Sources of study

[StuSimmy]

I know this has probably popped up before but I haven't been a regular on here for a fair while now so thought I'd start this thread to get a bit of discussion and hopefully find some new sources to aid my studying of the races. Anyway the main source I use, and would imagine is the same for some people, is the Racing Post website. I use the At The Races website a bit more than I used to nowadays but still prefer the RP site to it. On the odd occasion I will use the Timeform site as well and finally Patternform can be quite a useful tool if you have the time to fiddle about on it for ages and if you want a quick look at certain things such as a horses course form. I am planning on trying to watch back as many races as possible from the day but trying to fir that into my day is not something that will be easy. From that I will be making a notebook of eyecatching horses which will hopefully improve my selectioning. Over to you.

[BillyHills]

Re: Sources of study Think you summed it up pretty well Stu; I use the Post almost all the time, cant think of anything it hasnt got for my purpose, although one thing that is not always easy to find on the post, I always check last years winner of the race which i find on oddschecker when looking at the prices. Obvioulsy some paid software like Raceform beats anything but you need plenty of time to use it properly and get your moneys worth, i would highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about punting. They do offers all the time and works out about a quid a day if you buy 3 months worth. Follow you plan and watch as much as you can, read as much as you like but nothing beats watching it, the eyes dont lie Good to see you back:ok

[scotty657]

Re: Sources of study I use the Post primarily but I find Timeform good for finding course form, jockey/trainer link up form, distance form and so on, using the drop down boxes. Like yourself I'm trying to watch a lot of racing and look at new angles in selecting winners. Sometimes trawling through race-cards can become quite tedious.

[Trotter]

Re: Sources of study I use the Post for everything apart from 2 things.......... Firstly the Post's 'todays racing' lists all the days racing but doesn't have the number of runners in each race............so I always start with the 'Life' list of todays races which does include the number of runners My initial look at the days racing is to see which races i want to look at in more detail and the main determining factor in that is field size The second thing I use the Life for as there's no equivalent on the Post is the option to highlight 'Runs after 60 or more days off' in the horses form pages. Invaluble early season to see if horses have a record of going well fresh or usually need a run

[Jimmy2shoes]

Re: Sources of study Never used the post, but do watch many hours of past races, then take notes on the first 4 or 5 home. As out leader once said and i fully agree............Sometimes the tip was right, but the day was wrong.

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Re: Sources of study It is only this year where I have got my study to a stage where I'm happy with it and this involves quite a few different websites (all set up on tabs so easy to navigate), but I find it really works for me. ... Horseracebase - I do the vast majority of my study on this site. It costs £12 per month but is more than worth it in my humble opinion. I don't use it to it's fullest (it has very powerful system builders) and it's quite simple in appearance, but the way it sets out information and data suits me down to the ground and I love studying races using it. The site evolves from members requests and there's already a been a few improvements made that I've suggested. Excellent stuff. Racing Post - For big meets or days that I'm off work and fancy a few bets, I buy a 24 hour pass. Used mainly for quotes, entries and just to get a better feel of the days racing. Have a quick scan of the Diomed reports too to make sure I haven't missed anything. Sporting Life - I watch all replays from here - every course, every race and all free and easy to access. Patternform - Great site for for finding an angle or, like Stu says, if yo have a few spare minutes and try to find an angle. I also use it for it's excellent (and recently revamped) pace charts - very helpful. AtTheRaces - The draw analysis on here is the best I have found. Timeform - Like the RP, I like to have quick scan of each horse's write up, just to make sure I haven't missed anything glaringly obvious. Oddschecker - For obvious reasons! My wife - if all else fails, I get her to choose a horse based on silk colours and name. I know the above isn't the most streamlined approach to punting, but, I find it really works for me and I really enjoy sitting down with a cuppa and looking at a race. One of life's greatest simple pleasures. :ok

[Trotter]

Re: Sources of study Sounds great peacock !..............and very much like i used to be a couple of years ago where I'd often spend all evening looking at a couple of races, going round all the sites, not rushing, ambling along, nipping back to the forum for a while, stop to watch something on telly before getting back to the race...............ah, the good old days. ..............:cow That was a very enjoyable way to spend an evening and often resulted in good selections because you'd devoted the time necessary to think about it and weigh things up I've got out of those habits lately though...................:unsure

[bowles10]

Re: Sources of study These days mainly just my own trends for certain races which i have filed other races i mainly use Sporting life for past form etc Used to have Raceform on subscription a few years back and also Timeform but possibly was 15 years ago, now the internet is here, no need for all those books! Used to use Adrian massey's site but i think thats closed down now Often check twiston davies website as he normally gives a true account prior to racing of his horses chances.

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Re: Sources of study That's exactly it Trotter, I find a really nice way to spend the evening, and when I do have chance, my evening's are very much like you have described! As you allude to though, it's all about finding the time. With a busy and sometimes stressful 9-5 job, social commitments and general life stuff, it's increasingly hard these days. :(

[BillyHills]

Re: Sources of study

These days mainly just my own trends for certain races which i have filed other races i mainly use Sporting life for past form etc Used to have Raceform on subscription a few years back and also Timeform but possibly was 15 years ago, now the internet is here, no need for all those books! Used to use Adrian massey's site but i think thats closed down now Often check twiston davies website as he normally gives a true account prior to racing of his horses chances.

Try reading form Rob, surely you cant just back trainers blind (Hannon at Windsor, Henderson on Saturday etc..) and rely on trends for one race a week. Get yourself back into proper racing:lol

[BillyHills]

Re: Sources of study

Sounds great peacock !..............and very much like i used to be a couple of years ago where I'd often spend all evening looking at a couple of races, going round all the sites, not rushing, ambling along, nipping back to the forum for a while, stop to watch something on telly before getting back to the race...............ah, the good old days. ..............:cow That was a very enjoyable way to spend an evening and often resulted in good selections because you'd devoted the time necessary to think about it and weigh things up I've got out of those habits lately though...................:unsure

So what went wrong Trotter? Is it just boredom with all the racing or has the personal life took over. I always thought you were pretty sound on AW racing but often see you select these 5 runner races nowadays. I guess thats because it doesnt take too long to sift through it. Dont forget you can soon whittle a 12 runner race down to 5 possibles. Get your speed ratings going again, it will revitalise your appetite for the game.

[Trotter]

Re: Sources of study

So what went wrong Trotter? Is it just boredom with all the racing or has the personal life took over. I always thought you were pretty sound on AW racing but often see you select these 5 runner races nowadays. I guess thats because it doesnt take too long to sift through it. Dont forget you can soon whittle a 12 runner race down to 5 possibles. Get your speed ratings going again, it will revitalise your appetite for the game.

Not sure what happened, BH......... I still spend my evenings flitting between the computer and the telly but I've just lost the willingness to spend time studying the form As you rightly say I've got into the habit of looking at small field races for 5 minutes and picking something but i know it's not a satisfactory way of doing it The old adage is true................the harder I worked at it the luckier I got.........:p

[scotty657]

Re: Sources of study Another thing I will say is that I don't believe it's wise to spend too long looking at a race. The amount of times I've looked at a race that long I end up finding reasons to go against every runner...also it's more disappointing if you lose after spending ages studying the race.

[bowles10]

Re: Sources of study

Try reading form Rob, surely you cant just back trainers blind (Hannon at Windsor, Henderson on Saturday etc..) and rely on trends for one race a week. Get yourself back into proper racing:lol

yep form study is one of elements we all have to consider when choosing a selection. Take the sandown card tomorrow, Sanctuaire looks a good thing with its form in this race and behind Sprinter Sacre however, the others have some cracking form also so a difficult race to assess and the Sandown fences will sort out the rags. I would say that 50% of my bets though generally are on the top trainers flat & jumps, it seems to just work out that way these days :)

[grinder1700]

Re: Sources of study Very interesting thread. I would like to read more on this subject. Could anyone point me in the direction of similar threads, website articles or decent books that may assist with the development of a selection process please. Thanks.

[BillyHills]

Re: Sources of study Grinder, loads of stuff out there, just search on google mate. Here are some of our better threads on all sorts of stuff racing related; http://forum.punterslounge.com/threads/57140-Horse-Racing-Glossary-Q-amp-A Anything specific just ask mate:ok

[grinder1700]

Re: Sources of study Thanks very much. That link looks really useful. I appreciate the help.