[Free] Printable Racecards

[Desert Orchid]

I started a thread on this back in March but don't see it.

With the RP switching to the beta format it fvcked up my study procedures something serious.

Many people on here gave generously of their time to try to help me resolve the issues and I really am reluctant to impose on people again but needs must!

I managed to buy myself nine months' grace by using the RP Bloodstock site, which continued until the other day to publish the cards in the old format that I could copy & paste effortlessly on to a Word 2003 document (I really don't like Word 2010 as I find it too cluttered). During the past week they've migrated that site to the beta format so I'm struggling.

Just to recap, the printable cards at the various sites mentioned (RUK, ATR etc) can be printed off but they do use a lot of paper and ink. The GG printable cards look the least wasteful.

The problem is, they don't allow me to edit them according to my needs.

A couple of chaps kindly got in touch privately to help but we also hit problems. The best-fit solution at the time involved the Mail Online cards which could be migrated (if that's the right word) to Excel. There were a lot of editing issues beyond that and led to an awful lot more work ahead of just getting through the form but it was better than anything else offered. Thanks to that kind soul for his help!

So we're back to square one.

If there's anybody out there in a position to help...

All offers of said help appreciated in advance.

 

[walsworth]

I have been searching for several years now to find a way to import race cards into Excel which I use to crunch the numbers for my ratings.

I use HRB to do it at present, and it works very well and is worth the money as far as I am concerned, as I use it for other purposes as well.

I have recently come across BetfairGuru from which you can download the days cards in CSV form. Save the file to your computer and then open a new blank work book in Excel and import the CSV file as a text file. It is a bit fiddly I must admit, but still faster than typing the data manually.

You can now extract the particular races that you are interested in and analyse them on another Excel sheet in any way that you wish. I intend at some stage to write a Macro to suit my existing ratings sheet at some stage but for the moment I will continue with HRB.

BetfairGuru can be found at: www.betfairguru.co/free_Racecards

HRB is at: www.horseracebase.com/horse-racing-today.php?raceid=7489366&viewselection=1

 

[Desert Orchid]

I managed to buy myself nine months' grace by using the RP Bloodstock site, which continued until the other day to publish the cards in the old format that I could copy & paste effortlessly on to a Word 2003 document (I really don't like Word 2010 as I find it too cluttered). During the past week they've migrated that site to the beta format so I'm struggling.

It looks like I'm back to square 1 with this difficulty.

I handed my 12-year-old laptop in to the local computer shop to update it but the chap said my "pensioner" was uneconomical to repair.

He let me have a 3yo rebuild for less than the repairs to the other would cost and, by and large, it's not too bad a machine.

However, it uses Word 2010.

I spent a couple of hours the other night trying to get W2010 to do what I'm used to doing with my old W2003 (which I find really easy to use for my purposes).

I'm willing to persevere with W2010 if I can find ways of using it that are in the same ball park of easiness as W2003 but I think the layout needs a total de-clutter.

The biggest problem is editing according to my needs. For some reason it doesn't seem to want to let me do that.

 

[walsworth]

I've never found any version of Word very easy to use to be honest but I do like Excel, although but I'm by no means an expert!

 

[Grasshopper]

I was able to easily export BHB racecards into Excel for the Cheltenham handicaps*, and then just delete the field/columns I was interested in.

Worth giving that a go, DO?



* Fat lot of fu*cking good it did me.

 

[Desert Orchid]

Thanks, guys.

I might experiment with the BHB stuff but ultimately I'll want to copy and paste the fields into a Word document and edit from there.

I really just need W2010 to behave like W2003.

 

[walsworth]

I don't really understand what you are trying to do with Word.
Are you using tables to calculate some figures?
If so it is a lot easier to use Excel.

 

[Desert Orchid]

No, W. I do all the calculations on paper using my brain and, if necessary, a calculator.

The editing I need to do is just that - editing: table layout, cell alignment, etc.

The programme I use to import from the RP to Excel was very kindly provided by a forum good guy. I have no idea how it works but it's brilliant for me. I then copy and paste the card tables from Excel into W2003, and from there edit it so that it all fits on to a landscape document (the only way to get all the columns on to the page at Font size 9.

I'll try and copy a recent race on here so you can see what I mean. You might look at it and make easy sense of it! I just type in the ratings and notes and then sort the table from top rating to bottom. I see no facility in W2010 to sort tables. All the other info in the tables is in the imported Excel doc.

I'm typing this on my new laptop so I don't know if it will copy the same. If not I'll fire up the pensioner.

4.20 DIAMOND JUBILEE STAKES (GROUP 1) (BRITISH CHAMPIONS SERIES) (Class 1) (4yo+) Winner £396,970 14 runners 6f Soft ITV4 (STALLS Centre)
[TABLE="width: 1306"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]No.
[/TD]
[TD]Draw
[/TD]
[TD]Form
[/TD]
[TD]Horse
[/TD]
[TD]Stats
[/TD]
[TD]Days
[/TD]
[TD]Age
[/TD]
[TD]Weight
[/TD]
[TD]Trainer
[/TD]
[TD]Jockey
[/TD]
[TD]OR
[/TD]
[TD]TS
[/TD]
[TD]MON
[/TD]
[TD]Notes
[/TD]
[TD]RPR
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 10
[/TD]
[TD] 13
[/TD]
[TD]1110-1
[/TD]
[TD] Starman
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Ed Walker
[/TD]
[TD]Oisin Murphy
[/TD]
[TD]116
[/TD]
[TD]105
[/TD]
[TD]122
[/TD]
[TD]p
[/TD]
[TD]132
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 2
[/TD]
[TD] 3
[/TD]
[TD]2118-1
[/TD]
[TD] Dream Of Dreams
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 33
[/TD]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Sir M Stoute
[/TD]
[TD]Ryan Moore
[/TD]
[TD]120
[/TD]
[TD]121
[/TD]
[TD]121
[/TD]
[TD]+
127t
[/TD]
[TD]134
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 7
[/TD]
[TD] 11
[/TD]
[TD]191-42
[/TD]
[TD] Nahaarr
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]William Haggas
[/TD]
[TD]Tom Marquand
[/TD]
[TD]115
[/TD]
[TD]112
[/TD]
[TD]121
[/TD]
[TD]+p
[/TD]
[TD]131
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 5
[/TD]
[TD] 6
[/TD]
[TD]1121-4
[/TD]
[TD] Glen Shiel
[/TD]
[TD]CD bf
[/TD]
[TD] 28
[/TD]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Archie Watson
[/TD]
[TD]Hollie Doyle
[/TD]
[TD]117
[/TD]
[TD]122
[/TD]
[TD]118
[/TD]
[TD]s
[/TD]
[TD]130
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 1
[/TD]
[TD] 8
[/TD]
[TD]1644-6
[/TD]
[TD] Art Power
[/TD]
[TD]C D bf
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Tim Easterby
[/TD]
[TD]Silvestre De Sousa
[/TD]
[TD]114
[/TD]
[TD]117
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]128
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 6
[/TD]
[TD] 7
[/TD]
[TD]119-35
[/TD]
[TD] Happy Power
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 35
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Andrew Balding
[/TD]
[TD]Jim Crowley
[/TD]
[TD]113
[/TD]
[TD]114
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]128
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 11
[/TD]
[TD] 10
[/TD]
[TD]324114
[/TD]
[TD] Summerghand
[/TD]
[TD]v D
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]David O'Meara
[/TD]
[TD]Daniel Tudhope
[/TD]
[TD]110
[/TD]
[TD]109
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]125
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 8
[/TD]
[TD] 5
[/TD]
[TD]416-53
[/TD]
[TD] Namos
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 20
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]D Moser
[/TD]
[TD]William Buick
[/TD]
[TD]109
[/TD]
[TD]99
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]122
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 9
[/TD]
[TD] 14
[/TD]
[TD]4577-1
[/TD]
[TD] Royal Commando
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 84
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Charles Hills
[/TD]
[TD]Kieran Shoemark
[/TD]
[TD]109
[/TD]
[TD]94
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]125
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 4
[/TD]
[TD] 1
[/TD]
[TD]0/1242
[/TD]
[TD] Garrus
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 33
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Charles Hills
[/TD]
[TD]James Doyle
[/TD]
[TD]108
[/TD]
[TD]105
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]124
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 12
[/TD]
[TD] 12
[/TD]
[TD]5561-5
[/TD]
[TD] Ventura Rebel
[/TD]
[TD]p C D
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Richard Fahey
[/TD]
[TD]Paul Hanagan
[/TD]
[TD]108
[/TD]
[TD]104
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]119
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 14
[/TD]
[TD] 4
[/TD]
[TD]230-31
[/TD]
[TD] Sonaiyla
[/TD]
[TD]tv D
[/TD]
[TD] 17
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]9-0
[/TD]
[TD]P Twomey
[/TD]
[TD]W J Lee
[/TD]
[TD]108
[/TD]
[TD]115
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]125
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 3
[/TD]
[TD] 2
[/TD]
[TD]8-2337
[/TD]
[TD] Emaraaty Ana
[/TD]
[TD]D
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]9-3
[/TD]
[TD]Kevin Ryan
[/TD]
[TD]Andrea Atzeni
[/TD]
[TD]107
[/TD]
[TD]109
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]123
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] 13
[/TD]
[TD] 9
[/TD]
[TD]-62129
[/TD]
[TD] Final Song
[/TD]
[TD]C D
[/TD]
[TD] 38
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]9-0
[/TD]
[TD]Saeed bin Suroor
[/TD]
[TD]Frankie Dettori
[/TD]
[TD]107
[/TD]
[TD]103
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]125
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[viking]

The sort facility is available in Word 2010 (Microsoft don’t usually remove features just reposition them so folk can’t find them [emoji4])

Select anywhere in the table.
Select Table Tools Layout > Sort.
Choose your sort criteria: Select the column you want to Sort by. To sort on a second column, select Then by and select another column. Select Ascending or Descending. ...
Select OK.

The table tools menu appears in a new tab above the ribbon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[walsworth]

So difficult to follow simply from screen shots but I would think it would be easier to do this directly on Excel rather than get involved with Word.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do!

 

[walsworth]

I have managed to convert the download from Betfair Guru to suit my Excel sheet with only one problem. The course and/or distance indicators “C” and “D” are not recognised by Excel. I'm guessing that they are in some sort of graphic format. The only way I can enter them is to type in a separate column alongside and then delete the original column. No great problem for me as I rarely consider more than three races per day.

 

[walsworth]

I have solved the problem of getting the CD etc into my worksheet.
When they are downloaded from the Betfair Guru site they look like this "CD | |"; I deleted the vertical lines and that was a mistake. If I leave them exactly as downloaded, they work perfectly in my Excel formulas.

 

[walsworth]

I have been trying to post a table from Excel to illustrate my method of working but cannot figure out how to do it.

 

[walsworth]

I have realised that using the Betfairguru download with my Excel sheet has one advantage over using HRB, it contains the form line for horses that have raced in France. This can make quite a significant difference to my ratings but does not happen often, usually only in class 1 races. To be honest I am not sure if this also applies to horses that have raced in other countries.

 

[walsworth]

The Betfairguru site has changed the order that the racecard details are presented in which has caused me some confusion.
It's mucked up my macro quite a bit but I think I can rescue it without having to start over.

 

[Desert Orchid]

This has been brought to my attention via another platform.

I haven't followed the link yet myself, just putting it out there.

Don't know if this interests you but Simon Rowland posted this on Twitter and seems to think one of the responses is quite workable.

"What is the best free service for printing off declared GB racecards, without too much clutter and in a timely manner? I seem to spend half my life waiting for them to appear and trying to avoid all the associated paraphernalia.Crucially, must NOT have any sort of betting forecast. Don't want to be swayed in forming my own."

The relevant reply suggested this https://www.racingandsports.com/form-guide/thoroughbred/united-kingdom/brighton/2021-09-06

By clicking on customised form guide you get this starter for ten

https://www.racingandsports.com/form-guide/thoroughbred/united-kingdom/brighton/2021-09-06/custom-race-guide.


As an aside/update, I'm getting the hang of working with Windows 10 and Office 2010. Only been two months...

 

[Desert Orchid]

I've just clicked on the links.

Might be an interesting enough read but doesn't fulfil my needs, which are to be able to save an editable Word doc card and re-save once I've added in my own ratings, annotations and synopses.

 

[walsworth]

Will take a look later when I’m on the computer.

A bit less cluttered than some but still too difficult for me to import into Excel.

 

[walsworth]

I have just noticed another bug in these BetfairGuru downloads; occasionally the form line can fool Excel into thinking that it is a date. Not a major problem but I have to watch out for it.

 

[walsworth]

These race cards can be easily imported into Excel. backthathorse.com/

 

[Desert Orchid]

Cheers, walsworth.

Unfortunately they don't tie in with my needs.

 

[Grasshopper]

TBH, your Word 2003 software is likely to fold in on itself pretty-soon, DO. They've long since stopped critical updates for that version, and it probably isn't as robust as you'd like from a security perspective.

If I was you, I would be thinking about updating my software......and if I was doing that anyway, I'd be thinking about moving from a Word-based to an Excel-based approach for race study.

With even a rudimentary bit of learning you would - I'm sure - find it so much more flexible in terms of copying data over from RP and other sites, creating custom fields (e.g. race times in seconds, your own ratings), deleting data you're not interested in, re-ordering your data by weight carried, OR, your own ratings, days since last run etc.

Learning how to use it purposefully would take a bit of effort, and be a bit nippy as a result, no doubt, but it is certainly not beyond your intellectual ken. As a tool, Excel is a much better than Word for supporting your race analysis, and I think it's worth you having a crack.

 

[walsworth]

Would certainly agree with that and I’m sure there are enough of us on here to help.

 

[viking]

If upgrading MSOffice software you might want to consider an Office365 subscription. This supposedly updates your Excel and Word apps automatically whenever MS issue an update. I got this last year and you get 5 licenses so family members can also benefit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Desert Orchid]

Guys, your suggestions and input are seriously appreciated and leave me feeling really humbled but I think you over-estimate my IT literacy.

To recap, I really don't know how to use Excel. I'm hugely indebted to wilsonl for furnishing me with pretty much an idiot-proof Excel program that means I only have to copy and paste the internet address from the RP at-a-glance version of whole meeting cards (it doesn't work with individual races) into the program and it comes up with a spreadsheet from which I can copy and paste on to Word ahead of editing and formatting and then printing.

After that, my tools are hard-copy form, calculator, pen and brain. For the Flat and occasionally for the jumps I also use the old Raceform Standard Times (which I still find more accurate than the current RP ones although they appear to be at last 'harmonising - after about 15 years!).

Then I transcribe my ratings back on to the Word document, do a little more editing and formatting to sit well on the page, and finish off with a nice red wine or a beer/Guinness.

I did have a subscription at one point to Raceform Interactive and to the RP but neither was truly compatible with my MO.

I do wish it were possible to do more electronically but I'm too limited in my knowledge and set in my approach.

By the way, I got a new laptop last summer and use Office 2010 (I think it is). I've got used to it now and can do pretty much what I need in terms of editing and formatting.

Thanks again for all your input.