[Ted Craven]

Here is how RDSS treats TrackMaster Daily Track Variant (DTV) points:

As Tom mentions above each DTV point has a time value which varies according to the the distance of the race it applies to. The formula is simply: 1 point = (.0125 seconds * number of furlongs in the race).

Thus -

1 DTV point in an 8f race = .0125 x 8 - .1 or one tenth second.
1 DTV point in a 6f race = .0125 x 6 = .075 seconds
1 DTV point in a 10f race = .0125 x 10 = .125 seconds

RDSS uses DTV points to 'normalize' race times, at the final, and also at the 2nd and 1st call points (though the impact of DTV is less the earlier in the race you are). Thus, for FAST variants (or negative values, e.g. -5) we take the time value according to the above formula and ADD it to the race final time to normalize it by slowing it down. Similarly, we SUBTRACT the time value of SLOW (positive, e.g. +5) variants from final time to speed the final time up.

If we do this equally to ALL races, we have a normalized set of times for relative comparison. Of course, all race distances and their respective final and sectional times must be equalized so the slow or fast applications of DTV are truly 'normalizing' and not 'scrambling' the race times. Equalizing race distances is a separate discussion (and often fraught with ambiguity, but we must do something).

You can make the same applications to your own software or to older software which makes use of current TrackMaster DTV info. Another thing, though, which RDSS and other Sartin software does, is optionally limit the amount of DTV time value which actually gets used to adjust equalized race times. A DTV of -40 on a Turf route race run once that day or only a handful of days per year at a track is highly unreliable: it does NOT necessarily represent inherent track/surface speed that day (e.g. due to weather, precipitation, track maintenance, etc). Rather it is as much or often much more due to calibre of competition that day and how many slow or fast horses were entered in how many different races, AND/OR the particular matchup of competitors running in some of those races. For example, many Earlies in a race (or several different races used to calculate that days DTV for the distance structure) producing a fast early pace, who then burn out and are overtaken by a gaining plodder who wins in a relatively slow time - makes that race look slow but not because of weather. Or - an Early battle where one of the Earlies puts the other(s) away and then fends off a Presser in runaway time - makes that race look fast. But it would have been slower if the competition - the matchup during the race - were different. ('A horse runs as fast as it needs to, not as fast as it can.')

So - the DTV can be influenced as much by these non-environmental factors as by any weather or track conditioning. If you accept this proposition, some people choose to use, say, 50% of the DTV time value to adjust the race times, while others choose to use all of it. Further, some choose to set boundaries on how FAST or how SLOW a DTV influence they will accept (e.g. no more than 20 points, fast/slow). This gets around the worst excesses of penalizing a fast horse a LOT because of a very high negative DTV (e.g. -40), or over-crediting a slow horse inappropriately by speeding up its times a LOT with a very high positive DTV (e.g. +35, etc).

Hopes this adds some light to the current time value system of TrackMaster's DTVs - and how you can apply it to modifying race times (and the required caveats). These various complications are what keeps the game so complex and so interesting!

cheers,

Ted

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