Which Database? Raceform/Dataform/Proform or Horse Race Base

[Jonny James]

Hi All, Wondered if I could ask a question so that it may be able to guide me in the right direction. I have been looking at purchasing a database. Either one of the above. I have e-mailed and asked a few questions to each and they have replied promptly. All offering the earth. I have also read a lot having typed them in individually to the Search option on this very good site. Just wanted an up to date opinion really before I purchase one. I want to look at as many stats as possible i.e. horses perfomance on Going, Class, Track, Distance, Performance off current rating, Highest rating, horses performance in similar size fields, time of year, Trainers/Jockeys performance at the course and overall in the last 14 or 28 days. etc etc. I guess the list is endless. Any guidance on what you think is the best database out there to help with the above would be appreciated. I have tried Horse Race Base before and although I found it a bit 'ugly' as a interface at least it was cheap. Now I want to get the best out of a database. If that be Horse Race Base I will carry on with that. As I say any help appreciated. Jon

[bully3061]

Re: Which Database? Raceform/Dataform/Proform or Horse Race Base Give one a try only around 50 sheets for a decent amount of time to get a feel for the service. Racexpert is another similar service which maybe worth a look. I use Hrb for reasons you have said cheap. Also if taking a trial make sure you are off work so you can really get to grips with it. Pro form is the fashion and worth a follow on twitter as will give you snippets of data @proform_racing. Sure there aint much between the services but it's about finding 1 that suits you. In truth the first one you try you will probably stick with as they should blow hrb out the water as the price reflects. Good luck and let us no how you get on as i want to upgrade hrb eventually.

[BillyHills]

Re: Which Database? Raceform/Dataform/Proform or Horse Race Base Only used 2 of the above, Raceform and HRB Had a quick look at Dataform as i havnt come across it and on first site it says it only goes back to 2010 with form? If thats right then it wont help much with stats and analysis. Pro form is expensive but is the one to probably choose if you are a serious betfair punter as they provide stats for traders. HRB is quite good but find it a nightmare to navigate, also the ratings you put in wont sort in the order you want them to. For example i could do a race from today and it will tell me what rating it has achieved in the past, not what it the top rated on todays weights, if you see what i mean. As this was my main aim it proved a waste of time. Also i want a list of my ratings at my fingertips and this doesnt let you do anything with them or adjust them manually. System builder is good but i'd want more than that to make it worth anything. Raceform i have had a couple of times, tend to knock it off when the Jumps season finishes. I suppose some people think its a bit clunky but i enjoyed it, the only problem is you dont have time to explore it all so its a bit of an expensive toy. 10 years database and you can sort them out in any way you want. Best thing about Raceform is that you can do your own handicap and run them along side the RF ratings which is the Racing Post ratings since they merged. You can also run systems through the database. You get a disc with the main database on it and download the decs each day, so a decent internet connection is a must. You can update the results database the same night also and look at trends and stuff to your hearts content. I reckon its usually about £45 a month but you can always get an offer which works out at a pound a day, by two months get one free etc....A quid a day is decent value if you have the time to use it fully. Also had Computer Form Book in the past, pretty similar to Raceform but i dont think you can do your own handicap and it was £50 for a trial over 4 weeks the last time i looked. Decent lads who run it and worth a look. Good luck

[jayalexander]

Re: Which Database? Raceform/Dataform/Proform or Horse Race Base I have used Proform and HRB. Proform looks very sleek and professional, using graphs, and you can do an awful lot with it if you so wish to, but it ain't cheap and it relies on your computer processor speed as it's a standalone product. HRB doesn't look that sleek and you perhaps can't do as much with it but it does the same job for me as Proform did. So for a fraction of the price, I am using HRB and have been for over a year now. If you have the money and a fast computer then you might prefer Proform. Both offer a really good level of technical advice.

[jugiepaton1]

Re: Which Database? Raceform/Dataform/Proform or Horse Race Base i have FL SOFTWARE it is pretty good i bought it about 18 months ago was £400 i think but they send out everyday the ratings about 12 different filters every horse has a rating easy to learn

[Jonny James]

Re: Which Database? Raceform/Dataform/Proform or Horse Race Base Thanks for the replies guys. Been busy looking at the Raceform, Proform and HRB sites again. Proform does stand out as the best to me, but the price also stands out! Been watching some of the tutorials off HRB on YouTube and going to give that a go now I understand it a bit better. Will get stuck into it next weekend, when we have the Bank Holiday. Thanks again Jon

[DTPUNSHON]

I have tried Proform, HRB and Raceform and a mix of all 3 would be perfect. Proform is a great tool but in my opinion for the price there shouldn't be things you can't do in proform that you can do in HRB, it has just too many weaknesses and it does take a lot of getting used to, plus a lot of the information can be misleading as it doesn't take in to account racing from abroad, especially France. Raceform is limited but between that, HRB and my own sheets for %RB etc I find I can do much more

[DTPUNSHON]

The other negative I found with proform is customer service, when you ask a question it feels almost like you are asking for a big favour compared to Raceform whose customer service is brilliant, easy to follow and Polite

[MCLARKE]

I use Race Advisor although I only use it to export basic data in to Excel and then do my own analysis. There are loads of ratings in there but I've never found any of them particularly useful, in particular the speed figures don't make much sense.

I have stayed with them because I am used to them but I do intend to move at some stage.

[alancraik]

I use HorseRaceBase.com a bit hard to navigate but all the info you need is there.

[Benchley]

I use HRB and have found that it does everything that I want.

I particularly like the fact that  I can copy and paste the race cards directly into Excel with a minimum of formatting for use in my own number crunching sheet.

[Offramp]

I had look at this international, informative website:

https://t.attheraces.com/home

It's very colourful. It mentions that there's an app, for both iPhone and android. 

You can't get the app from Google Play. To get the app you have to accept UNKNOWN SOURCES, download it, and run it. 

However, when I did that Google were flashing up dire warnings about attheraces. I decided to run it anyway but Google decided not to accept it. 

I think Google was right! Atr.com might be a bit risky.