Sportsbook Main Features
Home       Order

For On-Screen Views of these features click on Home, then Screen Shots

'Connections' File
The Connections File is The Sportsbook's daily racing report giving out exclusive information for the day's racing ahead. As well as noting any number of positives or negatives about runners that day, Connections also reports on matters of interest such as long-distance travellers, well-bred maidens and horses holding valuable future engagements.

The Connections file enhances your racing with The Sportsbook, giving you a few horses to look out for during the day. It is available from around midday every day free of charge to members.

Evening Preview
The Evening Preview is a statistical analysis of horses running at the following day's meetings.  The standard ratings for every race are displayed along with comments for each runner and a record of their runs, wins and places at the Course, over the Distance and on the Going. The trainer and jockey are also displayed. The following comments are offered when relevant:

Regressive or Improving?
To qualify for the title regressive a horse must have shown three consecutive drops in it's Sportsbook Form Rating on it's last three outings. Likewise, to qualify for the title improving a horse must have shown three consecutive raises in it's Sportsbook Rating on it's last three outings.

Raised or Dropped?
Using the standard Race Class system (A to H), this shows all horses either running in a cumulative total of over 1 class higher (raised) or lower (dropped) per run for it's last three runs compared to today's race. For example, a horse running in a 'C' grade race would be raised had it previously run in D-D-E whereas runs in C-D-D would lead to no comment. A-B-B would gain the comment dropped.

Well-backed?
Any horse punted at under 5-1 SP in it's last two outings gains this comment.

Fancied?
Any unraced horse that is generally fancied is noted here.

BF?
All beaten favourites last time out get this comment.

Underneath each race is an in-depth analysis of how the connections have fared at the course, with wins to runs, win percentage and profit or loss. These are displayed in terms of:

Trainer at Course
Jockey at Course
Trainer & Jockey at Course
Trainer in Race Type at Course
Jockey in Race Type at Course
Trainer & Jockey in Race Type at Course

Where any of those combinations has produced a win percentage of in excess of 15% plus at least two winners plus a profitable return, that combination is underlined and displayed in bold blue.

The Evening Preview can be printed out for all races, or by single race.

This feature provides instant and very powerful analysis of every race every day. You will already know how powerful the Sportsbook Ratings are. It is staggering how many winners are thrown up with a combination of this exclusive and easily accessible information.

Course Analysis
This is accessible via the course-name button at the top of the ratings screen.  Select the course required and view all of it's meetings in the database, strike-rate and profitability for certain trainers at the course and for all trainer/jockey combinations at the course. There is also a map of the course as well as analysis of the draw for races over shorter distances.  This screen can also be accessed via the Course Info button on the Main Menu.

Bestform
When a race has been selected for rating, you have the option of running our unique Bestform analysis. This displays for each runner it's five best runs in descending order and compares those performances with the race criteria for today's contest. Where those criteria match with one of it's past best runs, the display turns red, giving an at-a-glance view of the suitability of today's race conditions for every horse. Here's a typical example:
 

Gambles Analysis
The Sportsbook has totally unique analysis of on-course gambles, displaying a full list of gambled-on horses for trainers, jockeys and accessible via the main Gambles screen from the front menu. Wherever this appears with profit and loss figures, there is normally a profit/loss figure calculated at SP, then Opening Show and, in the main gambles screen, at Tote returns. Gambles are now displayed for information purposes in every area of the form book.

On-course Gambles have been gleaned from roughly the following qualifying criteria (see tables below). On occasions, if a horse falls very slightly outside these criteria and yet it is obvious that it has been the subject of a major gamble, it may be included, particularly if this has occurred at a meeting with a strong betting market. Similarly, if we hear of a bona fide touch via our own information, we may include this providing it is very close to these criteria:


Market Moves - Gambles
2-1 > 11-8
5-2 > 6-4
3-1 > 2-1
7-2 > 9-4
4-1 > 5-2
9-2 > 11-4
5-1 > 3-1
11-2 > 7-2
6-1 > 4-1
13-2 > 9-2
7-1 > 9-2
8-1 > 5-1
9-1 > 6-1
10-1 > 6-1
11-1 > 13-2
12-1 > 7-1
14-1 > 8-1
16-1 > 9-1
20-1 > 12-1
25-1 > 12-1
33-1 > 14-1

The market can be used to generate a good source of winners in itself. By studying the Gambles section of Sportsbook Racing you will see exactly which trainers expect to pick up when the cash is down. Armed with this knowledge, you can soon check whether a gamble that is unfolding is likely to succeed. You will also get a 'feel' for market moves - 10-1 to 5-1 at Southwell in mid-winter is nothing like 10-1 to 5-1 at a Saturday night Pontefract meeting. If you wish to research the Gambles section at length, you may also find you are able to recognise when a trainer is lining one up for a tilt - or at least the type of horse and type of race he or she favours.

Hot Horses
Every week our race-readers select a handful of horses to note.  These are forwarded to you in the second of the twice-weekly updates.  Click on the Hot Horses button to see if any are running today, then hear what we say about them in that day's Connections file.

Trends Analysis
Trends Analysis allows you to instantly see which horses have shown aptitude for today’s race conditions and also to analyse chosen races in virtually an unlimited way via a system of selection boxes.

Select one of the today's races from the menu and the runners will now be displayed showing all their past runs, preceeded by a profit or loss figure. This is the level-stakes return you would have received had you invested £1 every time that horse had run.

You can now use various selection boxes to mask for particular runs. For example, if you wished to view how all horses in the race had performed over 7f on Good ground, simply select "7f" and "Good" as your criteria and all performances over 7f on Good ground will be displayed, with the appropriate profit & loss figure.

The program will also search for any horse that is proven at today’s Course, Distance, Course & Distance, Going, Jockey and Grade. It will show all of a horse's performances at those criteria, displaying their strike-rate and a profit & loss account along with today’s race conditions, the horse’s full form line and profit/loss and then the qualifying criteria and it’s form line and profit.

The Trends Analysis feature gives you instant information about a horse's suitability to current race conditions. It is the sort of analysis that would take hours if done manually!

Power Form
Accessible from the Main Menu, Power Form enables you to browse through every runner, race-by-race, to view it’s last three races and how the runners from those races previously and subsequently fared. It gives you a unique insight into the strength of each horse’s form. The form displayed shows the first eight runners home.

Value Analysis
Gives a display of relative value prices for that race based on The Sportsbook’s race ratings. When you have entered the Value screen, you can simply select further races for analysis by clicking on the race-box.