Hello all,
Apologies we had to take the site offline tonight to get started on the upgrade process, hopefully it didnt affect anyone too much. We are now in a really good position having laid the foundations of what will be a big upgrade, taking place over the course of May.
Much of tonights work were behind the scenes activities to do with table layout, the way data is passed etc, but even after this first stage completed this evening, you will notice some improvements here and there. Quite a few of the tools now have improved functionality loaded up and we have managed to meet quite a few member requests in different areas. Also look out on quite a number of areas for tomorrows cards options, we are aware many of you like to study in advance.
The upgrade work will now continue consistently throughout May. It is our hope by the end of May the vast majority of pending items shall be resolved. Please note at the moment we are focusing almost all our time in to trying to get this upgrade done and as a result, I apologise if you have to wait a little longer for a reply to an email than we normally manage. That said, please keep all the feedback coming, I hope you are aware how grateful we are and can see your comments helping the site grow.
The Ratings project is still ongoing but we are making very good progress and the ability to backtrack ratings better will become a reality in the not too distant future.
I have learned many valuable lessons and these include accepting some of my past mistakes and realising at times I was completely focusing on the wrong things and at times being naive. What pleases me however, is that throughout this learning curve the one thing which has not and never will change is my basic philosophy of the site and its purpose. To summarise how I have always felt - there are lots of good people out there, but you have to accept they are at times hard to find.
The whole purpose of HorseRaceBase is to provide horse racing enthusiasts with a platform built by all of us together, where every little suggestion and thought is put into the mix and if possible implemented for the benefit of all. It is donation based to allow the small time punter, the betting pros and all of us who fall somewhere in the middle to fairly contribute based on how much use we obtain from it, how much we rely on it and how far we want to see it develop.
What is abundantly clear is when you adopt such a policy as ours, there will always be some who decide its perfectly acceptable to give the bare minimum even though they are reliant on the site, share their login with others, try and find ways round having to contribute etc etc. This will no longer be tolerated and eventually impossible.
To finish off, let me return to the upgrade works and confirm, the first part has been done and this allows us to proceed to the next stages, which we are confident can be completed in May. The next imminent stages of upgrade will see improvements to the System Builder, new features added and continued enhancements to existing tools.
If you experience any issues at all, please do get in touch. Cheers for your ongoing support, its really appreciated.
Chris
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Upgrade Provisional Date
Hi all,
We have made some really good progress and are now confident we will be able to proceed with the first stage of an upgrade this forthcoming Sunday 8th May.
We will have to take the site offline during this process. Of course this will be after all the days racing is over.
The first part of the upgrade will basically include as much as we can get on in the timeframe permitted. I will then post a blog afterwards advising how its all gone.
Remember this is a provisional date and we will not proceed if for any reason we think it will cause issues.
Thanks for your ongoing support of the site
Chris
We have made some really good progress and are now confident we will be able to proceed with the first stage of an upgrade this forthcoming Sunday 8th May.
We will have to take the site offline during this process. Of course this will be after all the days racing is over.
The first part of the upgrade will basically include as much as we can get on in the timeframe permitted. I will then post a blog afterwards advising how its all gone.
Remember this is a provisional date and we will not proceed if for any reason we think it will cause issues.
Thanks for your ongoing support of the site
Chris
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Progress Update
Hi all,
Quick progress update to confirm things are coming along, but we have struggled over the last week as the amount of racing at Easter borders on ludicrous!
Of course the priority has to be maintaining the existing service and keeping the database up to date so other items have taken a bit of a backseat during this busy time. Nontheless as each day passes we grow closer and Im hopeful my next blog will confirm a date to put through some changes.
I shall keep it at that for now and carry on with the work behind the scenes, when this is complete we will be in a much better position to advance.
Cheers
Chris
Quick progress update to confirm things are coming along, but we have struggled over the last week as the amount of racing at Easter borders on ludicrous!
Of course the priority has to be maintaining the existing service and keeping the database up to date so other items have taken a bit of a backseat during this busy time. Nontheless as each day passes we grow closer and Im hopeful my next blog will confirm a date to put through some changes.
I shall keep it at that for now and carry on with the work behind the scenes, when this is complete we will be in a much better position to advance.
Cheers
Chris
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dull but worthwhile
Hello
Just a quick update on the progress we are making behind the scenes. The ratings backdate option is coming along but I have no realistic timeframe yet to give in terms of when they can be added to the Builder. Will keep you updated but its a slow process and we are trying to test every eventuality to prevent a future repeat of it having to be pulled like last time.
In terms of the site restructure, with improvements being added to areas as we do them. This is proving to be an extremely tedious (and to be honest dull) task. Yet, even as we make the small steps along the way we can see how worthwhile it shall be.
The aim is to offer a far more user-friendly layout and provide better tutorials/explanations/examples of all the facilities plus get all the upgrades on we have pending. The outcome will provide a platform to really progress to the next level and utilise the hugely powerful potential of the site for the benefit of us all.
Im really hopeful it will be done in April, but as most of you will appreciate, it is a very very difficult task to get everything just right. We are having to hold back certain pages that are ready, because other areas are directly affected by them and need altered to fall in line, so in many cases we will need to just put it all through at once.
Anyway, thanks for your ongoing support. We will get there and it will be worthwhile. I have promised a loyalty bonus and this will be forthcoming to everyone who has been fair to HorseRaceBase and understands the donation policy exists to encourage honesty, good relationships and long term partnership.
Cheers
Chris
Just a quick update on the progress we are making behind the scenes. The ratings backdate option is coming along but I have no realistic timeframe yet to give in terms of when they can be added to the Builder. Will keep you updated but its a slow process and we are trying to test every eventuality to prevent a future repeat of it having to be pulled like last time.
In terms of the site restructure, with improvements being added to areas as we do them. This is proving to be an extremely tedious (and to be honest dull) task. Yet, even as we make the small steps along the way we can see how worthwhile it shall be.
The aim is to offer a far more user-friendly layout and provide better tutorials/explanations/examples of all the facilities plus get all the upgrades on we have pending. The outcome will provide a platform to really progress to the next level and utilise the hugely powerful potential of the site for the benefit of us all.
Im really hopeful it will be done in April, but as most of you will appreciate, it is a very very difficult task to get everything just right. We are having to hold back certain pages that are ready, because other areas are directly affected by them and need altered to fall in line, so in many cases we will need to just put it all through at once.
Anyway, thanks for your ongoing support. We will get there and it will be worthwhile. I have promised a loyalty bonus and this will be forthcoming to everyone who has been fair to HorseRaceBase and understands the donation policy exists to encourage honesty, good relationships and long term partnership.
Cheers
Chris
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Review
Hi all, It has been a demanding period. Id like to first offer my sincere thanks to everyone for being supportive over this time. As promised I will now give a detailed update on how things are after the Builder upgrade, what we are doing now and our plans for the future.
First thing to discuss is the ratings into the builder. We were inundated with requests to introduce backdated ratings as a criteria to the System Builder. We believed this had been achieved, however the ratings created for the past were not calculating correctly and unstable in a live environment when using temporary tables etc and as such we have had to remove them. It is going to be a huge task to resolve but we will be find a way. I regret that we have to take them off but there is no other choice. If you did save a system using the ratings, I apologise for any wasted research time.
We have increased the number of races in the Ratings Machine backtrack area to 750 and there is also a new area within My Systems where you can apply Ratings specifications to daily qualifiers. As an example you could set up system criteria for Top Weights in Handicaps and then request to be shown only the Top Rated for any of your ratings sets who also match this criteria.
The rest of the Builder is now functioning fine and we have got all the pre 03 races back in there for users of the Major Races area. The increase in Fullset Extra will hopefully keep going, it now stands at 10. The digger will soon be in line with the rest of the Builder and go back to 03 as it now goes as far as 2004.
There is a new daily report based around official ratings, for anyone interested. I mention it as we receive a lot of requests based on this type of research.
As things now settle down, we are going to perform a complete review of the site, in relation to layout, user-friendliness, help and maximising potential. At each stage we will be adding in upgrades that are pending. It is worth noting this will not cause anywhere near the amount of hassle as upgrading the System Builder does. In fact it should all progress without any disruption whatsoever.
The way the site has developed over the past year or so, is that I have received requests for functionality, added it in where possible and in all honesty neglected to maximise the site set-up to ensure everyone is fully aware of what can be done and how to do it. I should be spending far more time making the site illustrate to users how to make the most of the facilities, how to investigate potential angles effectively and setting things up to suit their needs. This will now become a priority.
The approach I have taken till now of responding to user requests for the benefit of all will continue as that is what HorseRaceBase is built upon, but it is utterly obvious to fully realise the potential of the site we must make these things easier to reach for the benefit of all.
As an example we have received numerous mails from people asking where the next days cards are. This is my fault and the site should be set up in a way where such a common request is immediately identifiable. The point really I am making is we have so much stuff available and so many options, it just needs to be laid out better and more user-friendly.
Our other priorities for the near future include the Ratings backtracking functionality, finalising some very important new data and introducing a way of easily combining different areas of the site.
Over April you will hopefully see a dramatic improvement in the site, please do continue to offer feedback, requests and suggestions.
Cheers Chris
First thing to discuss is the ratings into the builder. We were inundated with requests to introduce backdated ratings as a criteria to the System Builder. We believed this had been achieved, however the ratings created for the past were not calculating correctly and unstable in a live environment when using temporary tables etc and as such we have had to remove them. It is going to be a huge task to resolve but we will be find a way. I regret that we have to take them off but there is no other choice. If you did save a system using the ratings, I apologise for any wasted research time.
We have increased the number of races in the Ratings Machine backtrack area to 750 and there is also a new area within My Systems where you can apply Ratings specifications to daily qualifiers. As an example you could set up system criteria for Top Weights in Handicaps and then request to be shown only the Top Rated for any of your ratings sets who also match this criteria.
The rest of the Builder is now functioning fine and we have got all the pre 03 races back in there for users of the Major Races area. The increase in Fullset Extra will hopefully keep going, it now stands at 10. The digger will soon be in line with the rest of the Builder and go back to 03 as it now goes as far as 2004.
There is a new daily report based around official ratings, for anyone interested. I mention it as we receive a lot of requests based on this type of research.
As things now settle down, we are going to perform a complete review of the site, in relation to layout, user-friendliness, help and maximising potential. At each stage we will be adding in upgrades that are pending. It is worth noting this will not cause anywhere near the amount of hassle as upgrading the System Builder does. In fact it should all progress without any disruption whatsoever.
The way the site has developed over the past year or so, is that I have received requests for functionality, added it in where possible and in all honesty neglected to maximise the site set-up to ensure everyone is fully aware of what can be done and how to do it. I should be spending far more time making the site illustrate to users how to make the most of the facilities, how to investigate potential angles effectively and setting things up to suit their needs. This will now become a priority.
The approach I have taken till now of responding to user requests for the benefit of all will continue as that is what HorseRaceBase is built upon, but it is utterly obvious to fully realise the potential of the site we must make these things easier to reach for the benefit of all.
As an example we have received numerous mails from people asking where the next days cards are. This is my fault and the site should be set up in a way where such a common request is immediately identifiable. The point really I am making is we have so much stuff available and so many options, it just needs to be laid out better and more user-friendly.
Our other priorities for the near future include the Ratings backtracking functionality, finalising some very important new data and introducing a way of easily combining different areas of the site.
Over April you will hopefully see a dramatic improvement in the site, please do continue to offer feedback, requests and suggestions.
Cheers Chris
Monday, March 28, 2011
Scream
Hello I could scream in frustration but will just get to the point. Basically we got really far into the upgrade and it then failed at about 3:30. Parts worked, other parts didnt. We have identified another issue which has to be rectified and its going to take a while for the table required to run. As with last weekend, the proper thing to do is ensure you have normal service for the day and therefore we have switched everything back. If at all possible we will try and do the upgrade on Monday night, if not Tuesday. Once we get the System Builder upgrade complete the rest is a lot easier and it flows naturally, but we need the new builder workings to 100% function correctly. Sorry for another delay. Thats the one trouble with advancement, however this particular upgrade is extremely frustrating as we felt it would be ready for Cheltenham and its still giving headaches and a lack of sleep! Oh well, life goes on and we will get there soon. Will reply to all outstanding emails from past day or so ASAP, many of the things raised are going to be resolved with the upgrade. Cheers Chris
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Update on the update
Hello
My apologies the anticipated upgrade date of this Sunday did not materialise. Ultimately when we tested it live, we simply were not in a position to proceed without severe risk of potential problems, so of course it was only sensible to delay.
I have left it till now to write this blog as I wanted to be clear in my own head how things stand and in order to get a full overview, had to fix one particular issue. This has now been done and after review I can say it may be a few more days before we are able to get the upgrade done and dusted. Primarily this is down to data passing and table structures requiring amendment in areas within the site that talk to each other behind the scenes. Its dull as can be to bore you with the full details but basically until we are convinced all is okay we cant proceed.
Although this is a little frustrating and we were all really excited about Sunday, in the long run its without doubt the correct course of action. This upgrade will be a major one, the biggest we have done for over a year, so getting it right is vital.
I shall not waffle on for much longer just now, other than to say I can assure you we are working round the clock to get everything just right and that the benefits shall far outweight the slight delay as we finalise everything. I shall post again later in the week.
Sincere thanks to all members who have been in touch with messages of support and contributions. What goes around comes around. Everyone doing their bit means HorseRaceBase has a very bright future.
Finally, if you are emailing us please be patient during this really busy time. We will reply to every request, question and comment. Your feedback is what builds the site.
Cheers
Chris
My apologies the anticipated upgrade date of this Sunday did not materialise. Ultimately when we tested it live, we simply were not in a position to proceed without severe risk of potential problems, so of course it was only sensible to delay.
I have left it till now to write this blog as I wanted to be clear in my own head how things stand and in order to get a full overview, had to fix one particular issue. This has now been done and after review I can say it may be a few more days before we are able to get the upgrade done and dusted. Primarily this is down to data passing and table structures requiring amendment in areas within the site that talk to each other behind the scenes. Its dull as can be to bore you with the full details but basically until we are convinced all is okay we cant proceed.
Although this is a little frustrating and we were all really excited about Sunday, in the long run its without doubt the correct course of action. This upgrade will be a major one, the biggest we have done for over a year, so getting it right is vital.
I shall not waffle on for much longer just now, other than to say I can assure you we are working round the clock to get everything just right and that the benefits shall far outweight the slight delay as we finalise everything. I shall post again later in the week.
Sincere thanks to all members who have been in touch with messages of support and contributions. What goes around comes around. Everyone doing their bit means HorseRaceBase has a very bright future.
Finally, if you are emailing us please be patient during this really busy time. We will reply to every request, question and comment. Your feedback is what builds the site.
Cheers
Chris
Monday, March 14, 2011
Important Site Update
Hey all,
The site upgrade I have mentioned over the last while, unfortunately wasnt ready for our hoped date of yesterday. It would be stupid to do it now with Cheltenham upon us and the site being used constantly by people researching trends etc. Therefore I will confirm now that the site upgrade shall go ahead on Sunday 20th March after that days racing has finished. I will post a blog at that time.
Our user numbers have risen over the past couple of days with many people on a free trial as they look for an alternative to Adrian Massey's site. Id like to say in this regard how much admiration I have for Adrian and the job he has done for over ten years, completely in aid of charity. This is nothing short of astonishing when you think about it as he could have easily cashed in yet stuck to his guns. For whatever reason he has decided to stop, I wish him the very best.
What I am aware of is at the moment HorseRaceBase is very much geared towards technically minded horse racing fans and from the emails we are receiving, many people are looking for a much simpler platform and want a standard set of ratings, whereas we tend to encourage creating your own. This isnt a new realisation as a result of followers of Adrian Massey coming on board, however it does ram home the point!
Fortunately, we had already done all the work and as part of the upgrade we will be introducing standard HorseRaceBase ratings as oppose to an example set. In addition we will be creating far easier to use areas to query the ratings performance in different scenarios and to save them into systems. (For the more technically minded, it will involve new functionality meaning you can automatically set up so one set of ratings can be used in one scenario and others in another - thus benefiting those of you who have created your own sets).
In all my posts and all over the site, you will see our requests for feedback, id like to take the opportunity to ask all of you (including those on a free trial) to let us know if you are struggling to use the site, miss certain functionality you previously had etc.
Members of HorseRaceBase are very aware that our site is built around member feedback and donations. By working together we continually add to and improve the sites functionality, the truth is the site simply could not exist without asking for a monthly donation.
Cheltenham is now of course here and its a great and busy time. Im really looking forward to a couple of the races in particular with the performance of Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle a really interesting answer to the question of Irish form holding up.
Additionally the Champion Bumper is one I cant wait for. I have had a tip for practically every horse in the race. I actually wont be touching anything but I cant wait to see who comes out on top!
Finally you have to mention the Gold Cup. I was there last year when Imperial Commander came home and there were people crying! If Kauto Star won this year it would be an extraordinary achievement and would go into the history books but of course if IC wins again it will join the list of doublers and then you have Denman who just makes me smile even thinking about him! Its a fantastic race and one I will again possibly not have a bet in (depending on what My Systems throws up).
The best advice I can give for the festival, is that although its exciting and fantastic racing, it does not mean you have to raise your stakes, risk blowing the bank or whatever else. Enjoy it, if you have a well researched selection of course it all adds to the excitement. But there is no need to start taking risks, changing your strategy or backing something for the sake of it. I say this, because last year there were three or four members I know who had to take a break from racing as a result of a bad Cheltenham. Thats crazy.
Sensible staking, clear strategy, long term goals is the way forward.
All the best to everyone, will post again soon.
Cheers
Chris
The site upgrade I have mentioned over the last while, unfortunately wasnt ready for our hoped date of yesterday. It would be stupid to do it now with Cheltenham upon us and the site being used constantly by people researching trends etc. Therefore I will confirm now that the site upgrade shall go ahead on Sunday 20th March after that days racing has finished. I will post a blog at that time.
Our user numbers have risen over the past couple of days with many people on a free trial as they look for an alternative to Adrian Massey's site. Id like to say in this regard how much admiration I have for Adrian and the job he has done for over ten years, completely in aid of charity. This is nothing short of astonishing when you think about it as he could have easily cashed in yet stuck to his guns. For whatever reason he has decided to stop, I wish him the very best.
What I am aware of is at the moment HorseRaceBase is very much geared towards technically minded horse racing fans and from the emails we are receiving, many people are looking for a much simpler platform and want a standard set of ratings, whereas we tend to encourage creating your own. This isnt a new realisation as a result of followers of Adrian Massey coming on board, however it does ram home the point!
Fortunately, we had already done all the work and as part of the upgrade we will be introducing standard HorseRaceBase ratings as oppose to an example set. In addition we will be creating far easier to use areas to query the ratings performance in different scenarios and to save them into systems. (For the more technically minded, it will involve new functionality meaning you can automatically set up so one set of ratings can be used in one scenario and others in another - thus benefiting those of you who have created your own sets).
In all my posts and all over the site, you will see our requests for feedback, id like to take the opportunity to ask all of you (including those on a free trial) to let us know if you are struggling to use the site, miss certain functionality you previously had etc.
Members of HorseRaceBase are very aware that our site is built around member feedback and donations. By working together we continually add to and improve the sites functionality, the truth is the site simply could not exist without asking for a monthly donation.
Cheltenham is now of course here and its a great and busy time. Im really looking forward to a couple of the races in particular with the performance of Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle a really interesting answer to the question of Irish form holding up.
Additionally the Champion Bumper is one I cant wait for. I have had a tip for practically every horse in the race. I actually wont be touching anything but I cant wait to see who comes out on top!
Finally you have to mention the Gold Cup. I was there last year when Imperial Commander came home and there were people crying! If Kauto Star won this year it would be an extraordinary achievement and would go into the history books but of course if IC wins again it will join the list of doublers and then you have Denman who just makes me smile even thinking about him! Its a fantastic race and one I will again possibly not have a bet in (depending on what My Systems throws up).
The best advice I can give for the festival, is that although its exciting and fantastic racing, it does not mean you have to raise your stakes, risk blowing the bank or whatever else. Enjoy it, if you have a well researched selection of course it all adds to the excitement. But there is no need to start taking risks, changing your strategy or backing something for the sake of it. I say this, because last year there were three or four members I know who had to take a break from racing as a result of a bad Cheltenham. Thats crazy.
Sensible staking, clear strategy, long term goals is the way forward.
All the best to everyone, will post again soon.
Cheers
Chris
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Little Details
Hey all,
We are happy enough with the progress we are making although at times its like treading water as some of the projects we are working on are tediously repetitive and extremely frustrating. Many of them its simply a case of running one thing and then not being able to do the next stage until a huge block of queries completes. Of course you then move on to something else only to find its an eye-popping screen starer requiring the patience of a saint!
With all that said, my aim to have a lot done for Cheltenham is looking realistically possible and an upgrade on the System Builder plus several other key elements of improvement will go ahead just as soon as they are ready. As always my thanks to all members who are getting in touch with suggestions etc and also to everyone for continuing to support with donations.
The list of improvements we have pending continues to grow, but this is a good thing and means the site will continue to expand and offer more to all of you as each month passes.
There are a couple of categories which we will be (hopefully) adding in soon and its worth pointing out the likes of track characteristics (undulating etc) are at times disputed depending on which source you look at. In the end we will obviously make the final judgement call on this. In a similar vein, the race type addition for amateur, conditional jockeys etc is one that has caused numerous headaches and again we have spent many hours trying to get everything spot on.
I am not sure yet if we will remove some of the System Builder categories that are never used. In some ways its good to have them there, but if our testing shows they are slowing things down then I dont believe much will be lost in ditching them. For example the 4th last race age restrictions is one I dont believe would be used hardly ever and very doubtful anyone has it in a saved system, but we will need to check all these things out thoroughly.
With regards to Cheltenham it is our hope to introduce a few features, some just fun things, others with really good areas for study. Obviously a whole new audience appears for the festival and it would be really welcomed should we manage to get a few new members on board over this time. But mainly, we realise its a time when all existing members are on the site trying out new things/studying angles etc and we would like to assist as much as we can.
I always say I will post a blog more regularly and yet somehow get so dragged in to the ongoing project areas, before I know it 2 or 3 weeks have passed. With all that said, Im yet again saying the same thing and it is my intention to blog more regularly!
Keep all the feedback, comments and suggestions coming. Thanks. We are getting there!
Cheers
Chris
We are happy enough with the progress we are making although at times its like treading water as some of the projects we are working on are tediously repetitive and extremely frustrating. Many of them its simply a case of running one thing and then not being able to do the next stage until a huge block of queries completes. Of course you then move on to something else only to find its an eye-popping screen starer requiring the patience of a saint!
With all that said, my aim to have a lot done for Cheltenham is looking realistically possible and an upgrade on the System Builder plus several other key elements of improvement will go ahead just as soon as they are ready. As always my thanks to all members who are getting in touch with suggestions etc and also to everyone for continuing to support with donations.
The list of improvements we have pending continues to grow, but this is a good thing and means the site will continue to expand and offer more to all of you as each month passes.
There are a couple of categories which we will be (hopefully) adding in soon and its worth pointing out the likes of track characteristics (undulating etc) are at times disputed depending on which source you look at. In the end we will obviously make the final judgement call on this. In a similar vein, the race type addition for amateur, conditional jockeys etc is one that has caused numerous headaches and again we have spent many hours trying to get everything spot on.
I am not sure yet if we will remove some of the System Builder categories that are never used. In some ways its good to have them there, but if our testing shows they are slowing things down then I dont believe much will be lost in ditching them. For example the 4th last race age restrictions is one I dont believe would be used hardly ever and very doubtful anyone has it in a saved system, but we will need to check all these things out thoroughly.
With regards to Cheltenham it is our hope to introduce a few features, some just fun things, others with really good areas for study. Obviously a whole new audience appears for the festival and it would be really welcomed should we manage to get a few new members on board over this time. But mainly, we realise its a time when all existing members are on the site trying out new things/studying angles etc and we would like to assist as much as we can.
I always say I will post a blog more regularly and yet somehow get so dragged in to the ongoing project areas, before I know it 2 or 3 weeks have passed. With all that said, Im yet again saying the same thing and it is my intention to blog more regularly!
Keep all the feedback, comments and suggestions coming. Thanks. We are getting there!
Cheers
Chris
Thursday, February 10, 2011
One Step At A Time
Hello
Its been a good few days and the fun bit now is we start to actually get moving on some issues we have been working on intensively behind the scenes.
Have made a good start and this will be pretty consistent now over the next few weeks as there is much to get online. Tonight we have put on quite a bit including new functionality for jockey & trainer notes (to go with the already set-up horse notes).
A big ask was the option to download ratings for previous whole days at a time. This is now possible also. There are quite a few other areas we have also met member requests, as i have said previously I wont bleat on about them all but I hope you benefit.
A few notes for you.
1 - We are working on the ratings and you will see some improvements soon enough. We will be introducing new functionality for managing ratings and also additional standard sets, which we have tested thoroughly on several outcomes.
2 - A set of loyalty bonuses will be coming soon - we are just finalising a few issues, will be in February im very hopeful.
3 - Next System Builder Upgrade planned for end of Feb/start of March - get your requests in now and we may be able to include!
The race sponsorship, we took up as it was a last minute cancellation, so we stepped in at a very cheap rate - it was a good response in one respect but created very little in terms of new clicks etc, seemed to be more brand re-inforcement.
We really need to try and create some leads for generating new customers, at a minimal cost (ideally zero)! If you have any ideas or can help with some advice etc, please do let me know. As i always say, the site is a joint effort from us all!
Finally in this respect, besides donations, the ads on the site also produce (a very small) revenue. We keep them to a minimum as to be frank, they can be irritating, but if you dont have a Betfair account please join through the link on the site (or that one!). In my opinion the exchanges are the only way to bet and traditional bookies just dont offer a comparitive service - perhaps you disagree? Let me know your thoughts, maybe we should add a bigger range of ads!
Anyway, great to talk to so many of you via email, keep all the feedback coming and we will keep on improving the site together. Were getting there one step at a time (cheesy line but true!).
Cheers
Chris
Its been a good few days and the fun bit now is we start to actually get moving on some issues we have been working on intensively behind the scenes.
Have made a good start and this will be pretty consistent now over the next few weeks as there is much to get online. Tonight we have put on quite a bit including new functionality for jockey & trainer notes (to go with the already set-up horse notes).
A big ask was the option to download ratings for previous whole days at a time. This is now possible also. There are quite a few other areas we have also met member requests, as i have said previously I wont bleat on about them all but I hope you benefit.
A few notes for you.
1 - We are working on the ratings and you will see some improvements soon enough. We will be introducing new functionality for managing ratings and also additional standard sets, which we have tested thoroughly on several outcomes.
2 - A set of loyalty bonuses will be coming soon - we are just finalising a few issues, will be in February im very hopeful.
3 - Next System Builder Upgrade planned for end of Feb/start of March - get your requests in now and we may be able to include!
The race sponsorship, we took up as it was a last minute cancellation, so we stepped in at a very cheap rate - it was a good response in one respect but created very little in terms of new clicks etc, seemed to be more brand re-inforcement.
We really need to try and create some leads for generating new customers, at a minimal cost (ideally zero)! If you have any ideas or can help with some advice etc, please do let me know. As i always say, the site is a joint effort from us all!
Finally in this respect, besides donations, the ads on the site also produce (a very small) revenue. We keep them to a minimum as to be frank, they can be irritating, but if you dont have a Betfair account please join through the link on the site (or that one!). In my opinion the exchanges are the only way to bet and traditional bookies just dont offer a comparitive service - perhaps you disagree? Let me know your thoughts, maybe we should add a bigger range of ads!
Anyway, great to talk to so many of you via email, keep all the feedback coming and we will keep on improving the site together. Were getting there one step at a time (cheesy line but true!).
Cheers
Chris
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Clarity
Hi,
Its been a testing few weeks for us as we have been working round the clock on several items. Thankfully we can now see things starting to take shape and February is going to be a nice month of upgrades.
This blog is really to provide clarity on a few things, so as to be sure all members are aware of how the site is run and why.
Firstly we are aware some of the facilities are useful to some but not to others, thats understandable and really all we can say on the subject is simply pick and choose those you like, as most of you do already. As an example of what I am talking about, we just now added an extra tab into the Todays Tools area and as it continues to grow you will find yourself of course using certain tabs frequently and others probably never, the point really is that items appear because someone has requested them. Where we run into difficulty is when members have differing opinions on how things should be laid out. In certain scenarios we can accomodate both by introducing an option (such as the place settings) however in other cases it is more difficult.
One example of such a situation is the Class Stats in areas such as Stat Attack & the Builder, which presently display the horses record in todays race class or higher. Its always been that way and initially its what was requested via feedback. However several of you have now been in touch and quite rightly pointed out that in lower class races the statistics are basically pointless (example a class 6 race shows all runs, wins etc of races of Class 6 or higher meaning pretty much everything). In this case we will be putting an amendment through at some stage soon to create a more detailed class breakdown.
This leads me on to my second point, as readers of this blog shall know, I am always waffling on about this being a site based on member participation. The reason I do so is because its vital you appreciate this is why the site continues to grow, if it were based solely on my ideas or that of one or two members it would just hit a brick wall. But with many collectively working together we can truly achieve something magnificent. I made a plea for fair donations in my last blog and I have been pleased by the response - this too is absolutely vital, we can only proceed with adequate funding and of course the more we can invest the quicker we can achieve the site goals.
On therefore to the third point, timescales are something I realise can be frustrating. If you suggest something it may be the case you see it done within 24 hours, most actioned within a month, others take longer. It obviously depends on our workload at the time, the nature of the request and the overall benefit to the site. If you have been with us a while you will be aware of the continual growth of the site. We have huge folders with all feedback logged and it is our intention to get through everything but obviously it must be prioritised, accurate and complete otherwise there is no point.
Sometimes the most simple request can be a coding nightmare, other times whats seen as a complex problem can be resolved immediately. Thats the fun of it all i guess!
I shall sign off for now but do really hope to post a blog more regularly, now that we have managed to get through this work we have some very powerful new software to help us with the improvements to the site but also it should free up some more time.
Id like to thank all members who continue to offer such great support to the site, we honestly could not be online without you. Your loyalty is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Chris
Its been a testing few weeks for us as we have been working round the clock on several items. Thankfully we can now see things starting to take shape and February is going to be a nice month of upgrades.
This blog is really to provide clarity on a few things, so as to be sure all members are aware of how the site is run and why.
Firstly we are aware some of the facilities are useful to some but not to others, thats understandable and really all we can say on the subject is simply pick and choose those you like, as most of you do already. As an example of what I am talking about, we just now added an extra tab into the Todays Tools area and as it continues to grow you will find yourself of course using certain tabs frequently and others probably never, the point really is that items appear because someone has requested them. Where we run into difficulty is when members have differing opinions on how things should be laid out. In certain scenarios we can accomodate both by introducing an option (such as the place settings) however in other cases it is more difficult.
One example of such a situation is the Class Stats in areas such as Stat Attack & the Builder, which presently display the horses record in todays race class or higher. Its always been that way and initially its what was requested via feedback. However several of you have now been in touch and quite rightly pointed out that in lower class races the statistics are basically pointless (example a class 6 race shows all runs, wins etc of races of Class 6 or higher meaning pretty much everything). In this case we will be putting an amendment through at some stage soon to create a more detailed class breakdown.
This leads me on to my second point, as readers of this blog shall know, I am always waffling on about this being a site based on member participation. The reason I do so is because its vital you appreciate this is why the site continues to grow, if it were based solely on my ideas or that of one or two members it would just hit a brick wall. But with many collectively working together we can truly achieve something magnificent. I made a plea for fair donations in my last blog and I have been pleased by the response - this too is absolutely vital, we can only proceed with adequate funding and of course the more we can invest the quicker we can achieve the site goals.
On therefore to the third point, timescales are something I realise can be frustrating. If you suggest something it may be the case you see it done within 24 hours, most actioned within a month, others take longer. It obviously depends on our workload at the time, the nature of the request and the overall benefit to the site. If you have been with us a while you will be aware of the continual growth of the site. We have huge folders with all feedback logged and it is our intention to get through everything but obviously it must be prioritised, accurate and complete otherwise there is no point.
Sometimes the most simple request can be a coding nightmare, other times whats seen as a complex problem can be resolved immediately. Thats the fun of it all i guess!
I shall sign off for now but do really hope to post a blog more regularly, now that we have managed to get through this work we have some very powerful new software to help us with the improvements to the site but also it should free up some more time.
Id like to thank all members who continue to offer such great support to the site, we honestly could not be online without you. Your loyalty is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Chris
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thinking Aloud
Hello
You may be interested to see the new My Trends feature on the site, this allows you to test big races with year on year data since 1997 recorded. You can load them into the builder and then test as you wish, plus you can save them (and it doesnt use up a system slot!).
We are making steady progress and you will continue to see improvements as we go along. Some new tools are going to be nice additions. I dont like to waffle on about whats coming too much as sometimes it takes a lot longer than we hope, but im confident a couple of the new additions will really catch peoples imagination.
Little changes/improvements you see in different sections all come through member feedback. To give you an idea of how i see it all working, let me use the Stat Attack feature as an example. Initially i was on the bus one day and got chatting to an old mate of mine, he made a comment in passing about there being so many stats and wouldnt it be great to be able to just call up the ones you want. I then put up a very basic tool - then we received a mail from one of you guys saying "why not add this". Then we got more mails and we continued to act upon them. This will continue forever more and the tool will never stop unless there is literally no way of improving it (lets face it you can always improve anything).
I say all this because its important for members to understand what HorseRaceBase is and why it is a different type of service. I truly believe the key, is for us to genuinelly listen to feedback and act upon it. By making continual advancements for the good of all we can only grow and offer more.
Using another example to illustrate my point, there are certain categories in the System Builder i never use, i possibly never will, but members requested them and do use them. Others who didnt suggest them also now do, so ultimately the point i am ramming home is - this is a joint effort between all HorseRaceBase members.
On to a couple of other points i wanted to make. More and more we are receiving requests from people for us to supply tips - this was never our intention and we will never give a tip - but we are thinking of introducing a selections area, this will be done in an intelligent way though and be used to illustrate the benefits of the tools etc.
Next thing i wanted to mention was about the donations. I offer sincere thanks to everyone who contributes but wanted to just clarify that the €7.50 minimum donation is just that, a bare minimum we have set to ensure small-time punters and those with little income can still use the site. If you use the site every day, rely upon it for your daily activities and are in a position to do so, perhaps you should consider upping it slightly? Fairs fair.
Last thing i wanted to mention for now was a loyalty bonus we have coming up soon. Its being worked on still but we are hopeful will be ready soon enough. We need to generate additional income and will be creating further areas where we can sell e-books etc. We have always said members shall receive everything for the monthly donation and shall honour this agreement, therefore whatever we do create will be made available to all donating members at time of release as a loyalty bonus.
Shall hopefully post again soon
Cheers
Chris
You may be interested to see the new My Trends feature on the site, this allows you to test big races with year on year data since 1997 recorded. You can load them into the builder and then test as you wish, plus you can save them (and it doesnt use up a system slot!).
We are making steady progress and you will continue to see improvements as we go along. Some new tools are going to be nice additions. I dont like to waffle on about whats coming too much as sometimes it takes a lot longer than we hope, but im confident a couple of the new additions will really catch peoples imagination.
Little changes/improvements you see in different sections all come through member feedback. To give you an idea of how i see it all working, let me use the Stat Attack feature as an example. Initially i was on the bus one day and got chatting to an old mate of mine, he made a comment in passing about there being so many stats and wouldnt it be great to be able to just call up the ones you want. I then put up a very basic tool - then we received a mail from one of you guys saying "why not add this". Then we got more mails and we continued to act upon them. This will continue forever more and the tool will never stop unless there is literally no way of improving it (lets face it you can always improve anything).
I say all this because its important for members to understand what HorseRaceBase is and why it is a different type of service. I truly believe the key, is for us to genuinelly listen to feedback and act upon it. By making continual advancements for the good of all we can only grow and offer more.
Using another example to illustrate my point, there are certain categories in the System Builder i never use, i possibly never will, but members requested them and do use them. Others who didnt suggest them also now do, so ultimately the point i am ramming home is - this is a joint effort between all HorseRaceBase members.
On to a couple of other points i wanted to make. More and more we are receiving requests from people for us to supply tips - this was never our intention and we will never give a tip - but we are thinking of introducing a selections area, this will be done in an intelligent way though and be used to illustrate the benefits of the tools etc.
Next thing i wanted to mention was about the donations. I offer sincere thanks to everyone who contributes but wanted to just clarify that the €7.50 minimum donation is just that, a bare minimum we have set to ensure small-time punters and those with little income can still use the site. If you use the site every day, rely upon it for your daily activities and are in a position to do so, perhaps you should consider upping it slightly? Fairs fair.
Last thing i wanted to mention for now was a loyalty bonus we have coming up soon. Its being worked on still but we are hopeful will be ready soon enough. We need to generate additional income and will be creating further areas where we can sell e-books etc. We have always said members shall receive everything for the monthly donation and shall honour this agreement, therefore whatever we do create will be made available to all donating members at time of release as a loyalty bonus.
Shall hopefully post again soon
Cheers
Chris
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Progress
Hi,
Happy New Year.
We are making nice progress and you will see improvements coming thick and fast over the next month as we try and capatilise on the many hours of work we have put in behind the scenes.
The Builder is now on, in its new format and the feedback has been extremely positive, so thanks for that. Many of the other areas we have been developing can now be finalised and loaded up.
One thing we are launching is a daily email service. This will be of huge benefit to quite a few members and will be sent out at the night stage of updates. It will include qualifiers etc and we have several other ideas to add in as time goes on. If you do not want to receive the daily email you can opt out within your account settings. Also in the account settings is a email setting to ensure we have your most appropriate email address on file, we will be putting a prominent link to this area over the coming days so all members are aware of this new service. Finally in this regard you may want to check your junk folders if you dont receive as your server may not recognise our email address.
In terms of the development work, all is based on discussions, feedback and comments from members, so please do continue to get in touch with your ideas and wishlists. We will get round to as much as we can, as quick as we can.
As mentioned in previous blog, December was a very tough month indeed due to the lack of racing but the only way to handle this is to work even harder to move forward over the coming months.
For now i will sign off, thanks ever so much once again to all members for supporting the site as we continue to advance. This is only possible through members donations.
Cheers
Chris
Happy New Year.
We are making nice progress and you will see improvements coming thick and fast over the next month as we try and capatilise on the many hours of work we have put in behind the scenes.
The Builder is now on, in its new format and the feedback has been extremely positive, so thanks for that. Many of the other areas we have been developing can now be finalised and loaded up.
One thing we are launching is a daily email service. This will be of huge benefit to quite a few members and will be sent out at the night stage of updates. It will include qualifiers etc and we have several other ideas to add in as time goes on. If you do not want to receive the daily email you can opt out within your account settings. Also in the account settings is a email setting to ensure we have your most appropriate email address on file, we will be putting a prominent link to this area over the coming days so all members are aware of this new service. Finally in this regard you may want to check your junk folders if you dont receive as your server may not recognise our email address.
In terms of the development work, all is based on discussions, feedback and comments from members, so please do continue to get in touch with your ideas and wishlists. We will get round to as much as we can, as quick as we can.
As mentioned in previous blog, December was a very tough month indeed due to the lack of racing but the only way to handle this is to work even harder to move forward over the coming months.
For now i will sign off, thanks ever so much once again to all members for supporting the site as we continue to advance. This is only possible through members donations.
Cheers
Chris
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