Class Handicapping

[the_fat_man]

Been reading about this method on that other forum. And it was mentioned on the NYRA show today. Anyone doing this? Anyone who's not an ENGLISH major doing it?

Class handicapping or numbers: like choosing between Aristotle or Brahe.

[johnny pinwheel]

i'd much rather know who a horse has been running against then look at some number.

[philcski]

"Class handicapping" is a pretty broad category. Personally I think it's extremely important for some meets and utterly useless in others. For example, Keeneland has horses shipping in from all over the place, and also-rans from tougher meets generally run roughshod over top performers from weaker meets and get bet like it- defining which Turfway horses can compete at a big price is a big part of the puzzle. Other places, like Mountaineer or the Texas meets, where the population is pretty static, class means less and current form means much more.


And I am FAR FROM an English major.

[booner]

Originally Posted by philcski

"Class handicapping" is a pretty broad category. Personally I think it's extremely important for some meets and utterly useless in others. For example, Keeneland has horses shipping in from all over the place, and also-rans from tougher meets generally run roughshod over top performers from weaker meets and get bet like it- defining which Turfway horses can compete at a big price is a big part of the puzzle. Other places, like Mountaineer or the Texas meets, where the population is pretty static, class means less and current form means much more.


And I am FAR FROM an English major.

That pretty well sums it up for me, too. Nice summary.

Who cares really? Unless you're shilling something...

[philcski]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Who cares really? Unless you're shilling something...

I get the sense that TFM is looking for more ammo to try to make fun of people's approaches.

[VOL JACK]

Originally Posted by philcski

I get the sense that TFM is looking for more ammo to try to make fun of people's approaches.

I guess we can't all be so talented to make out our own colored graph charts.

[the_fat_man]

I'm feeling the love from my many fans on DT.

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by VOL JACK

I guess we can't all be so talented to make out own colored graph charts.

What's ironic is I take these simplistic graphs and WIN with them. You, on the other hand, fork over $20 (or whatever) a day for SOMEONE ELSE'S opinion. It thus follows that I, pretty much, think that you're an IDIOT and anything you have to offer is valueless to me.

Keep paying the money. I mean, it's one thing to lose on your own, quite another to pay to lose. Your 'anger' is then understandable.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

What's ironic is I take these simplistic graphs and WIN with them. You, on the other hand, fork over $20 (or whatever) a day for SOMEONE ELSE'S opinion. It thus follows that I, pretty much, think that you're an IDIOT and anything you have to offer is valueless to me.

Keep paying the money. I mean, it's one thing to lose on your own, quite another to pay to lose. Your 'anger' is then understandable.

If you're just going to rant about others' approaches to handicapping, perhaps you can explain the impetus for this thread, then.

Maybe you wanted to see how the forum thought your 4th place finish in the Prospect Park Bike Race would stake up class wise in the Tour de France?

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by philcski

If you're just going to rant about others' approaches to handicapping, perhaps you can explain the impetus for this thread, then.

Maybe you wanted to see how the forum thought your 4th place finish in the Prospect Park Bike Race would stake up class wise in the Tour de France?

Now, that hurt.

Do you have any idea how much of a kick I get out of your KEE analysis? You're spending hours to get info that I generate in a matter of seconds. Why in the world would you spend all this time on ONE track, Phil? I can understand if your analysis was novel or advanced but you're at the most basic of levels when it comes to race analysis. Of course, that 9:2 winner has made it all worth while. And, that's all part of being 'special'.

Go away, will you. You simpleton doofus.

Thanks for the enternaiment, otherwise.

So much for attempting something useful here.

You're a bigger attention whore than I am. Kudos.

[blackthroatedwind]

Since I brought it up....

Basically, making money by evaluating horses using speed figures has obviously become very difficult due to the proliferation of viable numbers. So, while obviously part of the " secret " lies in understanding how a number was earned, either positively or negatively, you have to have a broader understanding of the game these days in order to have any real success. Now, while clearly effective trip handicapping is a major help, and this is all part of understanding how numbers are earned, you also need as broad an understanding of the relative talents of the horses as possible and one way to do this is through the umbrella of " class " handicapping or evaluating. I would say this is more useful in turf racing ( as opposed to dirt....I don't do much synthetic handicapping so I can't really have an opinion on this ) because speed figures are final time based and thus likely to be more applicable for dirt racing. Simply put, an accurate understanding of the relative talents of the different fields the competitors in a given race have faced will help you evaluate the relative chances of today's entrants. I suppose this would, in some way, be considered " class " handicapping.

It came up today in a discussion of the 8th at Aqueduct, where the first two finishers had basically been facing more hardened foes than, specifically, the 2 horse, who had just broken his maiden in his second start versus $35K maiden claimers at Gulfstream. However, to be fair, using speed figures also showed those two horses to be superior....though not significantly.

Overall I would say it is all part of having as well rounded a game as possible. The more you know, or understand, and use effectively, the better your results.

[the_fat_man]

I'm as big a critic of pace/speed figures as there is. However, I don't think that class handicapping, either individually or in combination with numbers, offers an advantage over numbers alone. This is not about whether class handicapping can result in more winners but, rather, about the extra time invested in producing those winners. A combined approach would pretty much limit one to a single circuit, as there are just so many hours in a day. On the other hand, a well developed (and thus automated) numbers system would allow one to play multiple tracks, allow one to pick out horses with clear advantages, and thus result in not significantly more plays but more plays where one has an advantage. This results in more plays, less chasing of plays where one doesn't have a strong advantage, and makes it easier to overcome tough beats (given the increased number of plays). It's about mismatches today: the more the better.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I'm as big a critic of pace/speed figures as there is. However, I don't think that class handicapping, either individually or in combination with numbers, offers an advantage over numbers alone. This is not about whether class handicapping can result in more winners but, rather, about the extra time invested in producing those winners. A combined approach would pretty much limit one to a single circuit, as there are just so many hours in a day. On the other hand, a well developed (and thus automated) numbers system would allow one to play multiple tracks, allow one to pick out horses with clear advantages, and thus result in not significantly more plays but more plays where one has an advantage. This results in more plays, less chasing of plays where one doesn't have a strong advantage, and makes it easier to overcome tough beats (given the increased number of plays). It's about mismatches today: the more the better.

Disagree. The only way is to pick your spots. Every race is not bettable. More races is a way to lose.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

Now, that hurt.

Do you have any idea how much of a kick I get out of your KEE analysis? You're spending hours to get info that I generate in a matter of seconds. Why in the world would you spend all this time on ONE track, Phil? I can understand if your analysis was novel or advanced but you're at the most basic of levels when it comes to race analysis. Of course, that 9:2 winner has made it all worth while. And, that's all part of being 'special'.

Go away, will you. You simpleton doofus.

Thanks for the enternaiment, otherwise.

So much for attempting something useful here.

This is exactly why everyone here makes fun of you and brushes you aside as a useless piece of trash. I answered your question with my thoughts, and instead of actually discussing what I said, right or wrong, you attack me and others. I poke fun at your bike analyses because HORSES ARE NOT BIKES AND RACETRACKS ARE NOT VELODROMES. If you actually got on the back of a horse and rode it you would realize they don't operate like a piece of human operated machinery where you can pick and choose when or how fast they go.

Analyzing Keeneland this meet has nothing to do with one specific winner. That was the first one to run back. It has plenty to do with being able to refer back to my notes on how the track was playing- because if you haven't noticed your precious polytrack has a significant bias which changes daily. You still haven't responded to what you said was an incorrect analysis of a race a couple weeks ago- well guess what, one of the horses I suggested might be a good play against is the 5/2 favorite in tomorrow's 5th. Perhaps you could do everyone a favor and explain why she's a great play or not because clearly I'm not smart enough in your mind to do it.

I completely but respectfully disagree that your charts can determine what happened inside of a race because at the core they're no different than looking at a raw running line.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Since I brought it up....

Basically, making money by evaluating horses using speed figures has obviously become very difficult due to the proliferation of viable numbers. So, while obviously part of the " secret " lies in understanding how a number was earned, either positively or negatively, you have to have a broader understanding of the game these days in order to have any real success. Now, while clearly effective trip handicapping is a major help, and this is all part of understanding how numbers are earned, you also need as broad an understanding of the relative talents of the horses as possible and one way to do this is through the umbrella of " class " handicapping or evaluating. I would say this is more useful in turf racing ( as opposed to dirt....I don't do much synthetic handicapping so I can't really have an opinion on this ) because speed figures are final time based and thus likely to be more applicable for dirt racing. Simply put, an accurate understanding of the relative talents of the different fields the competitors in a given race have faced will help you evaluate the relative chances of today's entrants. I suppose this would, in some way, be considered " class " handicapping.

It came up today in a discussion of the 8th at Aqueduct, where the first two finishers had basically been facing more hardened foes than, specifically, the 2 horse, who had just broken his maiden in his second start versus $35K maiden claimers at Gulfstream. However, to be fair, using speed figures also showed those two horses to be superior....though not significantly.

Overall I would say it is all part of having as well rounded a game as possible. The more you know, or understand, and use effectively, the better your results.

Class seems to be much more important on synthetic than real dirt... which makes sense given the correlation to turf performance.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by RockHardTen1985

I think your first sentence is a bit harsh.

Oh please.

[VOL JACK]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

What's ironic is I take these simplistic graphs and WIN with them. You, on the other hand, fork over $20 (or whatever) a day for SOMEONE ELSE'S opinion. It thus follows that I, pretty much, think that you're an IDIOT and anything you have to offer is valueless to me.

Keep paying the money. I mean, it's one thing to lose on your own, quite another to pay to lose. Your 'anger' is then understandable.

...Now this is a funny post.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by RockHardTen1985

I think your first sentence is a bit harsh.

This ain't Sunday School if you haven't noticed.