February/March, 2008                                 VOL. 22, NO. 2

SEE INSIDE THIS MONTH'S ISSUE FOR...

>> 9 Years and Counting!
>> FREE Daily Clocker Reports 2/23-24
>> Santa Anita - All Weather Track Biases
>> Sire Stats 2008 now with ALL WEATHER Ratings!
>> February/March Racing Calendar

Congratulations go out to veteran tournament player and longtime member of Brisnet.com, Richard Goodall, on his outstanding victory at the 9th annual DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. Goodall is pictured with his wife, six-time qualifier Sally Wang Goodall, accepting the trophy and $500,000 grand prize.

Goodall, like last year's winner Stanley Bavlish, was an original member of BRIS back in the pre-Internet era of the late 1980s. He is a regular Ultimate Past Performance user. Goodall crushed more than 270 qualifiers with a bankroll of $272.30. He was $76 ahead of another Brisnet member, Don Beardsworth, who collected a hefty $150,000 for second. This was by far the largest margin of victory in the history of the NHC.

"I will be a member of BRIS for another 20 years," stated Goodall at the NHC Awards Banquet at Red Rock Casino.

For the first time in this event the NTRA paid down to the top 30 finishers. No less than 17 of those cashing were Brisnet.com members, bringing home an aggregate of $773,400 in prize winnings.

2000 champion Judy Wagner was well behind after the first day, but her resolve and determination paid off on day two. By nearly doubling her bankroll on Saturday, she won $1,500 in day two prize money and another $5,000 for finishing 15th overall. Wagner switched to Brisnet products years ago and has been a regular user of the Winner's Choice and Ultimate PPs ever since then.

Another Winner's Choice user fared very well at the event. 6th place finisher Robin Buser was a late entry in the event. "I just wanted to drop a line and let you folks know that your 'WINNER'S CHOICE' sheets for Saturday, January 26 came in quite handy in my preparation and performance in the NHC Championship at the Red Rock. During the 2nd day of competition, I scored place money on selections CANDY BALL (Fair Grounds 9th), SOLDIER'S DANCER (Gulfstream 10th) and CARVAJAL (Tampa Bay 3rd). My play of the day was nailing STAR BROOK in the 7th at Tampa Bay at 10.5 to 1!"

I finished 6th overall and was only $10.90 behind the 2nd place finisher! Not bad for qualifying with less than 48 hours notice before the beginning of the tournament, as an alternate due to the original qualifier having claustrophobia and failing to get on his flight to Vegas at the airport on Tuesday (see article by Dave Tuley in the Friday, January 25, 2008 edition of the Daily Racing Form). Thank you for your assistance." -- Robin D. Buser

To date all nine winners of the National Handicapping Championship are members of Brisnet.com. Members have accumulated nearly $3 million in earnings since this popular event began.

Congratulations go out to all the members who participated in the Las Vegas championships. Six of the top 10 finishers in the Coast Casino Horseplayer World Series, including the top three overall, are also members of Brisnet.com.

Brisnet representatives were there at both events to support the many members participating who did not have access to a computer or printer.

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In a game where the handicapper must make numerous assumptions and assessments in every race, the keen insights of an experienced clocker can help the handicapper make a more accurate analysis. That's where Handicapper's Report (HR), one of the most popular workout services out of California, comes in.

To showcase the Handicappers Report service, Brisnet.com is offering free access to the following Santa Anita reports on Saturday, Feb. 23 and Sunday, Feb. 24:

• HR Daily Clocker, $16 value
• HR Daily Performance Ratings, $16 value
• HR Horses to Watch In Today*

Each report provides you with access to the private clockings and personal observations of racing's most respected private clockers. How can this improve your game? The information contained in the HR Daily Clocker Reports will give you a better view of the current fitness and ability of the horses you're considering to wager on or against. Also, the information contained in the Clocker Reports can give you a unique perspective on a horse that can't be inferred from the past performances. And, since the information provided by HR's private clockers is not widely disseminated, it has tremendous wagering value.

To help instruct players on the use of these products, HR's own Steve McDonald will provide his analysis of those cards in the FREE Handicapper's Edge newsletter at Brisnet.com. Log on that weekend, download the free reports and then read McDonald's write-ups in the Edge. This is going to be a very instructive tutorial that no handicapper should miss!

Currently available for Southern California and New York, Handicapper's Report DAILY CLOCKER REPORTS is a tool that can give you an edge at the windows. Try it today and take advantage of the upcoming free weekend for Santa Anita!

* in the event Santa Anita cancels, a future HR promotion will be scheduled and notified of customers on the website.

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It's been over two years since the first ever race in North America was contested on synthetic track. In the fall of 2005, Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky debuted Polytrack and since then several racetracks and training centers have either switched over to that surface or a similar, competing all-weather track.

It's widely known that the new synthetic tracks have helped level the playing field, particularly for horses lacking early speed. Statistics from the comprehensive Brisnet.com database certainly back up that perception in most cases. In this month's segment we're going to look at the Cushion Track at Santa Anita.

SANTA ANITA

Comparing the past summer's Cushion Track meet to the previous year's bias data for Santa Anita's dirt course, we see a slight decline in the emphasis for early speed at the two most popular sprint distances, 6 furlongs and 6 1/2 furlongs. In 2006 at 6 furlongs, 38 percent of the races were won in gate-to-wire fashion. The success rate of front runners dropped to 31 percent, based on the 67 races run at this distance. The need for good tactical speed has remained roughly the same.

The wire-to-wire rate actually rose at 6 1/2 furlongs, as seven of the 21 races were won in this fashion (33%) compared to a nearly identical 32-percent rate in all of 2006. Amazingly, the average beaten lengths at the first call was 2.08, exactly the same average for 114 races in 2006.

At both 6 and 6 1/2 furlongs, over 93 percent of the winners were within five lengths of the lead at the first call. It has proven difficult to win from very far back.

Twenty two races were contested at 7 furlongs, and only one horse was able to wire the field during the entire Oak Tree meet (4.5%). In 2006, 38 percent of the 56 races were taken wire-to-wire.

The most notable change has occurred with the post positions. Whereas in the past the rail and inside posts (1-3) were preferred, that has been the exact opposite case since Cushion Track was installed. Only six percent of the 6 furlong races were won from the one hole, and overall, the inside posts won fewer races than expected [an impact value of 0.51 for the rail and 0.93 for the combined inside posts].

The inside posts have been a detriment at most of the popular distances, from 7 furlongs up to 1 1/16 miles. Post one, for example, won roughly half as many races as expected [impact value of 0.53] in the 57 routes and only 4.5% of the 7 furlong races.

6 furlongs was the only exception among the popular distances, as inside posts for whatever reason fared very well at that distance. It is also worth noting that this anti-inside post bias has not occurred over the Cushion Track at Hollywood Park.

There was also a significant change pertaining to the dirt routes, where it became more difficult than ever to score wire-to-wire. Only six of the 57 routes were won on the front end. Across all running styles the Cushion Track played fairly around two turns, with a slight edge given to deep closers. Stalkers with tactical speed, known as Early/Pressers, fared well as did mid-pack runners, referred to as Pressers.

Runners with outside posts (8 and beyond) actually performed best at both popular route distances.

In 2006 over 23 percent of the dirt routes were won wire-to-wire and 66 percent were won by either Early types or Early/Pressers. That latter figure has dropped to 49 percent since the move to Cushion Track. That is a significant shift, again leveling the playing field for closers.

The Cushion Track route races are playing remarkably similar to your typical turf course.

Handicappers can get the most current Track Bias trends for this winter's meet by accessing the Ultimate Past Performances Summary page.

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Sire Stats is a popular pedigree guide that offers turf, mud, debut and distance ratings on over 5,000 stallions. The new 2008 edition is now the only book of its kind with grades for synthetic/all-weather races! Now, there is an entire column devoted to all weather starts. Know which sires are graded F through A+ for their progeny's all weather starts!

SIRE STATS 2008 is the only book of its kind, and it's only $39.95 plus s/h*. Or, you can get it free by ordering only 3 editions of Track Stats 2008, available for 12 different circuits.

For more information and to order Sire Stats, visit the Brisnet.com Bookstore, or call 1-800-354-9206, ext. 254 today!

* KY residents add 6% sales tax

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February/March Racing Calendar

[Click Here] - Updated on the 1^st of every month

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