NHC - Finals

[HoosierInOhio]

Originally Posted by dpkovalesky

Just thought I would try to share a little info on those computer programs as VolJack and I have been talking about it too. A lot of people use something called HTR ( which is the black screen with bright green type old school DOS style programming that you are referring to). From what I understand it starts out as an aid but quickly becomes a crutch and doesn't take basic handicapping ideas like jockey switches into account But also know quite a few people who use it strictly for pedigrees, trying to find angles there.

Actually, its quite a bit more than you have described. And you can actually change the screen color to whatever you prefer. Mine is white with black font.

At any rate, I believe you can go to the website and check out the software for free or download the HTR-pedia which describes a lot of the terms and angles and stuff.

I've been using it for 9 months now, and it was very difficult to go from my traditional "Go over the PP's for hours and handicap". At first, I was doing both (PPs and HTR). Then I started doing more HTR and less PP, maybe writing some HTR stuff on my PPs. Now I pretty much just use the software, and print stuff straight out of there.

One of the best features, for tournaments with optional races at least, is the race rating called the VI (Volatility Index). Each race is given a rating from 50 (Very Chalky), down to 15 (Bombs Away). This rating can change once horses scratch. So maybe it was a 27 (Mixed), and 3 horses scratch and it becomes a 34 (Chalky). So when doing an optional contest, you can just look at each race's VI index and start there. So, if I had made the NHC, I probably would have took the 12-15 optional races each day with the lowest VI and looked only at those (at least to start).

I play the Santa Anita low roller contest when I go, and you can only play 5 races on the card. I basically take the 5 races with the lowest VI and that's it. It can save a lot of time.

In fact, the two greatest things about it is the time it saves and that it can point you to horses you may not consider. You can also query a ton of stuff from the files you have like how many 8/1 or greater horses hit in turf sprints at certain tracks, and what do they have in common.

Anyway, you guys can check it out for yourself on the site or PM me if you want some more details. I believe their forums are open as well (meaning you don't need to be a member to read them at least.)