Non-standard race times to be trialled in February 2020

[MAGTRADEUK]

dont think it will work any better,. horses dont wear watches.

[arbitrage16]

Been really happy with these non-standard times, not always perfect but having a 7 minute gap is far better, especially on the jumps.

But we have always had non-standard race times, it's nothing new ... when was the last time you saw races going 'off' on time?!

Yep, so with 7 minutes instead of 5 between races, it's fairly clear which approach is better at avoiding clashes

[firlandsfarm]

Yep, so with 7 minutes instead of 5 between races, it's fairly clear which approach is better at avoiding clashes

Sorry, can't agree ... it all depends on what time a race actually starts and finishes ... the scheduled time is irrelevant unless it coincidentally is the same as the start time. A two minute difference in the gap between races is useless if the race starts 3 minutes late ... unless all races start 3 minutes late!

[dt888]

The whole thing just seems bizarre the way they have gone about it. Surely the first step should have been to get races off on time before introducing any other changes. Then these changes could have been looked at if step one was successful.

It seems a lazy way to try and address the problem. Then you get these strange instances of just one race being a non standard time today, or the other day when leaving it at the normal time would have been a 5 minute gap and the non standard time made it a 2 minute gap!

[arbitrage16]

Yep, so with 7 minutes instead of 5 between races, it's fairly clear which approach is better at avoiding clashes

Sorry, can't agree ... it all depends on what time a race actually starts and finishes ... the scheduled time is irrelevant unless it coincidentally is the same as the start time. A two minute difference in the gap between races is useless if the race starts 3 minutes late ... unless all races start 3 minutes late!

So by your logic it's better to have less time between races to avoid clashes. Riiight. You've just cherry picked a random example to make your point which is a terribly flawed method of argumentation. All courses try to get their races off on time. Indeed, they have a competition to find who is the best at it. Giving them more time between races is obviously helpful in avoiding clashes.

No wonder you can't tell which way the market is going.

[firlandsfarm]

Yep, so with 7 minutes instead of 5 between races, it's fairly clear which approach is better at avoiding clashes

Sorry, can't agree ... it all depends on what time a race actually starts and finishes ... the scheduled time is irrelevant unless it coincidentally is the same as the start time. A two minute difference in the gap between races is useless if the race starts 3 minutes late ... unless all races start 3 minutes late!

So by your logic it's better to have less time between races to avoid clashes. Riiight. You've just cherry picked a random example to make your point which is a terribly flawed method of argumentation. All courses try to get their races off on time. Indeed, they have a competition to find who is the best at it. Giving them more time between races is obviously helpful in avoiding clashes.

No wonder you can't tell which way the market is going.

Let's just correct a few things and clarify the record shall we ...

I didn't say anything was better (or worse). I just said the scheduled time means nothing, what really counts is the actual time.

I didn't cherry-pick anything (cherry-pick: (VERB) to choose and take only the most beneficial or profitable items, opportunities, etc. from what is available). I didn't actually select any "random example", all I asked was when races last started on time. If that's cherry-picking then the whole world is a cherry-pick!

So seeing as I didn't follow the course you claim I wasn't using a "terribly flawed method of argumentation" (but I would agree with your assessment if I had).

I didn't say courses didn't "try to get their races off on time" so don't see the relevance of that within this context.

Obviously having more time between races is generally beneficial, I haven't said it isn't. I repeat all I have said is that the scheduled time is of lesser importance than the actual time.

I don't see any way in which my contestation that it's the actual time that counts and not the scheduled time can have anything to do with my ability to tell which way the market is going but maybe that's where I have been missing out. Is there a formula I am not aware of, something like PriceTrend=[Probability Factor] x [Market Positions Factor] x [Scheduled Race Time Factor]?

I hope the above has helped you to understand my post. I apologise if I over complicated it.