No Fragments Archive 10: Diskmags/nf_archive_10.iso/MAGS/ST_USER/1990/USERSP90.MSA/TEXT_TOP_DOG.DOC

Text File | 1990-07-25 | 9.5 KB | 209 lines

                               TOP  DOG


                  Beat the bookies at their own game!


TOP DOG is a greyhound racing analysis program that attempts to predict the
winners from the poodles and pooches. No prior knowledge of dog racing is
required beacause all the information that the program needs can be obtained
from the Greyhound form pages of the Sporting Life or Racing Post.

    Whether you're a serious better or just like the occasional flutter, Top
Dog is the only tipster worth considering. Why? Well, it's the one the bookies
tried to ban - at any rate, that's what Forecast Software says.

    To use Top Dog double click on the TOP_DOG.PRG file (after de-achiving it -
read the article on de-archiving!). You will then be presented with the main
menu. Select Open Archive from the File menu load in DEMO.ARC. You will then be
able to examine the races in the demonstration archive.

    Selecting Amend Race shows which races are available. Click on a race and
and you will see what has been entered in the form screens for each dog and
following the onscreen prompts you will finish with a prediction for the race.

    Once the archive file has been loaded you will be able to use the Enter
Results and View Prediction options in a similar way. Selecting New Race will
enable you to practise data entry on blank form screens. To use the
interrogation facility make sure the archive file is loaded and select
Interrogation. With the current and archive buttons set click on Analyse and
you will then be given a detailed report on the predictions in the archive file
and any profit level.

    When you return to the interrogation screen you can analyse a different
betting option. Click on a selection from the list headed by "1st Selection/1st
Place" and then on Analyse again.


How to read and enter race form
--------------------------------
DATE: Enter in the form DAY/MONTH/YEAR. Just the last two digits of the year
need be entered.

TIME: Must be entered in 12 hour format HOUR/MINUTE/AM or PM

DISTANCE: The race distance

RACE TRACK NAME: At the top of the screen you should see the name of the course
that you selected before. If you have made a mistake you can correct it here.
Press Escape to clear the box and type in the required name directly.

GRADE: Enter the grade of race such as A5, M10 and so on. If you want an
accurate selective interrogation of the archive on race grades please be
consistent with your entry here. For example enter all open races as OPEN, and
handicap races as HAND.

NUMBER OF RUNNERS: All greyhound races normally have six runners and
occasionally eight. Select the number of runners required by highlighting the
appropriate box.

    It may take a long time to enter each race at first, but if you persevere,
with a little practice you will be able to enter data on any race in about 10
minutes. If you turn to the greyhound form pages of your sporting paper you
will see all the day's races with each runner's form. Select a race to look at
and compare it with the screen display shown when you select Options - Form
Info from the main menu.
    When you have familiarised you self with the layout you can try to enter
some form data. First open an archive file so that you can save the race. Next
select the New Race option and enter name of the race track and the general
information about the race which is found on the top line of the race form.
Pressing continue will take you into the form entry screen.


The form entry screen
----------------------
Each form entry screen relates to the form of one dog in the race. In an effort
to make data entry as easy as possible the screen follows as closely as
possible the layout of each dog's form in the paper. Once you get to the form
lines pressing Tab or down arrow key will take you from box to box first down
and then to the right. In this way all the same types of data can be read and
entered by just going down each form line in turn.

    At the top of the screen you will see the details of the race information
you have just entered. If any of it is wrong you can either click on FINISH now
and then exit, or you can continue and add it to the archive then retrieve it
and make the necessary amendments.

    Underneath the race data you will see the form box for each dog. The top
line shows the Trap number, space for the dogs name and space for any handicap
allowance, if any. Beneath that there are four lines of boxes. Each line of
boxes marked Dist, Stm, Post, Lths, Tm and Gg corresponds to the form lines
under each dog's name in the paper. (A form line gives you detailed information
about the dog's performance in that race.) Lastly there is the line of boxes
marked Season followed by the months of the year.


Pre-data entry check
---------------------
Not all form lines are suitable for Top Dog and it is a waste of time entering
some information. You can save yourself time and effort by looking at each form
line of each runner and if any of the entries on the dog's finishing position
for that race (form item L on the diagram) says Solo Race, Did not finish,
Trial, Disqualified, or for any other reason this entry is missing then take a
pen and cross out that form line.

    If a lot of form lines are excluded this way or a lot of one particular
dog's form lines are excluded it is a good idea not to analysis that race as
the data may not be as good as it should be. The more form lines that you have
the better.


Reading and entering data
--------------------------
Trap No.: This is Form item A, the trap number which the greyhound is going to
run from. When you first enter the form data screen this number will be set at
one. You don't need to update this number because it is done automatically.
Each dog should be entered as they are listed in the race, starting at one and
finishing at six or eight.

Name: Enter the name of the dog (Form item B) relating to the trap number. The
name doesn't make any difference to the calculation and it can be left out if
you are short of time. The final analysis lists both name and trap number, but
for the sake of completeness and the appearance of the final list do try to
enter the name of the dog.

Handicap: If it is a handicap race enter the allowance if any given to the dog.
(This is given in Form item B after the dog's name).

Dist: Enter into each of these boxes the race distance for that form line (Form
item H). This distance is normally in metres.

Stm: This is the sectional timing for that race, (Form item J), that is, the
time it takes for a greyhound to pass the winning line for the first time and
is an indicator of how well it performs in the early stages of a race. This
field will only accept whole numbers and you don't have to bother with the
decimal point. For example if the sectional time in the form line reads 14.25
you should enter 1425.

Post: This is the dog's finishing position in that race, (Form Item L). If the
dog finished first enter one, if it finished second enter two and so on.

Lths: This relates to the distance in lengths the runner lost or won by, (Form
item M). If the distance was two lengths then enter 2, if the distance is a
fraction like 2 and 3/4 then you must enter 2.75. All fractions are expressed
in multiples of 1/4 or .25.

    Sometimes you will come across the terms Short Head (Shd), Head (Hd) or
Neck (Nk) in place of a figure. For the purposes of TOP DOG this expressions
have the following decimal values

Short Head = .1
Head = .15
Neck = .2

    If the race was a dead heat enter the value 0.

Tm: This is the winner's time (Form Item P), and like the sectional timing the
a whole number is expected so the decimal point can be left out. So a time of
36.22 should be entered as 3622.

Gg: This the course going allowance (Form item Q), and is an indication of the
conditions of the track when the race was run. It is expressed either as a
positive or a negative number or as an N denoting normal conditions. If
conditions are normal you can enter N, or 0 or leave just leave the box blank.

Season: If the greyhound is a bitch (there is a b in Form item C), when she
comes in season affects the way she performs at that time. Information on the
bitch's season is shown in brackets in Form item E after the birthdate.


Form entry screen - button options
-----------------------------------
NEXT: Takes you to the next trap number and a new form screen. Will only go up
to the number of runners in the race and an alert is shown.

PREVIOUS: Goes back through the runners trap by trap

HELP: Displays the form information page

FINISH: Exits from form entry screen and shows race analysis on runners


                        *         *         *


    The demo version on this cover disc is only about half the size of the full
version and some features of the program will not be available. But you will be
able to sample some of its best features, in particular pay attention to the
very easy data entry screen which means the information on greyhound racing
pages can be transferred to the program very easily and quickly, unlike many
horse racing programs in which data entry is very tedious and slow. With the
demonstration archive file. DEMO.ARC you will be able to see how Top Dog keeps
track of its performance and gives detailed interrogation of predictions.


Top Dog is avalable from:
Forecast Software
60 Thornhill Road
Llanishen
Cardiff
South Glamorgan
Tel: O222 766905


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