Racing Post Charge

Any idea when we'll be able to login to the site again? I've only got over three years of speed ratings saved in there lads, take your time.

I think it's an absolute shower personally, it obviously wasn't tested enough and there are several features missing. It's been designed more by IT experts than racing experts.

If there was a viable competitor they'd be screwed.
 
there isn't enough contrast imo..it's a bit bland looking and things like the race distance don't stand out enough...I find when reading form I am struggling to spot the actual race distances when viewing past races

it's not an improvement for sure...which basically means they have wasted their time/money changing it...there seems to be "change it for the worse" attitude in lots of things these days...why change unless you move forward?... would be my question.
 
Would also point out that Helium got a 16 point higher RPR for winning a Class C at Warwick than he did for running second to a Grade 1 winner at the best course in France. Won't surprise me if he gets a higher rating still today.

A friend of mine has started work at the new RP online and one thing I suggested to him was the Full French Form book - for both flat and jumps, there aren't all that many meetings to keep up with and they only seem to update the form book when a horse runs in the UK that has already run over there.

Any more ideas for the online section I might be able to pass on to him?
 
There should be separate sections for the cards and results, rather than having them side by side on the same page.

I would far rather the old site tbh.
 
Irish,

Feel free to forward any of my posts, the crucial one being the lack of recent form directly below the race card. Mouse clicks are just never a match for scrolling.

Secondly, a more user friendly archive search area (too small)

Pass my email address on to him as well, if you wish. As a previous project manager delivering software, I always have time for those trying to update/improve systems. (I did forward an email to the RP, but along with others I have sent about with errors in their stats, I never got a reply)

Lastly, for those 'trenders' among you, be aware that if you are looking at races in the future the 'days since' figure may reflect time-now not as to when the race will be run.

My trend analyses tend to have fairly strict 'days since' groupings i.e. 1-10, 1-25, 1-30 and so even looking at tomorrows cards I need to add a day to that grey figure on the racecard.

MR2
 
Irish Stamp said:
A friend of mine has started work at the new RP online and one thing I suggested to him was the Full French Form book - for both flat and jumps, there aren't all that many meetings to keep up with and they only seem to update the form book when a horse runs in the UK that has already run over there.

Any more ideas for the online section I might be able to pass on to him?
Click to expand...

How about they concentrate on getting the British form correct. They still don't make it clear whether a race has been run on a straight or a round course where the course runs the same distance over both - e.g. 1m at Ascot.

The annoying thing about this is that they obviously have it flagged in their database since they apply different standard times to them.
 
I received a reply from Tanya Stevenson, after raising the issue with C4 racing. She emailed:

'Hopefully in the not to distance future we can list the positives re the Racing PostWebsite. All comments have been forwarded and the Racing Post have acknowledge there have been many technical issues.'

Whilst appreciating the reply, if the RP are simply concentrating on technical issues, they are ignoring what really drives software package purchase and success, i.e. user friendliness - this being the achilles heel of the current issue.

MR2
 
It's growing on me, actually.

I like it that you can access a horse/trainer/jockey etc from the database now without it navigating away to another page to display the results of your search.
 
It should be fine now it's speeding up, The thing that really annoys me is in the results when you hover over that little yellow cursor (tipped by x) on the winner. Pointless and annoying considering they are only displaying such info on the horses that win, not that that are tipped and run like drains.
 
I, too, am using the site more effectively but it still remains frustrating and having adjusted my working method I fail to see how much better the site could be. So, appreciating this is not truly scientific, I tested the site in the following way.

Test 1 - from windows to tomorrows alphabetical runners list, to the state at which I could freely scroll up and down.

Test 2 - same starting point to tomorrow's full racecard at Lingfield , once again to the state at which I could freely scroll (I was very careful to avoid 'touching' any runners in the RP card because this could delay the end point).

Results Test 1 SL 17.3 seconds - RP 32.5 seconds

Results Test 2 SL 12.2 seconds - RP 43.6 seconds

Without a change in the software architecture, I have my doubts wether my frustration will be lessened

MR2
 
I think there is a serious opening in the market for Timeform to become the leading racing website. It's data and analysis are second to none (imo), and if it incorporated news and some features onto it's website with some regard for the functionality required by the average racing enthusiast, it could soon become the main racing website. It could still operate on a subscription or credit basis but perhaps offer standard results for free, or a tiered subscription service.

The only sticky point is video & race archive access.

The timeform jury is doing well, and could be using as a PR/Selling point, and there is nothing stopping them publishing a weekly scaled down weekend paper, in the vein of Racing ahead but at a much much higher quality.

It's link up with Betfair provides a strong ally and there are serious prospects if the powers that be at Timeform are looking to grow and expand their business.
 
Agree with that - anyone looking to take the RP on needs to come with a lot of data and a lot of added value with it (ratings!).
 
Hamm said:
I think there is a serious opening in the market for Timeform to become the leading racing website. It's data and analysis are second to none (imo), and if it incorporated news and some features onto it's website with some regard for the functionality required by the average racing enthusiast, it could soon become the main racing website. It could still operate on a subscription or credit basis but perhaps offer standard results for free, or a tiered subscription service.

The only sticky point is video & race archive access.

The timeform jury is doing well, and could be using as a PR/Selling point, and there is nothing stopping them publishing a weekly scaled down weekend paper, in the vein of Racing ahead but at a much much higher quality.

It's link up with Betfair provides a strong ally and there are serious prospects if the powers that be at Timeform are looking to grow and expand their business.
Click to expand...

Had a chat with one of the Timeform directors at the Derby awards and they are certainly looking to extend their free racecard service to include "spotlight" type comments which are race specific. Their certainly is considerable scope for them to elbow their way into this market with different ranges of pricing options.
 
Rory,

Would they consider more of a swinging arm than a gentle elbow, and have their site incorporate news, reports, (more) previews etc?

The Sportsman has come into my head lately what with the debacle of the RP (not to mention the disgraceful price increase) and I strongly feel there is a serious opening here. Timeform are respected for their knowledge and ratings, the Jury is doing well, Betfair would be a more than useful ally and Jim McGrath is widely known as a figurehead.

They have shown they are willing to try and capitalise on the RP shooting itself in the foot by offering free insights and cards last weekend; hopefully, that is only a stepping stone.

DavidJohnson - have you got any thoughts on this?
 
Hi Hamm

I don't know if you are aware of the site at http://form.horseracing.betfair.com but it encompasses all the form and results of British and Irish racing and also the last perspective entry for each horse and these are also available at the 5-day stage.

My area is very much a case of producing and analysing the data and ratings, I don't feel qualified to answer any queries you have on how that has been or is likely to be marketed in the future. Apologies if that sounds a bit of a cop-out, but I don't want to write anything on here that could potentially lead you up the garden path. Any suggestions or queries you have are far more likely to get a better response from timeform@timeform.com.

Thanks for the comments on the Jury service by the way. Some peaks and troughs, but at the moment the peaks in advance of the troughs and hopefully it can continue. I can tell you I was almost in tears as Aigle D'Or got chinned in the Greatwood to complete a weekend of cross-bar bashing!
 
wonder if its being put back to how it used to be (as they are changing it in line with feedback....)

I expect they have decided its FAR too accecible, and they need to change it.....
 
Back
Top