What is your HTR "go to" Rating?

[Inglewood Flamingo]

What is the one rating that you go to for all of your main betting decisions in HTR? Ken has blessed us with so many great choices but I tend to feel that most look at a specific rating most of the time.

K, HTR Consensus, WK, FC and the VEL screen are the ones for me typically, but I would love to hear everyone else chime in. I bet multiple win bets in most races as well as trifecta and superfectas so maybe that plays a role in how one uses HTR.

Thanks in advance.

[Huguenot]

Tough question, there are so many weapons to use. I generally use the "K" as a contender selector only. For my final picks, I'll use PER, IMP, F3, PAC, sometimes F1 on biased tracks. WK is huge obviously. Sometimes LV and AP.

[ClockerQ]

That's the problem. I find myself looking for a consensus from K, KMS, HTR. Then I scan the FIG2 and look at VEL. Instead of scanning the sheets, I should be delving into more of the ratings like both of you mentioned. I use them in my spot play research but I don't pay enough attention to them in my regular handicapping. I learn and get new ideas everytime I read new posts on this board.

There are so many choices it makes it hard to develop a strict, disciplined system. At least for me. Still working on it.

[Judicious Player]

I'm a bottom-feeder. I look for positive factors on the horses in the bottom half of the K hierarchy unless there's a K112+ or better on top. I especially bottom-feed on races with velocity indexes of less than 25 ... It makes me money! :D

[edw]

...velocity indexes...

I searched this website, the PA website, and the folder that holds all my HTR related information (newsletters, glossaries, etc.) and could not find this term. JP, could you please explain it or point me in the right direction to learn about it?

[Rick]

Try Vi.

Found in the top header on all the screens except Chart.

Vi=33

[Freddy]

I always thought that was the Volatility Index. The lower the number the more vulnerable the favorite. I am wrong, no?

Freddy

[edw]

Rick,He used the term "velocity" not volatility but considering the value in his example and the context, I'm guessing it was just a typo and that your understanding is correct. Now, all we need is for Ken to create a velocity index with an average win % >= 25 and an ROI of 1.5 per $1.00! .

[Rick]

56. Vi – Volatility Index ranges from 15-50. The lower the number, the less likely the favorite will
win the race and greater the likelihood of a longshot or chaotic outcome. 30-34 is the average range.
A high Vi indicates the greater probability that the race will be won by the favorites. The Vi is
computed for each race in the top header of all reports.

No. You are right. It is Volatility Index.

http://homebased2.com/km/pdf/HTR%20Glossary%20of%20Terms%20and%20Symbols.pdf

[km]

HTR's most valuable resource is the ability to research independently. So the key "go to" factor is really ourselves. There is a price to pay for success in any field and that usually means time and energy sacrificed to acquire more knowledge.

Someone can produce the very best shovel in the world. Among people who buy that shovel, many will complain that digging is "too much work", "too time consuming", "too hard" - and therefore the shovel is a "piece of crap" and they toss it. Winners know a good shovel when they have it and will keep digging until the inevitable paydirt.

[Judicious Player]

I'm a bottom-feeder. I look for positive factors on the horses in the bottom half of the K hierarchy unless there's a K112+ or better on top. I especially bottom-feed on races with velocity indexes of less than 25 ... It makes me money! :D

My mistake -- I meant volatility index, yes.

[Judicious Player]

HTR's most valuable resource is the ability to research independently. So the key "go to" factor is really ourselves. There is a price to pay for success in any field and that usually means time and energy sacrificed to acquire more knowledge.

Someone can produce the very best shovel in the world. Among people who buy that shovel, many will complain that digging is "too much work", "too time consuming", "too hard" - and therefore the shovel is a "piece of crap," and they toss it. Winners know a good shovel when they have it, and will keep digging until the inevitable pay dirt.

Amen, Ken ... That is why, even though we are all using the best data in the business, some of us win and some of us still lose. HTR is a palette of paints. Some of us become able to paint like a master, and some of us still draw stick-figures.

I found the HTR learning curve, for me at least, to be about 1 year. It took that long before I found a way for HTR to work for me, and it was frustrating along the way ...

FYI: I don't do much with the K Ratings, and I never use MaxVel. I'm always trying to position myself for the big payoffs, which is why I tend to bottom-feed ... This is my way. It works for me. There are plenty of great HTR users, and I'm certain my way differs vastly from other ways that win money. I'm not saying, "My way is the most unique. Look at me." Not at all. I'm just staying that I don't think there's a pilot's checklist, if you will, that will work for everybody.

[ClockerQ]

I found the HTR learning curve, for me at least, to be about 1 year. It took that long before I found a way for HTR to work for me, and it was frustrating along the way ...

FYI: I don't do much with the K Ratings, and I never use MaxVel. I'm always trying to position myself for the big payoffs, which is why I tend to bottom-feed ... This is my way. It works for me. There are plenty of great HTR users, and I'm certain my way differs vastly from other ways that win money. I'm not saying, "My way is the most unique. Look at me." Not at all. I'm just staying that I don't think there's a pilot's checklist, if you will, that will work for everybody.

Since I'm 6 months in and still searching, I take heart in your comment that it took you a year. While I download everyday, I don't have a lot of time to work on the learning curve. I'm a part time player. I put in about an hour or 2, 2 or 3 days a week. I'm curious as to how much time you were able to devote to learning HTR. I'm looking forward to retirement. Then I'll have no excuses:)

I seem to be following your path. I basically refer to K ratings only an as initial guide and I also never use MaxVel. I look for ML Fav Very Vul, and Wide Open and Bombs Away races. From there I look for the best looking longshots. $$ horses and ones with highest category ratings. I know some (most?) here don't even look at the sheets or any other PP form. I can't get away from that. Do you still include form/sheet analysis when you handicap a race or do you just handicap by ratings?

[Judicious Player]

Since I'm 6 months in and still searching, I take heart in your comment that it took you a year. While I download everyday, I don't have a lot of time to work on the learning curve. I'm a part time player. I put in about an hour or 2, 2 or 3 days a week. I'm curious as to how much time you were able to devote to learning HTR. I'm looking forward to retirement. Then I'll have no excuses:)

I seem to be following your path. I basically refer to K ratings only an as initial guide and I also never use MaxVel. I look for ML Fav Very Vul, and Wide Open and Bombs Away races. From there I look for the best looking longshots. $$ horses and ones with highest category ratings. I know some (most?) here don't even look at the sheets or any other PP form. I can't get away from that. Do you still include form/sheet analysis when you handicap a race or do you just handicap by ratings?

Clocker,

In the learning phase, I devoted about 3 hours a day (race days only) with HTR. I'd handicap on paper, and then check the results. Soon enough (a year later -- lol), I realized what worked for me.

I still buy the Racing Form, only because I'm used to how it presents visually. I like to see the running lines the way they're presented in the Form. I don't use The Sheets. Ultimately, it all boils down to us. Like Ken says, "HTR is a shovel" and some of use walk away from the hard work.

As the years pass, I think all winning players operate from what I call a "learned intuition", and I couldn't really tell you how I actually arrive at a lot of my selections, which, I know, sounds odd. But none of them come from one source. Some of them come only from the running lines in the Racing Form.

I am primarily a form-cycle analyst, and it's more art than science. To be honest, analyzing from that perspective can be done fine enough with only a Racing Form, as I don't think the computers yet do a very good job with that aspect of handicapping. Even Ken will be the first to tell you that.

Stick with it! I'm glad that I did! -- HTR has become part of my "learned intuition" ...

One last thing: when you've used HTR long enough, you can figure out on your own who the $$ horses will be, and who the Wk 85+ horses will be, and who the 85+ FC horses will be. (Try it.) This means that HTR helps you think like a winner!!!

JP