Handicapping Contest Discussion

[trackrat]

Hundredtowin has posted the following comments about our monthly handicapping contest. His comments are open for discussion, if anyone cares to respond.

Hundredtowin said: "Still not sure how to start a new thread, but some food for thought.....

First , let me say that I have been watching this board for a long time and always find it interesting. I own a few horses and my passion is harness racing. I try to utilize all of my resources when handicapping a card and I prefer NFLD and the Big M. Cliff may be the best NFLD handicapper out there!

First observation: I recently signed up for the contests and while it is a lot of fun, I do find tha a big part of handicapping races is missing. Would it be at all feasible to extend the deadline of the bets to post-time? I certainly understand if it is not since I am sure that it is a lot of work to begin with and I admire how accurate and timely Trackrat is with is summary. However, there are so many factors lost by having a deadline at 7pm, such as late driver changes (which has been huge lately..., how a horse looks scoring down, what type of bike they use, who is taking early money, who is dead on the board, track bias...)

Secondly, since we all are gamblers, why not throw in $20 or $50 or whatever a month and really make it interesting? I am sure we could figure out a way to make sure nobody gets ripped off.

Lastly, what the heck happened to Blackwater? Built a new house and gave up the sport? My guess is the wife must have come down on him - it has been over a year since he posted, maybe time to get rid of his section.

Hundredtowin"

[trackrat]

In summary, Hundredtowin suggests:

1) Changing the wagering deadline from 7PM to the post time of EACH individual race;
2) Creating a cash prize for the monthly winner by having participants put up $20 to $50 a month in individual entry fees.

My comments:

1) Changing the wagering deadline to the post time of each individual race would SIGNIFICANTLY increase the amount of time needed to calculate each night's winnings or losses. Right now, each player's wagers are concentrated in one posting within each night's thread [the exception being for the rare wager change because of a late scratch... which requires a second, time-stamped post as an addendum to the thread]. I print out the entire thread and use the printout as a worksheet.

If the wagering deadline became the post time for each race, each player could conceivably have 13 separate posts within the thread, if he played all 13 races. With 6-7 players on a given night, that might create upwards of 78 posts per night that I would have to print out, read and cross reference to actual post times to validate the wagers. Throw in scratches, consolation payoffs, etc., and it becomes an even greater nightmare.

Although I don't mind tallying the contest results, it is time consuming and not particularly enjoyable. No one is more frustrated when one of the top tier drivers does not show up, negatively affecting contest wagers. But that is a contest reality that we have accepted for three years now.

2) Creating a cash prize. I'm not against it, but I don't want to handle the cash either. I had hoped, when we started, that Northfield management might toss in a free sweatshirt or a fun pack (parking, program, admission, dinner) for two as a way for this site to generate some Northfield interest, but I've never asked them to do that and I'm not sure they would get a good return on their investment.

Trackrat