TIMEFORMUS TIPS

[cj]

Originally Posted by fight

bring him back. he did sa on the contrary well done then they pulled him. id pay for that work.

Justin isn't pulled, he is still very much with us.

[cj]

Originally Posted by TexasDolly

May be , but it would seem the analysis somewhat reflected the figures. Or, is it (the analysis) completely independant ?
Thank you,
TD

It is independent. I sometimes read the analysis and don't agree...other times I do...and sometimes I read and pick up things I missed.

The TimeformUS PPs are WAY more than just the figures. They are one part of it. Even I, as the guy that creates all the figures, would be foolish to say you can beat this game on figures alone. It isn't happening.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Gekish

I have one agenda I like to win. I been on this board at least 12 years and buy the Timeformus service. I just do not understand their policy of giving tips. In my mind it reflects the usefulness of their data. And in their case silence would be golden. Again no malice on my part.

The analysis is to give people perspective on how horseplayers can use the PPs. It is a new product, and while it isn't totally foreign when it comes to reading PPs, a lot of it does look different than what people have become accustomed to over the years. The analysis helps familiarize people with the layout while hopefully helping with handicapping in general.

[Gekish]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

I apologize if I came off harsh...I'll give myself a "Dickhead of the Day" award as a punishment.

Tips are only as good as the guy giving them...don't necessarily blame the tool, but sometimes the user is to blame...and sometimes it's just an inevitable run of bad cards, so to speak.

I use their service and doing ok betting. It needs a little work but all around it is a bargain at the monthly price.

[MarcAtTimeformUS]

"justin finch
bring him back. he did sa on the contrary well done then they pulled him. id pay for that work."

We have been getting questions similar to this, so I want to address it here.

Yes, Justin went on a seemingly endless run (including over the entirety of his daily full card analysis of racing on the Southern California circuit) and it moved into hallucinatory territory soon after we published this lengthy Q and A on playing longshots:
http://timeformusblog.com/2015/02/19...-all-there-is/

Part of the mystique of the game is seeing gifted horseplayers make a mockery of the mutuel pools. But those epic runs mean something only if they're part of long-term profitability, right? Did this thread really start with the discussion of our analysts' results over 38 races? Presumably using the results of "Horses in Focus," which are not selections but rather highlights of data points, while ignoring the stakes write ups? Not that any of this matters, since any assessment of handicapping results that begins with words like "Over the last week" has already made the mistake of leading with a punch line.

We're fortunate to have Mike Beer and Justin working for us. They were hired because they're diligent, perceptive, long-term winners, but also because we believe it's essential to have people in their roles who send it in, every day, and ceaselessly refine their game at the windows.

We're a fairly small team. All of our employees wear multiple hats. We ask our analysts to contribute to many other facets of what we offer--as part of the team that helps CJ review TimeformUS Speed and Pace Figures, and as part of the team focused on algorithms to upgrade the current TimeformUS product and build new ones. In Justin's case, he also copy edits the rest of us, though Mike, CJ, and I may be beyond help in that regard.

It's a lot, and given what you'll see from us over this spring and summer, we decided to give Justin a short break from daily So Cal handicapping (from March 24th until early May) to focus on everything else we're building for our customers right now. He will be back as part of a Kentucky Derby Package that we believe will be of great benefit to our customers, and his regular analysis of California racing will resume shortly after that.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by MarcAtTimeformUS

Yes, Justin went on a seemingly endless run (including over the entirety of his daily full card analysis of racing on the Southern California circuit) and it moved into hallucinatory territory soon after we published this lengthy Q and A on playing longshots:
http://timeformusblog.com/2015/02/19...-all-there-is/

Marc, I've read the blog from Justin when it first came out, and I appreciate you posting it here. IMO, this piece from Justin is not only a great read, but it effortlessly covers so much psychological ground, that I consider it a must read for anyone on a lazy Tuesday afternoon.....

[thaskalos]

I wasn't sure if there were any quality horse racing blogs out there, so, I contemplated starting my own. And then I started reading Justin's articles...and I realized that my blog would be unnecessary. The man clearly knows his stuff...and he relates it well on the page.

[cosmo96]

I have been using Time Form for a month. I think it is great. Right now I'm on a roll. I've made a profit every day for over a week. I do best at Santa Anita. However, I hit a big exacta at Mountineer tonight. Keep up the good work CJ, and all who work at Time Form.

[Gekish]

Hand-selected by The TimeformUS team, Horses in Focus stand out on our feature sets, such as pace projector, TimeformUS speed figures, spotlight ratings, trainer ratings, pedigree ratings, etc. We offer expanded analysis on one of the Horses in Focus, as well as designating which horse is our Top Play on the day. Expect to see TimeformUS Horses in Focus on this blog typically every Wednesday-Sunday. If Horses in Focus are available for tracks with a later post-time, they will be added to this post throughout the day.

[Thunder Gulch]

Mark/CJ...I'm a fan and have made the switch. I do wish I could save files and go back to them because not everywhere has WiFi. It is a negative that I can't work on my card while riding in a car with someone else, or I won't be able to access all my notes at Churchill on Derby Day and will have to manually transfer to the pdf print.

I do have one question as it relates to the global Timeform ratings. I know you are using a similar scale to 140, but how can we be confident that the ratings are really parallel with supposedly different methodologies. The attempt to make a 114 in Newmarket or Dubai equal a 114 in the US seems impossible to me. I ask this without knowledge of the methodology for how Timeform's global ratings are created. If we are to believe they really do correspond to each other, you have to give Mubtaahij a big shot in here.

[Grits]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

Mark/CJ...I'm a fan and have made the switch. I do wish I could save files and go back to them because not everywhere has WiFi. It is a negative that I can't work on my card while riding in a car with someone else, or I won't be able to access all my notes at Churchill on Derby Day and will have to manually transfer to the pdf print.

I'm possibly missing something and I'm not Marc or Cj. If I've made a mistake, I'll apologize in advance.

Why are you unable to save the past performances for, both, the Derby and the Oaks? They can be saved in any annotate folder for marking and notes, whether WIFI connected or not. It couldn't be better! Both worked perfectly for me.

Yesterday, the $29.95 package was released, (if you've not bought it, you may want to do so).

The print single race icon is at the top of the fast PPs, click on it, the full PPs will come up. This allows you to save the races. Putting them on your Ipad and your laptop, while at the same time, if you like, printing each, with both, pace figures and adjusted times.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

Mark/CJ...I'm a fan and have made the switch. I do wish I could save files and go back to them because not everywhere has WiFi. It is a negative that I can't work on my card while riding in a car with someone else, or I won't be able to access all my notes at Churchill on Derby Day and will have to manually transfer to the pdf print.

I do have one question as it relates to the global Timeform ratings. I know you are using a similar scale to 140, but how can we be confident that the ratings are really parallel with supposedly different methodologies. The attempt to make a 114 in Newmarket or Dubai equal a 114 in the US seems impossible to me. I ask this without knowledge of the methodology for how Timeform's global ratings are created. If we are to believe they really do correspond to each other, you have to give Mubtaahij a big shot in here.

I have run into the WiFi problem a few times. Do you have a data plan for your phone? I just use my phone when the WiFi isn't working well as a hot spot.

This is actually something we are constantly striving to do, though as you say, it is very difficult. Last year was a big success as the shippers looked best on paper often and paid very well, but we aren't entirely happy with the scale and are working on it now, as we probably always will be. It won't be perfect, but it should be close enough to confidently compare horses from overseas and North America. More to come on this in the near future.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Grits

I'm possibly missing something and I'm not Marc or Cj. If I've made a mistake, I'll apologize in advance.

Why are you unable to save the past performances for, both, the Derby and the Oaks? They can be saved in any annotate folder for marking and notes, whether WIFI connected or not. It couldn't be better! Both worked perfectly for me.

Yesterday, the $29.95 package was released, (if you've not bought it, you may want to do so).

The print single race icon is at the top of the fast PPs, click on it, the full PPs will come up. This allows you to save the races. Putting them on your Ipad and your laptop, while at the same time, if you like, printing each, with both, pace figures and adjusted times.

I suspect he is using the "Notes" feature of the PPs and that doesn't transfer to PDF. I'll be honest, haven't played around much with the PDFs so I'm not an expert.

[Thunder Gulch]

Yes..the notes typed in. For example, I have put notes in on the Oaks/Derby cards online but will eventually have to print the pdf file to take to the track, which won't have notes I've input and will have to break out the ball point pen.

Sure I have data on my phone, but no shot of getting a data signal without draining a battery in 10 minutes on Derby Day. Sure it's only one weekend out of the year, but it happens to be my favorite. On the other hand, handicapping that card in that scene with everything going full speed is impossible and obviously best to do all the real work before arrival.

[Grits]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

Yes..the notes typed in. For example, I have put notes in on the Oaks/Derby cards online but will eventually have to print the pdf file to take to the track, which won't have notes I've input and will have to break out the ball point pen.

Sure I have data on my phone, but no shot of getting a data signal without draining a battery in 10 minutes on Derby Day. Sure it's only one weekend out of the year, but it happens to be my favorite. On the other hand, handicapping that card in that scene with everything going full speed is impossible and obviously best to do all the real work before arrival.

Thunder Gulch, here's a question. If you've done this, please, just tell me to hush. I'm compliant.

Have you considered at all to save the PPs on your Ipad, ahead, with plenty of time to review, while having the TFUS page open along side. Fox It or IAnnotate, as you may know, both apps, allow not only marking, highlighting, but too, pop up notes. Giving you the ability to type/create your own notations, integrate, and drag/place them on each runner.

My only reason for checking the notes, unlike most, is to read the full charts of past races. Otherwise, I don't dwell there. I'd rather use the PPs as listed and the condensed page figures (which is still my favorite tool.)

Am I making sense of all of this? I know you spoke of a manual transfer of notes, but maybe not? I'm probably showing my ignorance here...but I've done so before, and I tend to get over such things quickly, not having to be right.