FORMFINDER v2.3 Computer Rated Form Analysis The Best Way To Beat The Bookies 16 November 1996 Shareware This shareware version of Formfinder is free to be used and copied, but if you continually use the program then you must pay the registration fee of £29.95. Once you have registered you will receive a code to unlock the full working version of Formfinder, plus you will get the latest trainer and jockey files if the current ones you have are out of date. The restrictions that currently apply are the inability to enter more than 10 runners for each race and you cannot enter new trainer and jockey files, or enter the race result, so the program cannot automatically update all its database files. Registration To register send a cheque or postal order for £29.95 to; Aztec Software 11 Beaulieu Place Peel Common Gosport Hants PO13 0QP Installation Welcome to Formfinder, probably the easiest and best horse racing prediction system available. With the Psion 3a/c and Formfinder you have the ideal tools for beating the bookies, because you can take the Psion and Formfinder with you where ever you go, into the bookmakers, even right there onto the race course. To install the program you need the following files in their appropriate directories. Once done press the SYSTEM button and then press the MENU key. Go to the APPS heading and select INSTALL. Depending on what disc you have the Formfinder programs on select FORMFIND.OPA and then press the ENTER key, if you now have the Formfinder icon on screen the installation is complete. \ Readme APP\ Formfind.opa APP\FORM\ Horse.pic Racedata.odb Setdata.odb 2yo.odb 3yo.odb 4yo.odb Hurdle.odb Chase.odb APP\FORM\RACES\ This is where race's you save will be kept Introduction FORMFINDER has been designed with the sole aim of selecting winners, yet make data entry as quick and as easy as possible. All you need to get yourself started is one of the many papers that offer form ratings as part of their horse racing section. This could be either one of the daily papers (The Sun, Daily Mirror, etc.) or for a more reliable source of information one of the specialized racing papers would be better. Betting What to bet and when to bet ? The purpose of betting is to win money. Obviously the practice of betting on winners is the fundamental goal but there are several factors which actually prevent you from winning at betting. 1. The percentage of winners. 2. The winning odds. 3. The type of bet used. To overcome these factors you must follow these simple rules: 1. Only backing horses that after analysis stand an above average chance of winning. 2. Only betting at odds that are greater than the probability of winning (C/SP). 3. Only bet with single win bets. It is the most economical bet that gives you a good return for your money. If you have more than one runner for the days bet it may be worth considering the accumulator bet where all selections must win, this offers greater return for your money but at greater risks. The type of bet to avoid is the each way bet and the multiple bet, Yankee, Heinz, etc. Accumulative Staking Plan To begin at betting set aside a bank of money, lets say £25.00. Divide this into 25 equal shares. £25.00 / 25 = £1.00 This will give you 25 equal bets of £1.00. Now lets say your first bet was a winning bet at 5-1. You will now add this to your bank. £25.00 - £1.00 = £24.00 Winner @ 5-1 = £6.00 BANK = £30.00 Now you must divide your bank again by 25 equal shares. £30.00 / 25 = £1.20 This gives you your next bet of £1.20. When you have a losing bet you just subtract your stake from your bank and then divide your bank again by 25. By adding and subtracting in this way will always give you 25 equal bets. Selecting Races What races give better results ? FORMFINDER is proving to be successful over most types of races. However, we do recommend that you try and avoid selling races, maiden races, auction races, hunter chases, novice races, and National hunt flat races. When selecting a race for analysis try and make sure that most runners have good recent form and not a lot of unplaced runs. Suggested races for analyzing, in order of preference: FLAT RACES (1) 2yo and 3yo+ and condition races. (2) 2yo and 3yo+ handicap races. NATIONAL HUNT (1) Condition hurdles and condition chases. (2) Handicap hurdles and handicap chases. MENU OPTIONS AVAILABLE. SYSTEM 1. INFO This will inform you of the current version you are using plus additional information. 2. CLEAR DATA If you wish to clear the programs memory data then select this, but be warned, if you have any information in the TOP TIPS option then it will be wiped out ! 3. HELP A quick reference guide in case you get stuck. 4. EXIT Exit from the program. FILE 1. OPEN Load any race you currently have saved to disc. 2. SAVE AS Save the current race in memory to disc. 3. DELETE Delete any race from disc. RACE 1. NEW RACE Stage 1 Enter the relevant details as required and the type of race that you are analyzing e.g. for a flat race consisting of all ages you would select 3yo plus. Be especially careful that you select the right type of race code as it will have a dramatic effect on the final analysis. Stage 2 Enter the required details for horse one, starting with the name, and then the last two runs the horse has had e.g. 31, 20, F4, P2 etc. Next select how long ago the horse last had its run and then whether the horse has previous winning form such as "Distance winner". Now see if the horse has one of the top 20 trainer or jockeys, these will already be loaded into memory for the type of race selected. Next enter a form rating for the horse, needless to say the better the form rating then the better the final analysis will be. Finally enter the starting price for the horse by entering the first half of the s.p. on the first line and the second half of the s.p. on the second line. If the s.p. of the horse is evens then enter the number 1 on both lines. Stage 3 In most daily papers you will find a record of past favorites placings, usually situated at the bottom of the race card e.g. FAV 0 1 1 3. This gives a good indication on how much effect the betting market has on the race. If you do not have access to past favorite records then just press Enter. 2. VIEW PREDICTION This calculates all available data for each horse and then gives each horse a computer rating and computer odds, with the highest rated horse at the top. Also displayed will be the starting odds that you entered. At the end you will see VALUE. If a horse is considered a good value then it will be represented with the "*" star symbol. The more value a horse the more stars it will have, until the maximum of five which is considered a very good each way bet. The doted line across the screen is the line of average. For instance if there was a race consisting of five runners and they all ran exactly the same speed then their odds would each be 4-1. Therefore any horses odds that were less than 4-1 would be above average. If there are more than 9 runners for the race then press the Enter key to view them or press the Esc key to exit from this section. Please note that although the highest rated horse is calculated to be the winning horse FORMFINDER still does one more analysis before it will recommend that a horse is worth betting on, these selected horses are to be found in the TOP TIPS. 3. EDIT RUNNERS If you need to change any information such as the latest starting prices then you can do so from this option. 4. NON RUNNERS If there are any non runners then enter them here, one at a time with the highest number non runner first. If you can't be sure which number the non runners are then view your runners through the Edit Runners option first. OPTIONS 1. TOP TIPS As already mentioned this is where Formfinder keeps track of any horses worth betting on. At the top is the Nap of the day along with the next best horse. Down the left hand side of the screen are any horses that are top rated and on the right hand side are any good value bets worth considering. Remember this is the final analysis Formfinder does so check here first before betting on any top rated or good value horses, by keeping to these horse you should achieve continually good results. One last point is you must view the prediction before coming to the Top Tips section. 2.TRAINER & JOCKEYS Although the program updates the trainer and jockey files when you enter the winning horse after the race has run it is well worth entering the latest trainers and jockeys at least once a month. These can be found in the racing publications. Enter the wins for runs for each type of race e.g. 2yo, 3yo, etc. 3. ADJUST BIASING You can if you like alter the way in which Formfinder does its analysis by adjusting the biasing towards each category. If you ever want to reset to the original settings then press the "N" key when asked if you want to save the settings to disc. 4. ENTER RESULTS When the race has run then enter the winning horse number here. Once done the program adjusts itself and updates all data files for future races. You then have the choice whether to save the updated files to disc or not. Also if you do want to save the updated files you can also delete the race from disc at the same time CONCLUSION Now that you have typed in your race you would expect the program to select winners every time. Unfortunately horses are not machines and they hardly ever run the same race twice. There are many factors why a horse never runs it's true race, it may not like the course or distance it was running at or it could even be it was not feeling very well ! Other factors worth considering are the trainer and jockeys. There are times when trainers go through slack periods without any of their horses winning for months. Other times they can't go wrong, with winner after winner. Jockeys also have a major influence on a horse. When a top jockey decides to ride a horse he obviously believes the horse has a good chance of winning, otherwise he would ride another. All of these factors have a influence on the final outcome of a race. At the end of the day I would recommend betting on the Naps and Next Best horses, or the good value bets as suggested by the Top Tips. You obviously want to make as much profit as you can, so given the choice of having one top rated winner from three at 2-1 and one good value winner from 5 at 10-1, I know which option I would choose ! One final note I shall mention is that FORMFINDER is based on a system and like all systems there will be months when the program can not go wrong, and then suddenly you may have weeks without a winner. The answer is persevere and be patient Best of luck for the future Adam D. Squibb