Horse Racing

Now & The Future

2011-05-09T00:42:00.002+01:00

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

Upgrade Provisional Date

2011-05-04T00:18:00.003+01:00

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

Progress Update

2011-04-26T18:17:00.003+01:00

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

Dull but worthwhile

2011-04-11T18:44:00.002+01:00

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

Review

2011-03-31T21:39:00.003+01:00

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

Scream

2011-03-28T03:09:00.002+01:00

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

Update on the update

2011-03-22T00:15:00.002Z

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

Important Site Update

2011-03-14T18:29:00.003Z

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

Little Details

2011-03-01T14:18:00.002Z

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

One Step At A Time

2011-02-10T02:46:00.002Z

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

Clarity

2011-02-03T01:09:00.002Z

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

Thinking Aloud

2011-01-20T02:18:00.005Z

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

Progress

2011-01-02T22:53:00.002Z

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

Snow

2010-12-28T13:50:00.001Z

Hi all,

I hope you have all had a great christmas.

For me personally, when the snow first arrived I was delighted in a childish kind of way and really enjoyed those first couple of days with my son playing and making snowmen and even an igloo! The loss of racing was an annoyance but like most, I felt it was only going to be for a couple of days. As its turned out the continued so called 'Cold Snap' has wiped out a huge quantity of racing and like all horse racing related businesses we have really felt the effects both financially and in terms of hindering plans we had made.

All i can really say is we will have to work even harder now over the next couple of months to try and remedy some of the damage.

The System Builder upgrade is now just about ready and you will now see a link on the homepage to a test environment where you can see the new layout. This will go live and take over in the coming days, providing no issues arise. Like some of the other upgrades we have done in the past much of the workings behind the scenes have been on making it easier for us personally to make future improvements, this has definitely been a success. Im hopeful users will find it a lot easier to navigate/use and look forward your feedback as always.

2011 is going to be a big year for HorseRaceBase and we have so much lined up in the way of improvements and additions. Im sure you will all play a big part in our continued expansion and would like to again say thanks for your support.

Lets just hope we can actually get some racing on and then we can get stuff moving!

Everyone have a fantastic new year, i shall post again soon.

Chris

System Builder - Major Upgrade Work

2010-12-10T12:10:00.006Z

Hi

We will be rolling out a large upgrade of the System Builder over the next couple of weeks and Im hopeful a test version will be online by this time next week.

Because it is a very large change, we will be putting it onto the site and running simultaneously as the current version, thus allowing members to offer feedback, report any bugs etc and ensure we do not have any major issues. Once ready it will of course take over.

The main purpose of the upgrade is to make the Builder more user friendly and easier to understand for a novice, plus highlight the huge power available for current users. If utilised correctly the Builder offers phenomenal capabilities, its our intention to make these easier for members to exploit.

However saying all that, there are some very useful new categories and tune-ups also going on.

We will also be making some other site improvements before the New Year as and when we have them ready.

Id like to offer my sincere thanks for all members feedback and request you please do keep it coming, the site is built on your comments, questions and ideas combined with our own. It truly is a joint effort, in this respect please note its only possible through members donations to continue to improve and indeed exist - so please do consider giving more than the minimum amount each month if your in a position to do so.

Remember as well to tell as many other people who you believe may benefit from the site as possible. Join the affiliate scheme if you have a website.

Thanks

Chris

Onwards & Upwards

2010-11-24T14:46:00.002Z

Hello,

The site continues to progress and you may have noticed the addition of a horse notes section. This allows you to store your comments on horses and access them at any time. Right now this is limited to viewing the horse record, however it will be expanded so they appear in other areas. This is a very important addition as its another step towards offering members a complete management service for their horse racing studies.

We will be putting quite a few more improvements on consistently over the next couple of weeks. The System Builder is going to be upgraded again soon and our works behind the scenes in this respect are advancing at a pleasing rate. We have had much feedback in this area and as ive mentioned previously, tutorials, help and an easier interface are commonly requested by newer members. All of these issues are key in our plans.

In terms of new tools, i have gone past the stage of announcing dates as quite simply i cant guarantee when they will be ready, however we grow closer on many each day.

The affiliate scheme we set up is very much in its infancy and we do need to add banners etc to help people who join and wish to advertise the site. Nonetheless if you have a website, blog or whatever i would urge you to join up and help HorseRaceBase continue to attract new members (as well as earn yourself something in the process). Its been shown the most effective method is text links anyway.

The improvements/upgrades list continues to grow and grow, thanks to the excellent feedback we receive. Members should feel very proud of this as each little (or big) addition you see to the site is only possible thanks to members donations and feedback. So i urge again, whatever you have to say, even if its criticism or seems unrealistic, let us know. We record everything and our aim is to achieve all at some point. In this regard, please note we reply to all emails and should you not receive a reply, check your junk mail folders. Additionally if a comment in the suggestion box (feedback form) requires a reply - we do send an email.

I shall write again soon. Thanks for your fantastic ongoing support, we are going in the right direction.

Chris

Update

2010-11-15T15:35:00.004Z

Hello

The site is progressing nicely. We have many more improvements being finalised. It is our intention to do a lot of work to the help and examples, plus layout in certain areas to continue the project focusing on being more user friendly.

Additionally we will be introducing some features with people physically using the tools to help assist people unsure of putting the tools to good use.

If you have a website, blog or whatever you can help us and earn some money for your efforts by joining our affiliate scheme.

The ratings machine v2 is now in full flow and we will be introducing some more example sets soon, the current example set has flaws when applied in certain scenarios and is literally an example set created to explain the workings. The big advantage of the new set-up is its far easier to make changes and upgrade where needed. Keep checking back as you will note new options becoming available and these may prove beneficial to you.

Please do continue to offer your feedback, many thanks for your support.

Will post again soon

Chris

RMv2 Launch, Loyalty Scheme & More

2010-11-03T01:22:00.003Z

Hello.

Over the next week we will see the launch of the RMv2 plus some more tidy ups and the start properly of the loyalty scheme.

There will hopefully be no major headaches but we will be keeping the existing ratings machine (now to be referred to as the old one) running for a period of time until members are happy enough with the switch over.

The RMv2 when launched will have full features ready to go such as ratings on one page etc plus downloads. Additionally there will be some new areas not currently available on the old ratings machine.

Your feedback will be invaluable during this period so keep it coming.

Another change will be the removal of the existing My Homepage - this has become outdated and basically useless as many parts of it no longer function as areas have been upgraded, it will be replaced with a members home area with links to all areas available to them as still many members dont seem to realise all the functions and facilities on offer to them as part of being a donator (our fault).

A large part of the work that will be done this week is to try and introduce a more user-friendly feel to the site, this will be followed up on consistently in November and we have projects planned for the System Builder also.

Also we have done some work on improving the look of the site to new visitors and this will be added too - this is to try and get better conversions, improve search engine ranking and generally create a better impression. At the moment a new user is faced with too many links stating 'donators feature' or whatever and not enough info on all thats available.

We have three new tools also approaching completion plus some massive additions to the System Builder being finalised, so its an exciting time for us all - this is only possible with members support, both through donations and feedback, so thank you. We do need to get more people on board but have had some good ideas and are working with some good people to hopefully improve significantly in this respect.

I shall post again soon. We are getting there.

Chris

One headache overcome

2010-10-19T17:17:00.002+01:00

Hello,

Since my last post we have had a real nightmare trying to rectify an issue on the
RMV2 backdating facility. We believe we have now rectified the issue and will of course monitor it over the coming days, we are now working on additional features for RMV2 and also several other ongoing developments.

So although this has held us up, its such an important feature that eventually will be a major selling point for the site (ability to actually test performance of any set of ratings in the past) its certainly been a worthwhile delay.

Hopefully i will post again soon with some good news on progress.

For now, thanks for your support and keep your feedback and comments coming.

My thanks to those members who took notice of the mention in my last post regarding increasing member numbers. This has led to a few new avenues of potential being opened, which we are hopeful something will come of.

Obviously for any business to be successful it must earn money to pay the bills, our focus ever since we developed has been solely on developing the site, working with members to improve consistently. Our hope of course is the good word of mouth and knowledge of the site will grow, which it has, however we (specifically I) must realise extra effort must be made to get the word out there and to do a better job of highlighting the uniqueness of the site and the power of the facilities.

This is of course never an easy thing to achieve, particularly when working on a very small budget, but there is no point making excuses as it can be done.

Anyway as always, my thanks to all members and its onwards and upwards.

Talk Soon,

Chris

Getting There

2010-10-05T15:43:00.004+01:00

We have made some really good progress and will hopefully be making some massive headway during October.

Firstly there is a loyalty bonus programme for this month - thanks to all of you for all your support, lets hope something good comes of the loyalty programme!

Next, we have finally finished the Stalls Analyser for draw bias etc. We have had some nice feedback already, so thanks for that. We are very pleased with it so far.

This is actually what was holding up the Ratings Machine V2 project the most. We will therefore now be able to move along with the development here and at this stage our hope is the launch of the working machine is not too far away. When it launches we will introduce it to all the main places on the site but the old Ratings Machine will be available for a while to help members who wish to use ratings their to help set up in the RMV2.

In my next blog i will write a lot more about that but for now some things do keep changing behind the scenes so no point misleading people in terms of definite dates etc.

As mentioned earlier, October should be a big month so its onwards and upwards. Keep the feedback coming, there are many many of your plans in the pipeline.

Finally if you are able to mention the site to friends or anyone you believe would benefit, please do so. Despite the loyalty of our members we still have very small numbers and a real problem with getting the sites name out there as we are almost solely reliant on word of mouth. The site MUST grow in the next few months and we really do need all members support, so again thanks.

Chris

Improvements/General Update

2010-09-16T16:11:00.002+01:00

Hey all,

You may have noticed the new Stat Attack Extra feature, which we added. This was as a result of a few members feedback - so thanks to them for getting the ball rolling. Its always interesting to see how people take to new tools and this one has gone down well with quite a few of you and the feedback has been great so watch out for some more developments and improvements to it in the next while.

The System Builder Upgrade we are working on is coming along very nicely and although i cant give a guaranteed date at this stage expect it soon. The upgrade will include some new categories, improved features and more. Its going to be great.

The Ratings Machine V2 continues to take up a lot of our time and we are hopeful over the next week we will get the Stall calculations on and also some additional features so we are close to how it will actually be at launch.

In this respect it is important current users of the Ratings Machine are aware this will be replaced by the V2 and although we will run both simultaneously for a short period it will be removed completely once things settle down. As the V2 works on a completely different structure there is no way to simply move settings across and it would be a foolish move on our part to attempt to do so.

Please keep all feedback coming - thanks to all members for your continued support, the site genuinelly would not exist without you.

I will write again soon.

Chris

Ratings Machine V2 in first working format

2010-09-09T02:19:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

After what has been a testing few days we now return to getting things moving again and progress.

The RMV2 is now loaded in a first working test format - basically this means it should all work but we need to run plenty of tests on it and ensure all calculations etc are being formulated correctly. The only section we are still finalising is the Stalls - ill give an update on this in my next blog.

The HRB Test set we have loaded has literally just been created now using a relatively standard approach, at launch time we will obviously have put more thought in and tested substantially for whatever we decide to include as our standard set.

Anyway, i shall not waffle on and just say thanks very much to everyone for your continued support, which is really fantastic and by working together we are gradually getting there.

Ill post soon, hope to hear from you with any feedback at all you may have.

Chris

Problems

2010-09-06T05:16:00.004+01:00

Hi,

I had hoped to bring better news at this stage but instead im afraid i must say there have been several issues, all culminating tonight in a complete system crash.

We have had to completely restore the whole thing and unfortunately you may have lost some data saved in the last couple of days. If you have i am genuinelly and sincerely sorry.

Please contact us with any issues and we will try our best to help.

This period of development has been a particularly difficult period and all i can really say is thanks for your patience and be aware it will all be worth it.

Again my sincere apologies if you are one of those whose data has been lost. We have restored as much as we can.

The development is getting there and i guess with advancement there are sometimes disappointments on the way.

The one positive is that we got most of it back. But the stuff thats corrupted is no use to anyone.

Ill post soon. Sorry again

Chris

RMV2 Update

2010-08-26T03:16:00.004+01:00

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback you have been providing on the RMV2. We have made some more amendments and tidied up the code considerably.

We will obviously continue to work on it over the next few days, so please do give your feedback during this time while amendments can still be made.

You will notice considerable amendments to the strike rate bonus areas - this is vital and a huge improvement as previously the scores being produced were very very similar in many cases - now they can be set up to really maximise your preferences.

Soon we will have a phase of actually looking at ratings in action each day, with a reasonably standard test set. That will be after we and you are happy with the basic layout and options available - so as i say please do get in touch with any comments at all.

Remember to email us or use the feedback form with all your thoughts.

Cheers

Chris

Ratings MAchine V2 - Test format

2010-08-16T02:35:00.003+01:00

The V2 Ratings Machine has been loaded to the site in test format - there is a link to it at the top right of the site. As we have tried to plaster all over it - its in test format, so dont be worrying about actual ratings created or spending ages at this point creating your preferences.

The purpose at the moment is to get feedback on the usability and functionality.

I shall be writing more in the coming days - for now ill let you make your own judgements and get in touch. Email me or Jamie and we will be glad to hear from you.

The advance cards/systems and fresh update of info addition to the site has really gone down well with most members, thanks to all who got in touch and expressed their support.

The site is coming along nicely and we are hopeful our goals for 2010 will be reached - but i must say we are really only at the tip of the iceberg and there are a huge number of improvements and new features in the pipeline. All of them have came from member feedback and there are plenty more in development. We will get through them all just as quick as we can.

As i say i shall post again soon - please do take the time to get in touch with any feedback at all you have - even if its a broken link or a mis-spelling.

By working together we truly can create a complete horse racing website - were well on the way.

Site Changes

2010-08-05T06:33:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

Just to confirm a few changes to the site.

We will be adding a new feature from 10th/11th August with the introduction of advance cards. This will mean the information for the next days racing will be online at approximately 2pm each day. At the same time we will be running an update for all that days conditions (ie going changes, update of odds forecast etc.).

Therefore the new process will be of benefit to those who like the opportunity to view data for the next day earlier and also those who would benefit from an update on the days conditions just before racing commences each day.

The new process will involve 2 ever-rolling stages.

A) Approx 2pm (ideally before first race of the day) - update on all 'todays racing' plus cards for 'tomorrows racing' put on in advance format.

B) Overnight/before 8am - results put through, advance cards updated and changed to be 'todays racing'.

In addition the Ratings Machine V2 will be introduced in a test format, certain sections are still not finalised but there is no harm in users playing with what is ready and offering feedback etc. The aim now is to go live with the new version of the machine by September, but obviously this will depend on how things go.

Finally there are many more improvements, tidy-ups and new features which will be added as and when we complete them including some substantial improvements to the system builder.

If you have been in touch and we have agreed to an upgrade, please be patient, you will see your suggestions being implemented soon if you have not already. We reply to all emails so please check your junk folders etc if you do not receive a reply.

Thanks to all members for your ongoing support - the site is really getting there and a hugely significant part of that is down to members loyalty and feedback.

Chris

Stalls hold up

2010-07-13T23:32:00.004+01:00

Hey

One of the things i must say as part of what we are doing here is how difficult it is to obtain decent information when creating projects such as these. Our priority is ensuring accuracy and in particular on the stalls project we are continually hitting brick walls as we try and finalise the data. Its apparent there is no consistency to where the stalls are placed.

I appreciate this is done to obtain better ground or for various other reasons but purely from a statistical point of view it is extremely important and many people just are not aware of this element.

Anyway this blog is short and sweet to say the RM V2 will be online in a test format ASAP and all the other items i mentioned in my previous blog will follow shortly thereafter. Certainly I am confident we can get it all done for end of July/start of August.

I shall write again soon when the Ratings Machine V2 is up in test format.

Chris

Timeframes

2010-06-25T13:17:00.002+01:00

Hey all,

We are really delighted with how things have been going behind the scenes, we have made some fantastic progress with the Ratings Machine V2 and also some major new System Builder upgrades.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know some approximate timeframes for stuff actually going live.

Firstly in order to meet some commitments made to a few members we will be introducing some new categories to the Builder, this will happen hopefully this Sunday/Monday, certainly before the end of June.

In early July we shall be introducing a test format of the Ratings Machine V2, i will write more at the time but the idea is to get as much feedback as possible and see if anyone can break it.

In mid-July we will be implementing some major improvements to the System Builder including the introduction of some much sought after categories we have been gathering data on for some time. Additionally some layout improvements will be made as an optional new face for the builder. I say optional because we will not remove the screens as they are now, instead having a user specified choice.

The reason for this is because many new people simply cant comprehend how to build a system and we therefore must cater for their needs and introduce an easier layout helping them build simple systems. What can be done with the System Builder is astonishing yet the vast majority do not understand or fulfill its potential - it is our responsibility to try and change that.

The Ratings Machine V2 shall not go live till we and you are completely happy with it, however it is aimed we shall do so around the 18th July.

In amongst all this we have lots of new content and improvements to other tools plus the roll out of another new section/tool, i dont have definite timeframes but im confident most of it shall be on by end of August.

From August we have plans to introduce much needed structure to the load times to the site, this is hopefully going to include an early load with advance cards for the following day, an update once all results are in and then a refresh before racing commences each day to include updated going, odds etc.

Further developments are also in progress but i shall write about them in my next blog. Please do keep getting in touch with me and thanks for all your support.

Chris

Progress and the Derby

2010-06-04T10:09:00.003+01:00

We are starting to really make some headway now and have seen quite a lot of improvements go on, although its fair to say we arent even halfway there yet.

The new tools have some great feedback coming and please do keep it coming as by fine-tuning them the benefits are felt by all.

The Stat Attack tool was based on a suggestion made by one of our long-standing members so again if you have an idea of a tool you think would be helpful, no matter how outlandish it may seem, please do give me a shout and tell me - at the worst if its not possible we can look at it and maybe figure out another way.

Plenty more cleaning up and optimisation is required, this will all hopefully come to a head this month and next with some major improvements all over the place, some more new additions and finally the launch of the Ratings Machine V2 which i must say is really coming along great.

We will put up a trial version first and let members play with it and see what feedback we get.

Its obviously a big weekend with the Derby and all the talk has mainly been about the Coolmore horses and of course the removal of the big antepost favourite St Nicholas Abbey and the choice to send a couple over to France for their equivalent. Im not really an antepost betting man but feel for those affected, however thats surely the nature and risk of the type of bet being placed and those who are whining claiming its more than bad luck are barking up the wrong tree.

The other major news i think is Kieran Fallon taking the ride on Al Zir, this is just another indication of the respect his riding abilities are regarded in throughout the world. He is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite flat jockey and i am still often left aghast at some of the rides he gives.

Overall i dont think this is the best Derby we shall see, but i hope to be proved wrong. One positive is i believe its really quite a wide open affair and their will be value about. Mind you, Jan Vermeer has a fantastic chance but i dont like the price much.

Getting there

2010-05-26T15:41:00.003+01:00

We are slowly but surely getting there, although its still a working progress.

Ive put up the statistics page which now works in a far more efficient manner, although its still only got a few categories and will grow over the coming months. All feedback will be gratefully received.

Speaking of feedback, we have had lots, some positive and some negative - the point really is, it all helps. The feedback is what helps us continue to grow. So dont be afraid to just say whatever your thinking. Also if ive said we will do something and its not yet done, dont despair, it just means were working on it.

We have done most of the SEO work on existing pages now and its a case of continuing to improve and spot areas we could do better in.

Im very hopeful the next couple of months will be extremely rewarding for our loyal members, thanks again for all your support.

Continued Improvements

2010-05-19T16:54:00.002+01:00

A quick ramble to say the improvements are going to keep continuing over the next couple of months at quite a rapid pace. We have many things half-done or close to completion and are tidying up areas also as we go.

Your feedback is invaluable and i would urge that you continue to contact us with your thoughts.

Not everything is possible of course but at the very least we will add it to our wish list.

I wont go into too much detail about whats coming as ive disappointed myself before and found its not as close as i think!

What i will say is that the Statistics section should be online within a week or so and is a massive improvement on what we had previously. It is also a fantastic learning tool for the System Builder.

I will stay true to my word and be posting more regular blogs and tweets as soon as we get through this period of sustained improvements and growth, its really important for now we utilise all our time on making the site easier to use and more appealing to new customers, plus ensuring existing members have the functionality they desire.

Security

2010-04-24T18:35:00.003+01:00

We have worked overnight and all day today adding additional security measures to the site and will be further improving these as part of a forthcoming major upgrade.

Im really grateful for all members support and also the excellent suggestions which, keep coming in.

On the note of gratitude its worth mentioning the guys at Flatstats who have been most co-operative, which deserves credit as in this world its rare when people do unselfish things.

The collateral form tool needs to be made a little more user friendly and we will be continuing the development in the coming days. i will write another blog soon with details of proposed date for upgrade.

Punchestown has served up so many stories this week but its been some period for Mullins, id say its beyond his wildest dreams.

Also, if anyone has any comments on any new tools which may be useful, please do let me know and we will add to our future improvements.

Hacking issue

2010-04-24T02:03:00.002+01:00

This evening i was contacted by FlatStats (another horse racing database service) informing me that HorseRaceBase had been subject to a hack in January of this year.

One minute later this site also posted a message on their forum advising people of the same thing, this was followed by someone describing our site as suspicious.

Before speaking on the hack issue, let me state categorically HRB is certainly not suspicious. I created it personally and thanks to your support it keeps growing (to the point now where clearly someone views us as worth targetting). Every single thing we do comes after discussion with members and the nature of the site is completely based around honesty and integrity. I am confident enough in my relationship with members to believe this will shine through.

I appreciate fully if you have read anything else before visiting HRB the hacking sounds bad and would immediately apologise to anyone who was alarmed and also to those who may have received junk email, which being completely honest may obviously have arisen as a result of this.

The only information held in the HorseRaceBase members account is your login, password and email address. Nothing else. We do suggest in our help guide that all members change their password regularly but i know myself, this is something we all very rarely get round to. Please do so now. There is a link on your homepage once logged in.

Feel free as always to email me if you have any concerns at all. We shall be taking every step possible to ensure this doesnt happen again and along with several upgrades and new features will be implementing additional security checks at each point (behind the scenes) very soon.

Again my apologies for this issue and thanks for your ongoing support.

SEO Lessons

2010-04-02T22:01:00.003+01:00

Sometimes its actually quite a relief when you realise your mistakes. I know now after some serious studying on the search engine optimization side of things that I have made plenty in terms of the design of the layout etc on the site.

You see, i started this all out as a hobby and it gradually grew until i took it on full time, initially all i thought about was putting up tools etc and unfortunately i was a little naive in terms of my thinking people would just come. Ive always known word of mouth was pretty much our only way of attracting new customers (as things were) but ultimately that barely covers the bills (because only a few people telling a few others still doesnt make lots of people!) and obviously to succeed long-term (which we shall) a much broader audience must be reached.

So a complete redesign of a lot of things (annoying things in all honesty!) has been carried out and a much more structured and sensible approach will be introduced shortly.

Im aware of sites doing overhauls in the past (one rather famously) and making a total balls of it and in fact driving people away, so i will certainly not be going down this route. Basically all that will change are positive things and at the same time we will introduce some new tools etc that have been in the pipeline for a while.

Much of the work is merging pages together, avoiding duplication of keyword phrases and introducing appropriate title tags and (and other mundane dull aspects that are seemingly all important).

The massive positive really is the reputation of the site, we have always done things by the book and that does show. So with the improvements to come we will take another huge step towards where we want to be.

Much of that really is down to the fact the tools on the site are excellent and with your feedback we keep improving them, if we could just get a few more people to come and try them we would be in business! We shall get there!

In other news but a large part of what ive been doing, i will be setting up another loyalty bonus for existing members, most of you have been around for a while and really we are so grateful of your support.

The Ratings Machine V2 project is moving along nicely and we are genuinelly excited (how sad is that!?!) about its introduction hopefully within next few months.

The Bookies Festival

2010-03-25T12:59:00.002Z

Well thats that, the festival is over and the real winner was no doubt the bookies. Saying that though any horse racing fan although disappointed with some of the outcomes can not be anything other than delighted with the action we saw.

It was literally one cracking race after another. From a punting perspective with so many high profile losers it came down to getting a few higher priced ones up and you would probably be up. I got lucky on a couple of outsiders so it wasnt too bad for me personally.

I was at Cheltenham for Gold Cup day and although its packed and going to the loo or buying a pint is an ordeal its a day id recommend to anyone. Absolutely fantastic spectacle and experience.

With all the hype on Denman and Kauto it was of course Imperial Commander who ended up winning and it must be said quite convincingly. The sighs and groans, oohs and aahs from the crowd as the horses jumped round were really something that stick with you. Everyone there was living every moment. Kautos fall brought tears to the eyes of a guy near me, who then proceeded to just sit down and look in disbelief. It was weird.

Personally my betting does not increase just because its Cheltenham, i view everything as equal and its either a betting opportunity or its not - just because its high profile doesnt mean you should change your approach and risk going broke!

The site is moving along ok. We're still working ridiculous hours on some ongoing projects but we are making some nice progress. Over the next few months you will see a number of new features, improvements and a new styling to help navigation and presentation.

The feedback form has worked well and plenty of you have suggested things, many of which we have added already and others in progress.

Onwards and upwards

2010-03-12T10:57:00.002Z

A pretty boring few days if im honest as it feels like all i was doing was transferring files, waiting, testing, reloading, testing again and so on.

But its now done and we have successfully added 19 new categories to the builder as well as improving the options on another couple.

The placings categories now allow you to specify 'No Prev Run' which was a common member request and can be useful in queries. We also extened the distance beaten and distance won ranges for more flexibility.

The new categories include 1 year form stats for jockeys and trainers, statistics on horse performance in National Hunt Handicap sphere and some nice new criteria ranges such as the position in Prize Money won, Decimal Points ahead of next runner and position of age in the race for each horse (ie youngest, oldest etc).

All in all, were delighted to have this done as it means we can begin to move along many other issues which have been on hold.

Of course Cheltenham is on the way and this causes great excitement to all of us involved with horse racing. The focus in all the papers is on Denman v Kauto and its great for horse racing as even my family members with no interest in horse racing are all of a sudden asking questions.

As ive always said, racing needs these types of characters and stories to really highlight the good side of the sport. That said, im still a little disappointed more hasnt been done to really maximise the potential of getting horse racing on the front pages, although i see Harry Findlay and Clive Smith were out and about doing there bit which is a nice touch.

From a horseracebase perspective, there is much we need to do and it really is onwards and upwards from now. I will keep you all up to date in this blog with developments etc, im going to try and write at least a couple of times a week.

A quick waffle

2010-02-23T11:48:00.003Z

Its been another frustrating few days because of the weather, with several horse racing meetings having to be abandoned as a result of frost, snow and general awful conditions.

Ive often wondered what the horse racing board take into account when they consider rescheduling bigger races, for example at Doncaster recently the Mares Hurdle and the Lightning Novices were saved but the Sky Bet Chase was not. I asked the knowledgable people on the racing forum and received a great link to the following blog by Ruth Quinn, Director of Racing at the Horse Racing Authority. http://www.britishhorseracing.com/goracing/blogs/racing.asp

On to HorseRaceBase news, with the first mini System Builder upgrade done, we are now focusing on the major upgrade, which is moving along very nicely indeed. I reckon it will hopefully go ahead in the next few days, possibly Sunday but ideally before. Once thats done there are a whole host of further upgrades to start processing for the site.

Ive decided to use this blog as a way of listing the improvements as they go on. So when we do anything in any way significant ill list it on here.

Ideally i want to be writing the blog every day or at least every couple, with more insight into racing each day, the tools i use personally and discussion on the talking points at the time. But its important to concentrate fully for now on the pending issues with the site.

One very important feature to be added soon, will be the Speed element. Its something we are commonly questioned about, in terms of when it will be ready. To combat previous issues we had, we will now have standard times, adjusted times and a HRB speed rating, created by comparing times to standard and performing a calculation based on several different factors. People can then use whatever they want, if they are interested in Speed.

Racing vs SEO websites

2010-02-16T11:55:00.005Z

Since we started HorseRaceBase it has grown considerably in terms of features offered, this is because our focus has always been on responding to user requests, adding new features and improving on the existing horse racing tools.

One area i have to admit i have not focused enough on is the SEO (search engine optimization), but in the past few months, we have been trying much harder. Its a strange and sobering realisation when you stick 'horse racing systems' as an example into google and cant find your own website. Obviously this isnt good enough and we must do all we can to improve.

There are two sides to this of course, the first is that patience is a strong virtue of mine and im thankful thats the case, because there is nothing that can be done overnight. In fact it takes many months for any SEO activities to start to take effect. One great disappointment ive had is with the hiring of an expert. Im still in negotiations to do so but most seem to just waffle on about the same old things promising first page rankings etc!

This is very similar to horse racing websites in some ways. It seems the norm is to simply keep on promising endless winners and flash giant profit figures across the screen.

It seems for every one of these racing sites promising yachts and mansions, there is an SEO company promising they can make you number one on google for any phrase of your choosing.

Clearly the similarity of the two is this - just as the phoney racing site may well give you a few days profit, the dodgy SEO crowd will possibly get you ranked top for a few days thanks to whatever tactics they adopt. But after a very short space of time reality will hit in and as the bookies get the better of you on one side of the fence, Google & Yahoo will be adjusting their algorithms to sort out the dodgy methods on the other.

So in one losing scenario your broke, in the other your website is banished from the search engines. Both are fair outcomes in my opinion for the lazy 'seek the quick buck ' attitude.

Our own approach to horse racing has always been to be completely honest - ie - its not easy and you will have to put your own work in, but our tools will certainly be a huge benefit. Im looking for an SEO company who are doing the same!

Information overload!

2010-02-12T18:16:00.000Z

For the past couple of weeks we have been working round the clock on getting some new information ready for the system builder. It will hopefully be passed across after horse racing has finished this evening.

Its been pretty hectic and at times it feels like the endless spreadsheet and database checking etc is starting to take over. When i close my eyes at night i see lines of data! Nonetheless it will be worth it and will give some more horse racing categories to breakdown (requested by users).

Still ongoing are the Speed and Stall data projects. Both of these will be rolled out soon.

The stalls in particular are really frustrating - just when you think you are getting there, something new crops up and as its all about accuracy, you often find its two steps forward and eight steps back!

For example at many of the tracks sometimes stalls are placed in the centre for 5 furlong races, other times they are attached to the rail - whats irritating is that when your backdating and gathering this data, often it feels like it was just whatever suited at the time!

It will be great once ready though as all the horse track stall analysis i have came across is incorrectly collated, using a numerical sort and then showing results. This is of no use at all if on some days the stalls went from high numbers on the inside and then at other times low numbers!

Like all the projects we undertake its getting the older data and verifying it thats the main issue, keeping it up to date is far easier (thankfully!).

An example of this was the stallion data. It took us ages but now we just update for each time a new horse runs and its working out really well with some great information easily at hand to perform statistical breakdowns on.

Thats all for now - back to spreadsheet lands for me now!