinking (just
win baby) is actually a money loser. We must adapt and learn skills that earn real revenue and not be
concerned with a high percentage of wins. Our HTR Robot3 has been an amazing tool for revealing this
truth. Successful horseplayers are willing to accept reality as it is, rather than continue with patterns of
futility they learned 30 years ago. Below is a list of some factors we know are caught in the paradox of Winners vs. Profits.
Low rated jockeys usually have better ROI than those at the top of the standings. Apprentice
riders show surprisingly good returns in many data tests despite their inexperience and unknown
status. Jockeys with winning records tend to receive the best mounts and the public hammers the
odds. The jocks without a stellar reputation return better odds when they win. There is a
significant tradeoff that finds lower rated jockeys rewarding the bettors with greater profits.
Trainers with winning reputations are often bad bets and rarely send out an overlay. The lesser
known conditioners on the circuit are the ones that bring home the longshots that produce profit
for the bettors.
Horses with longer layoffs return more money than those that have raced more recently. This
notion is perhaps the harshest rebuke to classical handicapping for most horseplayer who learned
the game in the 1970s or 1980s.
Horses that won or finished close in their last start are terrible bets overall while those that
finished out of the money in their last outing earn more for the bettors.
Horses that have run slower in their recent starts than others in their field, have greater potential
to return higher ROI to the bettors. This is the subject of our main article this month. There is
more ROI upside with slow horses than fast ones! We'll use HTR's PER rating for our analysis
starting on the next page.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
4
Handicapping with HTR
PER - Review and Stats
PER
PER = HTR's Performance Rating. It is similar to a speed figure in terms of measuring how fast the horse
ran in each start, but it is not computed based on final time alone. The PER is more closely related to the
A/P or Average Pace velocity rating algorithm. As with A/P, the pace and final fraction are part of the
equation.
Instead of the more complex feet-per-second method used with A/P, the PER is easier to comprehend at a
glance because it is based on the "Quirin Style Figures" methodology. The Quirin figures are rounded to
an integer and scaled from 80 to 115 with 100 as a key median for older male $10k claimers. HTR uses
the same scale for the EPR (Par) and our pace rating (PER).
The [PPQ] past-performance screen, located within all HTR software programs, has a complete set of
PAC-PER ratings for both the race and the horse.
======================================================================== If you need a detailed primer on the Quirin style figures, the following books are a must read.
Winning at the Races by William Quirin Figure Handicapping by James Quinn Modern Pace Handicapping by Tom Brohamer ========================================================================
The PER uses all the same adjustment tools as outlined in the books above and utilized by most speed
figure methodologies.
Track-to-Track / Track Class Adjustments
Distance and Surface Adjustments
Daily Track Variant or Race-by-Race variant
Our variants are meticulously calculated by Jim Cramer at HDW. Jim uses both analytic and intuitive
approaches to the numbers. This means he is willing to change them to reflect reality. The old par and
average daily variant approach to speed figures as outlined in books by Beyer and Quirin can no longer be
used effectively to make the numbers. This is because the diversity of racing conditions in 2016 is far
more complicated than in the 1970s and 1980s. Back then, when the vast majority of races were on dirt,
the class separation was easier to classify by claiming price or allowance level.
PER Rankings Top-to-Bottom
This chart below is a generic test from all races w/ purse $10k+ using the full range of the PER rankings.
All data tested in this issue ranges from March 1, 2015 - Feb. 29, 2016.
PER by Rank Purse $10,000+ All Races PL-5
PER Rank Win ITM WROI AvgWin
1 25% 57% 0.82 $6.70
2 18% 51% 0.80 $8.90
3 14% 45% 0.82 $11.40
4 11% 39% 0.78 $13.70
5 09% 33% 0.77 $16.20
6 07% 28% 0.70 $19.80
7 06% 22% 0.68 $23.00
8 05% 18% 0.66 $27.40
9+ 03% 13% 0.63 $36.80
Total races tested = 32325
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
5
Handicapping with HTR
PER - Review and Stats
Analysis PER Top-to-Bottom Ranks (Notes from page-4 data) Robot3 does not have the full spread of PER rankings 1 thru 9; it only has filters
for PER rankings =1,2, so I used our data export to calculate these test results. There was no need for
separation by race conditions, such as "Dirt only" or "Non-Maidens" because the final results showed
nearly identical ROI regardless of race category.
More than 30 years ago when I was making my own similar performance ratings and working on Sartin
velocity software, the win rate was also around 25% for the top rank. The ROI back then approached
profitability with no additional handicapping needed. The same was almost certainly true of the "Sheet"
numbers and Beyer figures during the 1980s. A lot has changed since then.
As you peruse the chart on page-4, it looks dreadful in term of ROI for every PER ranking. This tells us
something extremely important about the nature of speed/performance handicapping in general. The
numbers are highly accurate, but the value of using them has totally dried up. Speed-rating pecking order
is excellent in terms of outcome prediction, but will rarely find any horses with odds that exceed their
rank probability.
Chalk v. Longshots
This next chart drives home the point about the difficulty of making profits with the top-ranks. There are
three columns: Favs (final tote favorite) and two Odds ranges using 8/1 as a median.
PER by Rank Purse $10,000+ All Races PL-5
PER Rank Favs Longshots 8/1+
1 45% 16%
2 22% 26%
3 12% 38%
4 08% 50%
5 05% 61%
6 03% 72%
7 02% 78%
8 <1% 84%
9 <1% 91%
Analysis
These stats do not indicate Win%, they are the percentage of all horses that end up in a certain odds range
based on their PER ranking. Nearly half of the PER=1 become the eventual tote favorite (45%). That is a
major indicator that the public is still obsessed with speed and performance and value the highest rank
above almost any other factor for betting decisions. Very few horses that were ranked below 4th will
become the favorite. Be aware that a small percentage of eventual favorites, typically a FTS, will become
the betting choice with an un-rated or zero PER.
Leapfrogging the PER Ranking with Improve Rating
In order to utilize speed/performance ratings with a profit target, we need to find a way to 'move up' or
"leapfrog" the lower rankings to beat the higher ones in today's race. The public is betting heavily on the
top ranked horses. We are fully aware that the lower PER rankings (ranks 5 thru 9) lose in droves and yet
have the most upside for profit because the odds and payoffs are so much higher. Our goal is to find a
pearl in a boatload of oysters.
The way to do that is to add a catalyst with our lower PER ranks and see if it changes the outcome.
Improvement is the goal so we can utilize the HTR Improve rating. An Improve score of 3 or higher (IMP
3+) indicates there are several factors in the horses favor since its last start.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
6
Handicapping with HTR
PER - Review and Stats
Improve Rating Overview / PER and Improve
The general handicapping public has limited knowledge of how to quantify improvement. They can
quickly assess a race based on speed and performance numbers as we have shown. Then they try to
determine if there are mitigating or enhancing factors that will move the horse up and solidify their
opinion. But in HTR, we can assess potential improvement in an instant with the Improve rating.
Improve rating is shown as a column "Imprv" or "IMP" on many screens and to attract attention is often
shown with "YES = " labels. You can fully research the rating in Robot3 on the Tour module. The
Improve rating range is a score of 0 to 7. All horses are rated.
This first chart shows us what happens to our full spread of the PER rankings if the horse has an Improve
score of 3 or more. The stats for the overall are compared side-by-side with the horses of the same rank
that have a 3+ Improve score. The "!" on the far right relates a significant boost statistically.
PER by Rank Purse $10,000+ All Races PER Rank Win-> All Impr3+ WROI-> All Impr3+
1 25% 21% 0.82 0.86
2 18% 17% 0.80 0.84
3 14% 15% 0.82 0.92 !
4 11% 14% 0.78 0.92 !
5 09% 11% 0.77 0.79
6 07% 10% ! 0.70 0.86 !
7 06% 09% ! 0.68 0.88 !
8 05% 13% ! 0.66 1.04 !
9+ 03% 08% ! 0.63 0.94 !
Analysis
The results are dramatically different when Improve 3+ is merged with the PER rankings.
At the top levels of the PER (1, 2) there isn't an improvement in Win% because those horses were already
assumed to be the fastest in the race. However the ROI did in improve in both cases.
PER ranks = 3,4 get a small increase in Win% with a major boost in ROI when Improve 3+ is included.
This means many of these 3 and 4 ranks are moving up and exceeding expectations and beating the top-
two. That's a key impact for the Improve rating.
At the lower levels of the PER ranking matrix, we see both Win and ROI increases. In some cases it is a
minor help (PER = 5) but the lower rank levels achieve massive increases statistically. We see surprising
strength for ranks 6 thru 9.
All of this is a testament to the power of the Improve rating to move a horse out of its perceived ability
rank. The typical bettor is making wagering decisions based on the horses that fall within a close range of
their top speed ratings. Taking a stab on horses that have poor speed ratings is beyond the comfort zone of
most horseplayers. This is why the odds can become generous. We see from the stats that even those with
the worst speed rankings (8,9) are capable of returning profits. Improvement is the key to value, longshots
and price plays.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
7
Handicapping with HTR
Improve Rating Strategies
We can document that the Improve rating does exactly what it was designed to do. It moves horses up and
out of their apparent pecking order within the field. Usually the pecking order (odds) is determined by
recent speed and performance. But let's take a look at a myriad of pace/speed/velocity top-ranks in HTR
and make side-by-side ROI comparison using the Improve 3+ and find out which gain the most. You can
repeat my tests in Robot3 using the following filters. The "!" indicates a major raise in ROI of .10 or
The major surprise from this data is Fr3=1 (top rated final fraction). It is a hard sell to find profit with late
runners simply because they come up short most of the time. But the Improve rating seems to have a
knack with them and they are winning above expectations and beating their odds. There is some spillover
with S/P and L/P as well. The Fr1 elements (Fr1=1, Fr160, Fr1Dom) also show decent gains when the
Improve rating is applied and the sample sizes are large.
Although FTS and 2TS don't actually have any reliable pace/speed numbers, the value of the Improve
rating is presented above because it so dramatic. The vast majority of FTS/2TS are longshots and very
few win, but the Improve rating digs out a lot of live ones.
Spot Play Fr3=1 and IMP3+
Finally, let's look at a spot play with Fr3=1 and Improve 3+ combined. Setup for Robot3 =
Purse $10,000+ / Dirt Only
Fr3=1
Improve 3,4,5+
ROI = 1.17 with 1,203 plays in 365-days. Excellent return with a Fr3 play.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
8
Handicapping with HTR
Last Out PER (PL-1) / PER=1
Let's take another look at the PER rating. This time we will look at it from the perspective of "Last Out"
effort and the top ranked horse. You can test last race top-performance with the following filters in
Robot3. If you need more information about the PL-modes (Paceline selection), refer to the HTR-Pedia.
PL-1 (Range Filters)
Purse $10,000+ (Race Filters)
PER=1 (Rank Filters)
Locating the 'best horse' based on the last start is probably the quickest and easiest form of handicapping
for anyone that is looking to pick a winner. Speed ratings are available from dozens of past-performance
sources and it only takes a minute to spot the top effort in every field. Even serious horse bettors will
consider it on some level. Let's face it, the horse with the best last out speed/performance rating is an
irresistible lure for most handicappers.
Retail speed/performance ratings were all the rage during their peak profit years from 1975-1995. As well
they should have been because flat bet returns were possible by just betting on the top rated horses. Here
is a partial list of the best during that era. There are probably some others that you can recall from your
circuit. My experience was almost all California tracks back then.
Sheets; Ragozin and Thorograph
Quirin figures sold by several sharp handicappers including Tom Brohamer (SoCal)
Henry Kuck ratings
Gordon Jones speed ratings (California)
Huey Mahl various ratings
Sartin ratings that included overall performance (A/P or Factor W)
Beyer figures / DRF
Today's Racing Digest projected chart (California)
Today, the surviving ratings are even better numbers due to added technology and refinements. They
suffer from too much knowledge and over-saturation by bettors. This data chart below drives home that
point with our own PER rating.
Statistics To Consider PER=1 / PL-1
MLO Favorites 44% (38%) ($4.20)
Tote Favorite 48% (40%) ($4.50)
AML Favorite 52% (37%) ($4.60)
About 44% of the top-ranked PER plays are made the MLO favorite. Some 48% of them end up the final
betting choice. The AML does a superb job of catching on to public thinking by tagging 52% of these
horses as its top choice. The number in first ( ) is the actual win rate. The second is the average win
payoff. The public is clearly betting heavily on the top recent speed and it's hardly a secret. The pattern is
almost too easy to spot.
With all the research capability we have in HTR, is there anything in the software that can produce a
profitable ROI with PER=1 / PL-1?
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
9
Handicapping with HTR
Last Out PER (PL-1) / PER=1
I ran the "ROI Dump" in Robot3 with following parameters.
All Races / Purse $10,000+
PL-1
PER=1
Rather than display a data table, I'll select the items that seem to have the greatest impact and give you my
analysis. Keep in mind that we are dealing with perhaps the most obvious and glaringly easy
handicapping element available.
All Races
Top rated last-out PER win 25% of their races and that is a strong impact in general (I.V. > 2.00). About
60% of them finish 1-2-3. The Win ROI = 0.81 (-19%). That's a severe loss considering the high win rate.
This tells us that everybody is on to them and they are over betting.
Bomb
The "Bomb" plays are found in HTR-Tour and are horses with high MLO that have multiple longshot
clues. The Win rate was just 10%, but the ROI = 1.07! The highest priced winner paid $92, so it wasn't a
fluke series of 50/1+ shots. There were lots of winners in the 20/1 range. I'm not sure what to make of this
and with just a 10% hit rate, it may be a hot streak. There were 497 plays during the 365-days.
TSpot and MSpot
Both achieve an ROI in the 0.93 range when combined with PER=1/PL-1. However, this is a slight
erosion of the stronger overall ROI for TSpot and MSpot. You would be better off ignoring the PER
factor. Once again we see over betting by the public lowering ROI.
Graded Stakes
This one is real interesting. The Stakes horses with the best last-out PER produce an ROI of 0.93 with a
Win rate = 24%. Why is the public under betting these horses in Graded Stakes events? My guess is that
there is often a high class standout that may not have the top PER, but the public is not overly concerned
about it and bets the favorite based on reputation, not speed.
Turf Sprint
Although you might expect Turf Sprints to be a tough call with last-out speed/performance, they produce
the best results of any distance/surface category. The Win rate = 24% and ROI = 0.89.
Bad Stuff
Improve = 0 (YES = 0)
We talked earlier about the impact of the Improve rating on the PER ranks when IMP = 3+. The converse
is also striking. When the top rated PER play has a zero Improve score (YES=0), the results are
diminished. The win rate is 22% and the ROI drops to 0.78 (-22%). There were an amazing 14,000+ of
these horses with PER=1 during the 365-day test. So it may be a great indicator of when to try and beat
the favorite.
Turf to Dirt
A big loser when a Turf horse with the top PER switched to Dirt. ROI = 0.71, Win=20%.
High Odds
Longshots at 8/1+ odds were risky bets. Despite the top-rated PER, there were almost 5000 plays in the
sample and they Win just 6% and return ROI = 0.72. This means the public is doing a good job of
assessment and ignoring the horses with good PER that are outclassed in their field.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
10
Software Updates
Updates for March 15, 2016
All HTR programs have been updated with version date "March 15, 2016. Below is a summary of the
changes and additions. There is more on the HTR-Tablet version on page-11.
Scratch Screen / All Programs (not in Robot3) You won't notice anything different on the Scratch screen until the Kentucky Derby. In recent years the
early Derby draw has included Also-Eligible horses added to the main body of 20 runners. This pushed
the pre-race field size to 22 last year. The Scratch and all other display screens were expanded to
accommodate 24 runners in case they grow the field with more!
In 1974 there were 23 actual starters in the Derby. In 1981 there were 21. Those Derbies were more like a
rodeo than a horse race and they later decided to limit the field to 20. It wasn't until a few years ago that
they decided to add Also-Eligible entrants to maximize the chances of having a full field of 20. Many
have argued that 16 horses is enough because they would not have to use the auxiliary starting gate.
However, Big Brown won the Derby in 2008 from the far outside post-20 and those arguments ended!
Auto-Scratch The Auto-Scratch function is found on the Scratch screen and enables the user to instantly remove all the
known scratches throughout the day automatically. The "Auto-Scratch HDW" option is available to every
HTR subscriber and is praised as a huge timesaver.
The HDW Auto-Scratch function has been working with excellent reliability for the past year. This means
they got the bugs out of it in 2015. Prior to that, Ron from HDW encouraged me to create a backup Auto-
Scratch function based on the Equibase XML Scratch file. The parsing of that file is little above my pay
grade as a programmer, so I have passed the project onto webmaster John. Hopefully we'll have this extra
option for you in the future.
If you have a problem with the Auto-Scratch and receive a pop-up message: "Scratch File Missing", try
restarting the computer and your Internet modem. This usually fixes it. Sometimes it goes awry for an
entire day or two, but usually resumes normally later.
Download Screen / All Programs
The internal "Download" screen in HTR2 and the other HTR software programs now displays a limit of
15 days back for file retrieval. The 15-days will be the max for customer downloading of past races from
the software Download screen and original File Rat (previously 45 days max). There is a nice tradeoff
though for our regular subscribers.
HDW is implementing a full 365-day past file retrieval system. If you are a continuing subscriber you'll
have access to all the past files for the last year and be able to get them on your own. No charge if you
were a subscriber during the previous months you want to download. This will save you (and us) a lot of
time if you buy a new computer or your old one crashes and you need the full of year of files replaced.
We'll have other options to purchase files for those that are not year-round customers. An announcement
will be made when the new system is ready.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
11
Software Updates
Updates for March 15, 2016
In addition to the above, all our software programs dated March 15, 2016 have minor bug fixes, labeling
corrections and various formatting errors smoothed out. HTR-Tablet version has the only major update.
HTR-Tablet 2016
The Tablet version updates all the screens to match the same output in HTR2 and Tour. The MSpot and
TSpot are included throughout. In addition, Tablet adds a new screen that is unique and it is called "Pos-
Scan". The Positive factor scan.
Pos-Scan
Short for "Positive-Scan". The screen displays a horizontal list of positive and improvement ratings,
rankings and alerts only. No negatives are shown. This makes it similar to the positive section of the
"Light Bulb" screen except that the horizontal display gives a graphical interpretation that quickly takes
your eye to the most promising runners. Each item is spaced equally so that you can easily determine
which horses have the highest tally of positive items.
Take a look at the edited screen for FG-5 on March 6. I had to taper this text to fit the PDF, there is much
more on the actual Pos-Scan screen, but you'll get the idea from this snapshot below.
#1 20/1
#2 12/1 Fr3=1
#3 15/1
#4 4/1 Fr1=1 HTR=1 LUCK 2nd
#5 6/1 F&R
#6 6/1 BTL BUZ3+ F&R k2=1 PED=1 P450+ Won $15
#9 8/1 BTL IMP3+ JKY=1 PAC=1
#10 6/1 TRN=1
#11 5/1 K=1 LUCK S/P=1 PER=1 TSpot 3rd
Analysis
It never fails that the example race finds the winner! But you get the idea with #6 at MLO of 6/1 has the
most going for it. A pretty solid bet at that price. Other horses, #4,9,11 also have a lot to recommend. The
others showed little or nothing.
This is a good screen for quick decision making. This is good for longshots and tournament picks. But it
does not balance pros and cons or offer any negative assessments. So tread lightly with this one until you
feel comfortable with it as part of your decision making process.
Easter Egg in Tour / Pos-Scan
We are nearing Easter as I write this, so Ken the Easter Bunny needs to give you a treat. Look for it in the
HTR-Tour program. With the March 15, 2016 version a pink [Egg] button is found at the very bottom of
the Tour main screen below the [Scratch] button. Click the "Egg" and the Pos-Scan screen will pop right
up. You can print it from there.
HTR Report Mar-Apr 2016
12
Late Announcements and Reminders
HTR at the HPWS 2016 A big turnout of HTR players is expected for the 2016 Horse Player World Series at the Orleans which begins on Thursday March 31 and runs through Saturday April 2. I will be there and looking forward to talking with friends and making a run at the top prizes. We will post daily with news and results on our Discussion Board Tournament forum for those of you at home.
Latest Software Additions
Pos-Scan in Tablet and Tour (see page-11)
Added a MLO / AML / Tote-Odds toggle to the HTR2 / XFIG screen
Added TSpot and MSpot stats to the bottom of the R3 Learn New printout
All of the above are only available in the March 15, 2016 versions of these programs.
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![Yamaha Rx-V520 Rx-V520rds Htr-5450 Htr-5450rds [ET]](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5695cfce1a28ab9b028f9ca2/yamaha-rx-v520-rx-v520rds-htr-5450-htr-5450rds-et.jpg)
