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Text File | 1991-10-17 | 49KB | 1,192 lines

Federal Hill Software Presents XX XX XXX XXXXXX XX XX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXX XX XX X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXXX XX XX XXX XXX XXXXXXX XX XX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXX XXX XX XX XXXXXXX XXXX XX XXXX XX XXX XXX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXX XX X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXX XX XX XX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX The Cambridge Harness Handicapper User Supported Version 3.2 Copyright 1991 by Leonard Hyre and Michael J. Himowitz Distributed by Federal Hill Software 3722 Greenway Lane P.O. Box 765 Owings Mills, MD 21117 410-356-5592 The Cambridge Harness Handicapper Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 About the Program and User-Supported Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 The Shareware Principle . . . . . . . . . 2 1.3 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.4 The Files on this Disk . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 Running the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 About Our Handicapping Systems . . . . . . . . 4 3.1 The LAST RACE Theory . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.2 Where to Get The Information You Need . . 5 4 Handicapping Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4.1 When to Bet on a Race . . . . . . . . . . 7 4.2 Eliminate Bad Horses . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 Using the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5.1 Handicap a Horse . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5.2 What the Numbers Mean . . . . . . . . . 12 6 Wagering Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 7 About the Enhanced Harness Handicapper . . . 14 8 On-Screen Registration Form . . . . . . . . . 15 9 Set Monitor (Color or Monochrome) . . . . . . 16 10 Program Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 11 Sample Handicapping Report . . . . . . . . . 18 12 Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 i The Cambridge Harness Handicapper (C)1990 By Leonard Hyre and Michael J. Himowitz Distributed by Federal Hill Software 3722 Greenway Lane, P.O. Box 765 Owings Mills, MD 21117 410-356-5592 1 Introduction The Cambridge Harness Handicapper is a powerful, sophisticated tool that will allow you to handicap Harness horses quickly and easily. It's not a magic, get-rich-quick scheme. But if you follow these instructions, impose some discipline and use the handicapper wisely, you should be able to improve your performance at the track and make money in the process. The Cambridge Handicapper is easy to use. All the information you need is available in the track program, although you may want to check with the track for late scratches and driver changes. With a little practice, you'll be able to handicap a race in a few minutes and a whole card in less than an hour. 1.1 About the Program and User-Supported Software This is a proven handicapper. Federal Hill Software has been marketing Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound programs commercially for a variety of computers since 1983. You may have seen our advertisements in magazines such as Compute!, Compute's Gazette, Computer Shopper, RUN, PCResource, Rainbow, PCM and others. We have sold thousands of copies. The problem is that advertising rates--the largest single cost of doing business-- have skyrocketed in recent years. Eventually we decided that it was just too expensive to market special interest programs such as handicappers in general-interest computer magazines. So we did two things. First, we rewrote the handicappers from top to bottom, making them more attractive, quicker and even easier to use with full-screen data entry, on-line help, and revised rating formulas that reflect our most recent research. Second, we decided to put working versions of the IBM handicappers directly in the hands of the people who want them. This is known as user-supported software, or Shareware. If you like the program and use it, we ask that you send us a $30 registration fee. For your money you'll get an Enhanced version of the program with additional features that will make your handicapping even easier and more exciting--including the WAGERMASTER betting analysis program. We'll talk more about the enhanced version at the end of these instructions. 1.2 The Shareware Principle The User-Supported version you have here is in no way crippled. Some shareware companies do this as a come-on, but we don't think that's fair. This User-Supported version uses exactly the same handicapping formulas as our enhanced version and produces the same results. You may use it and distribute it to anyone. Give it away, post it on your local computer bulletin boards, or put in in your user-group library. There are only a few conditions. They are: The Cambridge Handicappers are copyrighted by the authors and remain their intellectual property, protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. You may not distribute a modified version of the User-Supported program or any version of the Enhanced program. When you distribute the User Supported version, you must include ALL the files on this disk (or in the group of files in the archive you received). The program won't work properly unless they're all there. Enough of that. Let's get on with the program itself. 1.3 System Requirements The Cambridge Harness Handicapper will run on any IBM- compatible computer with 256K of memory and a video display adapter that emulates the IBM Color Graphics Adapter, IBM Monochrome Graphics Adapter or the Hercules Monochrome Graphics Adapter. That means just about everything on the market today, including all models of the Tandy 1000, 1200, 3000 and 4000 with sufficient memory. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 2 There are a few older computers with which the program is not compatible. They include the Tandy 2000, TI Professional and Sanyo 550 series. If you have one of these non-IBM compatible MS-DOS computers, we do have an earlier version of the program which will run on them. Contact us for information. 1.4 The Files on this Disk The Cambridge Harness Handicapper is composed of five files. All of these files must be on the disk from which the program is launched or the hard disk directory from which the program is launched. They are as follows: HARNESS.BAT The batch file that starts the program. HARNSW.EXE The handicapper program. NHARN1.PAK The screen files used by the program. SPEEDSCR.COM A memory resident screen driver. HARNESS.DOC Instructions for the use of the program. README.COM Last minute Tips and Information CAP.CFG Contains color/monochrome setting If these files are on a floppy disk, that's all you'll need to run the program. If you want to use a hard disk, set up a directory for the program and use the DOS "Copy" command to transfer all the files on this disk to the directory you have set up for it. 2 Running the Program To run The Cambridge Harness handicapper, put the disk with the program in Drive A or use the "CHDIR" command to switch to the hard disk directory in which the programs are stored. Type HARNESS and hit the <RETURN> key. This will load the program. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO LAUNCH HARNSW.EXE directly. Use the HARNESS.BAT file to do it. Here's why: HARNESS.BAT first loads SPEEDSCR.COM, a memory resident program which manages the screens used by the Cambridge Harness Handicapper. Without SPEEDSCR, the program will not work. The HARNESS.BAT file also removes SPEEDSCR from memory when you terminate the handicapper program. While SPEEDSCR probably won't cause difficulties if left in memory after you exit from the handicapper, it can, under some circumstances, produce some Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 3 unusual if harmless results. So always start the program by typing HARNESS and hitting the RETURN key. When you type HARNESS and hit <RETURN>, your disk drive will whir for a few seconds. Then you'll see a message asking if you have a color monitor. If you do, type "Y" and the display will change to color. If you don't have a color monitor, type "N" and the program will run in monochrome mode. At this point, you'll see a title screen followed by a message explaining the handicapper's shareware status. (We've removed that message from the enhanced version). A few seconds later, the MAIN MENU will appear. Before you start handicapping, however, please read the following sections that describe handicapping systems and the information you'll need to use the Cambridge Harness Handicapper. 3 About Our Handicapping Systems A handicapping system does two things. * It attempts to predict a horse's performance in an upcoming race by analyzing past performances in a consistent, scientific manner. * It provides you with a strategy for betting on races given the outcome of your handicapping analysis. As strange as it sounds, the true purpose of a handicapping system is not to pick winners. The purpose of a handicapping system is to give you a tool that will help you make money at the track. Knowing how and when to bet is just as important as analyzing the horses There are as many handicapping systems as there are handicappers. Some are quite good, others are worthless. Some require hours or days of effort, some require only a few minutes of preparation. You don't really need a computer to handicap a race. There are plenty of manual handicapping systems around, and some are excellent. Unfortunately, they're often tedious and time- consuming. A computer handicapping system takes the handicapper's knowledge, sets up handicapping tables and rules internally, and then makes calculations instantly. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 4 We designed the Cambridge Harness Handicapper to provide a blend of sophistication and ease of use for the race fan who enjoys the sport but doesn't have hours and hours to devote to handicapping. If you've never tried to handicap a race before, you'll find this quite easy to use. If you're an experienced handicapper, the information the system requires you to collect will be just as useful as the ratings themselves. The program will sharpen your own thinking and handicapping analysis. 3.1 The LAST RACE Theory The Cambridge Harness Handicapper relies heavily on information from a horse's LAST RACE on a fast or sloppy track. Now you may ask, "Why only one race? Wouldn't it be better to average performances over half a dozen races, or a whole year?" The answer is no. It's a fact that a horse's performance today is most likely to mirror his performance last time out. Remember, a handicapper is interested in how a horse is going to perform RIGHT NOW, not how the horse performed a month or two ago. The horse that ran six weeks ago may have been in much better or worse shape than he is today. While it is possible to develop a system that uses an average of past performances, our research shows that such systems at best yield only marginally better results than a "last race" system. And they take so long and require so much data that most people are unwilling or unable to spend the time necessary to make them work. The disadvantage of a "last race" system is that it may downgrade a good horse who happened to post a bad performance last time, or upgrade a horse who ran way over his head last time out. But this doesn't happen very often. And the advantages of a "last race" system--speed and ease of use--mean you'll be able to do more handicapping and have a better chance of making money over the long run. 3.2 Where to Get The Information You Need To use The Cambridge Harness Handicapper, you must be familiar with the information available to you in the track program. The program is available on most newsstands on the day of a race and usually the day before. The program contains three different pieces of information you'll need. First, there's a summary of each race, showing the horse's name, post position and driver. Second, there's the Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 5 "condition line," a table of of information about the past performances of each horse in a race. Finally, there is a listing of the "Top 10" drivers at each track. Here is the information you'll need about each horse: 1. The horse's post position, for this race and the horse's last race on a fast or sloppy track. 2. The driver's name, for this race and the horse's last race on a fast or sloppy track. 3. The driver's record. We're interested in whether a driver wins 15 percent or more of his races. If you look at the "Top 10" drivers list in your program, you'll usually find all the 15 percent winners. If you're not sure, inquire at the track itself. 4. The date of the horse's last race on a fast ("ft") or sloppy ("sy") track. We will use sloppy tracks for rating purposes, since they don't seem to affect horses' times, but it's not a good idea to bet on races being run on a sloppy track. 5. The purses and/or claiming prices for the horse's previous races. This is necessary to determine whether the horse is moving up or down in class. 6. The leader's time at the half-mile point of the horse's last race on a fast or sloppy track. If the horse's last race was on a slower track ("good" or "muddy"), go back and find the last performance on a fast or sloppy track. 7. The final time of the horse in his last race on a fast or sloppy track. 8. The number of lengths the horse gained on the leader in the stretch of his last race on a fast or sloppy track. 9. Parked Out Signs: These are small superscript zeros that appear next to the numbers representing the horse's position at various points in his last race on a fast or sloppy track. These indicate that the driver took the horse wide to give him room to run. They usually indicate a strong horse. 10. CLASS--This is the hardest factor to determine. It is important to know whether a horse is racing today against Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 6 tougher, easier or the same level of horses he raced against last time. Here are basic guidelines: * Generally, if the purse or claiming price of the horses in this race is higher than the purse or claiming price of the horse's last race, the horse is moving UP in class. That means he's running against tougher competition than he did last time. * If a horse is racing for a lower purse or in a race with a lower claiming price than his last race, the horse is moving DOWN in class. That means he's running against easier competition than he did last time. * If the purse or claiming price is about the same (a few hundred dollars doesn't matter) in this race as it was for the horse's last race, then he's staying in the SAME class. 4 Handicapping Principles A computer can help you with handicapping calculations, but there's no substitute for a little human judgment. The key to handicapping is knowing which races to bet (not every race can be properly handicapped) and which horses to eliminate from contention before you start handicapping. 4.1 When to Bet on a Race For any handicapping system to work, there must be a good probability that the past performances of the horses involved will be reflected in their performance in the race you're handicapping. Unfortunately, this isn't the case in every race. At the very best tracks, such as Roosevelt, almost every non- maiden race may be handicappable. At tracks with lower-class horses, you may only find five or six races on a card that lend themselves to analysis. Here are the guidelines we use: * Don't bother going to the track and using this program if the track condition is not "fast." An off track--good, muddy, or sloppy--should be avoided. There's a good reason for this. Horses usually run on fast tracks. They train on fast tracks. While some horses may be good "mudders," there's no real way of knowing how they'll respond to bad track conditions. Some horses may love soft footing, Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 7 others may hate it. The problem is that there's no way to tell for sure. So stay away from off tracks. * DON'T BET ON MAIDEN RACES. These are unproven or just plain bad horses, and most handicapping techniques are useless when they're running. * Don't bet on races featuring the cheapest horses on the grounds. These are old, bad or tired horses who are unpredictable. They may run well one week and terribly the next. If you can't count on a horse's past performance to be indicative of his performance today, you can't handicap the horse. These horses usually show up in the first and last races of a card, particularly at tracks where the overall quality of horses is not high. At the very best tracks, this rule may not apply, since even the cheapest horses could be feature race material at lesser tracks. * Don't bet on races with a high proportion of "shippers." A shipper is a horse running at a track for the first time. You have no way of knowing how a horse will respond to a new surface. If you run across a race in which a shipper looks like a real contender, our advice is to pass it up. This takes some discipline, but you'll be better off for it. Also, any race with three or more shippers is probably a bad bet. We realize that this will eliminate many stakes races with high purses. While these are fun to watch, they're not usually good handicapping propositions. You can take consolation in the fact that the other races on the same card with a high-purse stakes race are likely to be good ones. 4.2 Eliminate Bad Horses Once you have decided whether to bet a race, you can easily eliminate certain horses from contention. These will usually be eliminated by the computer, but occasionally a really bad horse will score highly. Take a few seconds to eliminate these first and the system will work much better. Only at the very best tracks will you have to handicap more than a half-dozen horses in a race. * Eliminate any horse which has not raced in the last three weeks. You have no way of knowing why this horse has been on vacation, but if an animal is running well, the trainer will race him regularly. Time off is usually a bad sign. This may not apply to the absolutely best-quality stakes Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 8 horses, who race less frequently, but stakes races are bad bets anyway. * Eliminate any horse who did not show a strong performance last time out. By this we mean a win, place or show, a strong run on the leader in the stretch, or setting the early pace as the leader in fairly quick time. If a horse showed none of these, forget him. * Eliminate "shippers." These are horses running at a track for the first time. Once again, this may not be possible in big stakes races, but we think these are difficult to handicap anyway and should be avoided. 5 Using the Program When you run the Cambridge Harness Handicapper, you'll see a menu with four choices. The choices are: 1. Handicap a Horse 2. About the Enhanced Handicapper 3. Registration Form 4. Set Monitor Type 5. Quite the Program To select any choice, just type the number opposite that choice. We'll discuss handicapping first. 5.1 Handicap a Horse When you choose this item, you'll be presented with a handicapping form with blank, highlighted fields for the information the program needs to analyze the horse. This is just like filling in a paper form. When you're through entering information in any field, just press the <RETURN> or <ENTER> key to go onto the next field. Some fields require single keystroke entries (Such as a "Y" for yes or "N" for no). In this case, just typing the appropriate letter will send you to the next field. You can correct information in any field by using the right and left cursor keys and typing over the previously entered information. The BACKSPACE key will move the cursor one character to the left without deleting. To delete material, use the DEL key. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 9 You can move backwards and forwards from field to field throughout the form by using the UP and DOWN cursor keys. When you reach the bottom field, the DOWN cursor key will cycle you back to the first field. Most fields in the form are checked for errors. If you have typed inappropriate information in a field, the program will return your cursor to the field with the bad information and display an error message at the bottom of the screen telling you what the problem is. As you go from field to field, the program will display a "Help" message in the box at the lower left hand side of the form telling you exactly what information is required for that field. When you have finished entering all the information in a form, you can exit from the form and get your handicapping calculations by hitting the <ESC> key. Here's the information required for each field: 1. Horse No. and Name: Type the horse's betting number, followed by a space and his name. Then hit <RETURN>. 2. Post position last time: Enter the horse's post position in his last race on a fast or sloppy track. 3. Post position this race: Enter the horse's post position in this race. When you indicate that the horse's post position in either this race or its last race was greater than 8, a message will pop up at the bottom of the screen asking you if the horse is or was running in the second tier. If the answer is yes, type "Y"; if the answer is no, type "N". 4. 1/2-Mile time: This is the leader's time at the 1/2-mile point of the horse's last race on a fast or sloppy track. The half mile time will generally be in the one-minute range, give or take a few seconds. Type the number in minutes, seconds and fifths of seconds. There is no need to type a colon. The program takes care of that. For example, if the half-mile time of the horse's last race was 59 and 2/5ths seconds, all you have to type is 0592. If it was 1 minute, 2 and 3/5ths seconds, type 1023. 5. Final time: This is the horse's final time in the his last outing on a fast track. Once again, there is no need to Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 10 type a colon. If the final time of the horse was last race was 2 minutes, 4 and 3/5ths seconds, all you have to type is 2043. The program will format the time properly. 6. Stretch gain: This is the number of lengths the horse gained on the leader in the stretch of his last race on a fast or sloppy track. This is determined by looking at the lightface superscript numbers that appear to the right of the numbers showing the horse's position at various points of the race. Find how many lengths behind the horse was at the beginning of the stretch and how many lengths behind he was at the end of the race. The difference is the stretch gain. If the horse won the race and increased his lead or overtook the leader in the stretch, you can enter the increase in his lead. If he won but the second horse gained on him in the stretch, enter zero. If the horse lost ground in the stretch, enter zero. 7. Parked out signs: Count the number of parked out signs (superscript zeros) you see to the right of the horse's position at various points in his last race on a fast or sloppy track. Enter the number of parked out signs you counted. 8. Driver Record Last Race: If the driver in the horse's LAST race on a fast or sloppy track has won 15% or more of his races, type a "Y" in the "Last race" field. Otherwise, type an "N" in this field. 9. Driver Record This Race: If the driver in THIS race has won 15% or more of his races, type a "Y" in the field labeled "This race." Otherwise, type an "N" in this field. 10. Class: If a horse is moving up, type "U" in this blank. If the horse is moving down, type "D". If the horse is staying in the same class, type "S". For guidelines to determine whether the horse is moving up or down in class, see the discussion of CLASS in the section titled "Where to get the Information You need." Once you have entered all the information in the form (It takes longer to read about it than to do it), and you're sure it's correct, hit the <ESC> key. 1. The program will ask you, "Are you through with this horse (Y/N)." If the information is correct, type "Y". If it isn't correct, type "N" and you will be returned to the form, where you can correct the bad entry or entries. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 11 2. Once you have indicated that the information is correct, the numeric score of the horse will be displayed in the "Help window." The score will generally be a number between 70 and 350, although the best or worst horses could go higher or lower. 3. The program will then ask, "Do you want to handicap another horse? (Y/N)." If you want to handicap another horse, type "Y" and a new handicapping screen will be displayed. If you're finished handicapping, type "N" and you'll be returned to the Main Menu. To analyze a race, handicap each horse. When you're through with each horse, write down the horse's name, number and score (The Enhanced version takes care of all this for you). When you're through, you'll have a list of horses and numeric scores. 5.2 What the Numbers Mean Once you've handicapped all your horses, you have to decide how to bet. The general principle is: THE HIGHER A HORSE'S SCORE COMPARED TO THE OTHERS IN THE RACE, THE MORE LIKELY THAT HORSE IS TO WIN THE RACE. For example, suppose these were the horses and scores: No. Name Score ----------------------------- 4 Paula's Dream 232 2 Big Bad Ike 228 5 BennyBear 212 7 Mom's Mink 201 8 Bag o' Bones 175 6 Glue Factory 103 In this case, the handicapper indicates that Paula's Dream is most likely to win the race, although Big Bad Ike is quite close. 6 Wagering Strategy OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO BET THE HIGHEST RATED HORSE (the one with the highest score) TO WIN AND PLACE. This is the safest Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 12 wager and the one most likely to put money in your pocket over the long run. As usual, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, in the race above, suppose Paula's Dream is going off at less than even money, but Big Bad Ike is going off at 4-1. You're not going to make much if you bet on Paula's Dream, but Big Bad Ike is so close in the scoring that he becomes a better bet. IF THE TOP TWO HORSES ARE ONLY A FEW POINTS APART AND THE SECOND RATED HORSE IS GOING OFF AT MUCH BETTER ODDS, YOU MAY WANT TO BET THE SECOND-RANKED HORSE. This is one of the Cambridge Harness Handicapper's major strengths. Because it rates horses without regard to local betting habits or prejudices, it will often spot undervalued horses that make sound wagers. Finally, at some tracks our customers have reported better results by betting both the first and second-rated horses to win. This is particularly true if the handicapper ranks them closely, neither is a strong favorite and the odds on both are relatively good. Determining how all of this works at your track takes some trial and error. Before you plunk down your money for the first time, handicap a couple of cards and see how the program works at your track. Wagering patterns vary greatly from locality to locality. Knowing when and how to bet is just as important as selecting the right horse. It can make the difference between winning and losing money at the track. You'll notice we haven't mentioned exotic wagers, such as exactas, perfectas, triples and trifectas. That's because we don't believe in them as a sound wagering strategy. Without going into long explanations, just remember that it's tough enough to pick a winner in a race, let alone a winner and two particular losers. Tracks make a lot of their money from exotic wagers because the return to the bettors is much lower than it is on straight bets. We can virtually guarantee that you'll lose money on any strategy that involves exotic bets. Stay away from them. That's all you really need to know to get started. Obviously, familiarity with your track conditions will help. But even if you're new to horse racing, the Cambridge Harness Handicapper will make race analysis easier and more accurate. Remember that the most important factor in any handicapping system is discipline and consistency. If you choose your races Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 13 wisely, apply the rules we've laid down and overcome the fan's natural tendency to put down money on every contest, you'll be able to turn a profit on your hobby. 7 About the Enhanced Harness Handicapper Menu Choice 2 will show you a screen containing information about the Enhanced version of this handicapping program, which will be sent to you when you send in your registration fee. We think this represents an outstanding buy, and we'll discuss some of the advanced version's additional features here: * The WAGERMASTER--This alone could be worth the price of registration. It will show you anticipated payoffs for a wide variety of odds and win/place/show bets. It's great for developing a wagering strategy or just plain "whatiffing." In addition, The WAGERMASTER will show you the combinations and permutations of bets on various horses for daily double, exacta/perfecta and triple/trifecta type wagers. (We don't recommend exotic wagers, but we know you all love them, so we'll at least make sure you get the combinations right). * Handicap an entire race at once. You'll be able to input data for all the horses in a race (up to 16) at one time and see a screen or printed report, sorted by score from most likely winner to least-likely winner. See the sample report at the end of this section. * Keep track of shippers and last race date. While this doesn't effect the handicapping outcome, it will show you how many shippers are in a race, how long it has been since each horse last raced and how many horses have had layoffs of three weeks or more. Having this information can help you alter your betting strategy or pass up a bad race that you might otherwise have wasted money on. * Enhanced documentation. The instructions with the enhanced version contain all the information you see here, plus a detailed discussion of parimutuel betting that will eliminate much of the mystery and hopefully make you a wiser bettor. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 14 8 On-Screen Registration Form This will make it even easier to register your program. When you choose No. 3 from the Main Menu, you'll be presented with a handicapper registration form. When you're finished filling out the form, you can print it out on your printer. This form is good for the Cambridge Harness Handicapper, Greyhound Thoroughbred Handicapper and Harness Handicapper. You can register one or more programs at the same time. The registration fees are as follows: 1 Handicapper $30 Any 2 handicappers $50 All 3 handicappers $70 When you mail the form to us with your registration fee (We also accept VISA and MasterCard), we'll ship you the enhanced version(s) right away. Here's how to fill out the form: 1. Name and address fields: Type your full name on the first line and hit <RETURN>. Type your street address on the second and third lines (you can skip the third line if you only have a one-line address). The City, State and Zip Code go in separate blanks on the fourth line. You can use the <RETURN> and CURSOR keys to move from field to field the same way as you do in the handicapper data entry form. 2. Type of Payment: If you're paying by check or money order, type a "Y" in the "Check/money order" box. If you're paying by credit card, type a "Y" in the Credit Card Box. 3. Credit Card information: If you're paying by credit card, type a "V" or "M" for Visa or MasterCard in the box labeled "Type of Card." Then type your credit card number and expiration date in the following blanks. 4. Handicappers registered: Type a "Y" in the appropriate blank for each handicapper you want to register, Harness, Thoroughbred or Greyhound. When you're through entering the registration information, hit the <ESC> key. You'll be asked if the information is correct. If it is, type "Y". If the information is not correct, type "N" and you'll be returned to the data entry screen. Once you have confirmed that the information is correct, you'll be asked if you want to print out the registration form. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 15 If you do, type "Y". You'll be prompted to make sure your printer is on line and then strike any key to print the registration form. If you don't want to print out the form, type "N" and you'll be returned to the Main Menu. Send the completed form with your registration fee to: Federal Hill Software 3722 Greenway Lane P.O. Box 765 Owings Mills, MD 21117. Make sure to include your signature on the proper blank if you're using a credit card. A registration form is also included at the end of these instructions. 9 Set Monitor (Color or Monochrome) By choosing No. 4 from the Main Menu, you can make The Cambridge Harness Handicapper display screens in color or monochrome. The initial setting is for a monochrome display. You will be asked if you have a color monitor. Type "Y" if you have a color monitor. Type "N" if you have a monochrome monitor or laptop computer with an LCD screen. The display will change immediately and your setting will be stored in the CAP.CFG file on your disk. The next time you run the program, it will display in the mode you last chose. You can switch from color to monochrome or back at any time. 10 Program Notes The data entry screens in this program were created using the Screen Sculptor (TM) and SpeedScreen (TM) utilities from the Software Bottling Company of New York. The SPEEDSCR.COM file distributed with this program is licensed from and copyrighted by The Software Bottling Co. and may not be used with any other program. The Registered Version of The Cambridge Harness Handicapper is guaranteed to load and run as indicated in the accompanying Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 16 instructions. No other warranties of any kind are made or implied, and Federal Hill Software will not be responsible for any damage or loss resulting from the use of any of its programs. In no case will Federal Hill Software be liable for damages exceeding the purchase price of the software. Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 17 11 Sample Handicapping Report The following is an example of the race analysis report produced by the Enhanced version of The Cambridge Harness Handicapper. =================================================================== HANDICAPPER RATING REPORT TRACK: ROOSEVELT DATE: 10/07/91 RACE NO. 8 -- $8,000 Claiming =================================================================== HORSE RATING LAYOFF CLASS SHIP FIN PAID =================================================================== 2 IKE'S DREAM 256 7 D ------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 BILLY BOY 254 10 S Y ------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 JACK'S REVENGE 242 7 U ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 WILL 'O WISP 228 12 S ------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 BENNYBEAR 218 14 S Y ------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 TURKEY NICK 202 7 D ------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 PIZZA TO GO 196 24 S ------------------------------------------------------------------- Total number of shippers in race: 2 CAUTION: Contending horses include shippers Total number of horses with layoffs of 21 days or more: 1 Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 18 12 Registration Form =================================================================== The Cambridge Harness Handicapper Registration Form =================================================================== NAME: ------------------------------------------------------ ADDRESS: ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ CITY ST ZIP ------------------------------- ------ ---------- Type of Payment: Check/mo ( ) Credit Card ( ) Card Type (V/M) No. EXP. --- --------------------------- ----------- SIGNATURE: ------------------------------------------------------ Please Register the Following Programs: ( ) Cambridge Harness Handicapper ( ) Cambridge Thoroughbred Handicapper ( ) Cambridge Greyhound Handicapper Price List: 1 Handicapper $30 Any two handicappers 50 All three handicappers 70 Total Registration fee enclosed: ---------- ================================================================== Send This Form To: Federal Hill Software 3722 Greenway Lane, P.O. Box 765 Owings Mills, MD 21117 410-356-5592 ================================================================== Cambridge Harness Handicapper Page 19