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FAQ

A constant work-in-progress…


Q: What’s new for 2020?

A: Here is the list


Q: Why isn’t Expert as good at the “same-race” exotics – Exactas, Trifectas, etc. – as it is with winners?

A: Expert follows in the great Hor$ense tradition of ranking the horses in their likelihood of winning. This is opposed to the ranking being in the expected order of finish.


Q: Why don’t you expand to be able to handicap the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont?

A: Let’s take these one at a time. As for the Kentucky Derby, it’s been a cavalry charge for decades, and it’s the ONLY race in North America that allows more than 14 horses… that’s enough for me to skip it. Until they reduce the field to 14 entrants, I recommend that you handicap it however you do it now. As for the Belmont, it's not in the cards. The main reason is that there just aren't enough “marathon” races run to justify the additional work that would be needed. Also, with so few races to use for testing, there's more guesswork to the Speed, Finish and Pace/Trip analysis than I find acceptable. You can still handicap without those and use Expert for all of the other work.


Q: If Hor$ense is supposed to be so good, why aren't you handicapping for a living?

A: Why take the fun out of it? I've never thought of this as a vocation but rather an avocation.  Not too long ago, I used to say that I needed a job with steady income and benefits and do some saving for retirement. I’m now retired so it’s merely a nice way for me to stay ahead of the game on a smaller scale.


Q: What brings you the most pride, in being on the “leading edge” of something in handicapping?

A: This is an old question, but one that is dear to my heart.  Every handicapper is familiar with the “layoff lines” in the Daily Racing Form, which came out in 1992. Well… my customers had the "form marking" procedure outlined for use in Hor$ense V4, as early as the middle of 1990. It’s great to know that I was providing and using the feature before the DRF customers had it available to them. As a summer upgrade for 2019, you can find them in the Form Print option (only when sending it to a Word file). You’re welcome!