Nathan,

I just love your FRACTIONS SCREEN (I use it with the Pace Ratings) and would love to see, if possible of course, a new column on your readout that shows the E2 "Pace of the RACE" (Lengths behind at 2nd call x2 added to the E2 rating) as well as an extra column that shows the "final lengths behind of winner at the finish"for each horse.

When I handicap, I try to determine the likely Pace Rating (E2) for the race based on the number of "E" horses going at it on the front end...once I settle on this figure, I'd love to be able to see at a glance how all of the non-E horses fare against this projected E2 pace number.

For example, If I project an E2 of 98 for the race, I'd love to be able to just look down the new Pace of Race (POR) column and instantly see who has raced well against an E2 of 98 in the past and note their final speed rating and final lengths back. The new "final lengths back" column would quickly show me how competitive a horse was in a race.

Now that I think of it, a "Lengths back at Second Call"column would probably be helpful addition as well.

This simple procedure really gets to the heart of a race in a matter of minutes and it's amazing how many P horses are totally under bet because they look just "so so" against the slow paces they faced in recent races. Today's race promises a quick pace on the front end and our P's or S's for that matter, soon find themselves passing the front end meltdowns down the lane and usually end up paying $12-$20 to win...or if not able to get to the wire first, place 2nd and key large exactas with a likely E or EP horse.

A "Pace of the Race" rating would also help me do a better job selecting representative pacelines for my contenders...making your Race Simulations (which as a visual person, I really love) more accurate than ever.

I'm a new EquiSim user and realize there are many more facets to the program (databases, profiling, ect.) that probably address my "POR"desires in other ways but I just have to let you know that your Fractions Screen (using Pace Ratings) in combination with your Simulation feature are worth the price of the complete program and more...and yes, I would pay you more if you could add a "Pace of Race" column and "final lengths behind at finish" column...my hadicapping work would be cut down even further and I would be able to run more races and find more of those $14 dollar horses...like on Belmont Day where your program helped me find the $30 winner in the 5th race at Belmont in a matter of minutes...

Great job with your program...thanks for your consideration with my requests.

Kevin

Thanks for the feedback Kevin.

You are in luck -- the new Formula View I'm working on (actually, I'm now documenting...) is exactly what you need to impliment what you described -- to the letter. You will literally be able to create your own columns that do exactly what you specified... and then some.

Before the Formula View, the inherit limitation of the Fractions Screen was that I couldn't do much with it -- because everyone would undoubtedly have a slight twist in what they wanted to do. By biting the bullet and implimenting the Formula View so that you can get at just about any piece of data _inside_ of the "form" as well as inside of EquiSim, you can create your own columns. There's even a feature that lets you establish different "views" for different types of races (for example, maybe you'll have a set of columns for handicapping routes that is different for the one you use to handicap sprints).

Nathan,

Thanks for the reply and the great news...just read the other posts on Formula View and sounds like you'll be giving me everthing I want and then some. A couple more questions when you have the time...

1. Do you think I'll be able to sort the horses based on their Runing Style and then sub sort by Qr-Speed Points starting with "E's"at the top then "EPs" then "P's" ect. instead of having the horses display on the "FV" spreadsheet by saddle number or post posistion? Such as:

#5 Joey Bob (E7) Jan1 6f ect.
#5 Joey Bob (E7) Dec 15 6f ect.

#3 RunRunRun (E4) Jan 15 6f ect.
#3 RunRunRun (E4) Jan 1 6f ect.

#2 Imajewel (EP6) Jan 15 6f ect.
#2 Imajewel (EP6) Jan 1 6f ect.

#1 Dusty Boy (EP1) Jan 15 6f ect.
#1 Dusty Boy (EP1) Jan 1 6f ect.

#4 War Pony (P1) Jan 15 6f ect.
#4 War Pony (P1) Jan 1 6f ect.

#6 Charmed (P0) Jan 15 6f ect.
#6 Charmed (P0) Jan 1 6f ect.

And so on?

I would use this sort as a first step when looking at all of the running lines and Pace Ratings for each horse.

2. Once FV is released, would you be available to set up parameters for a spreedsheet style if a user found the scripting/formulas too confusing for a fee? Of course your interface will probably be very simple and intuitive to use but just throwing the idea out there if that isn't the case.

Can't wait to see the new program...thanks so much for making all of this data easier to crunch and allowing us to see the numbers "Our Way".

Kevin

For this first release of FV I don't plan on having such a complex (albeit nifty) way of sorting columns. You'll be able to sort the spread sheet (the FV) by one column by clicking the column (sort ascending or descending).

What you propose does look useful, but will require a good deal more coding and, worse yet, a good deal more user interface to set up. While it wouldn't be all too bad if this sort of thing was the only thing that the FV was designed to do, but since it is designed to do so many other things the mode of sorting has to be generic enough that it is applicable to all, or most, other applications of the FV.

Yes, I'm hoping for two things to happen:
A) Users will share their knowledge, experience, and perhaps even Formula Views via this web site (the program makes it very easy to share formula view templates).

B) The VF really should be pretty easy to use. To help folks who just want to get their "system" implimented without wrangling with variables and such, I do plan on offering a service for a modest fee to work with folks to set up their FV the way they want it. Of course, I get to use their great formulas, but I'll swear not to reveal them to the world if that's what is desired.

Nathan,

Figured as much...maybe someday...just looking for any short-cut I can get to speed up the process. Good to know that you will be offering (fee-based)help with set-ups as well.

One last question if I may...will Formula View be a brand new program, an upgrade to the exsisting EqSim program or a new module of sorts? Also, have you announced a price for this new upgrade? I'm fairly new here and not quit up to date with your upgrade/pricing policy guidelines.

Thanks, Kevin

Kevin,

The formula view will be part of EquiSim.

There may be a "module" of sorts that will allow people to export FView columns to a database "lickety-split". Still not sure what the demand is for such a tool, but it will be a 'module' addition to Formula View so people won't be forced to buy it if they don't want it(and I won't be forced to give it a way if I don't want to jack up the general price).

Haven't announced a price for the upgrade - not sure what it will be - but I always strive for reasonable. As far as upgrades go, I don't get any money from data sales, so the drive to keep things going comes from new customers and useful stuff put into the program that folks want. The last upgrade was $90, but it included a massive amount of work to incorporate the "connections" stuff int he Profiler, ability to track the Profiler in SPAT, the Wagers and Selections screen -- and more. While I think the FView is really a dynamite tool, it is/was admittedly less work to code (though documentation for hundreds and hundres of variables is miserable).

Good post, Kevin. How about having the ability to choose pacelines (and select contenders) from Fraction View? That would really expedite the handicapping process for the way I use the program, especially if it were easier to change the "days to look back". I usually start at 30 days and see who has done what recently, then move back to 60 days if I don't feel 30 is inclusive enough.
Lou