Form reading with Timeform
Over the last year I’ve found myself increasingly, not only wanting too simplify my various betting methods, but also cut down the time it takes to find selections. One of the ways I`ve been doing this is by using Timeform via Betfair. Let’s take a look at an example of how to use Timeform.
Click on the “Race Card” Icon within any race
After doing this you’ll be presented with the “Race form card”
There are two options to view all the runners form information “Quick / Detailed” Select Detailed to see in depth form information for each horse:
Individual horse form reads pretty much as the Racing Post – From left to right the info is self explanatory > Jockeys silks, last six finishing positions, horse name, Jockey, days since last run, age, weight, trainer and available odds to back the horse.
Clicking on the “i box” highlighted in RED above brings up a brief overview of the horses recent achievements, including detailed form for its last five races, again pretty straight forward.
The “Time form view” just to the right is the race reader’s opinion on the main contenders.
Above the Timeform View you notice there is a navigation menu with four options: View, Comments, Course, Shop. In the following screenshots we`ll take a breif look at what information can be acessed from these tabs.
“Comments” are an overview of each horses recent perfomances, highlighting any strengths and weakness`s.
Use the “Course tab” to assess course characteristics. Personally I find this a very useful feature as it often highlights the particular quirks about a course, for example. At Leister, shown below we can see that the course has a stiff uphill finish and races over hurdles are run on the flat course and the going tends to be a good deal more testing than over fences.
Another useful feature which can be accessed from the “course tab” is the Trainer Jockey stats. Its worth bearing in mind these stats are a little generic, having said that they still provide a quick over view of which trainers do well at the course.
From the “Shop tab” you can access the Timeform homepage. From there you can purchase full race cards and associated products.
In conclusion
Timeforms association with Betfair provides punters with a suite of very useful form tools, which enable backers and layers to compare the runners in any given race quickly and effectively all in one place, without the need to have dozens of browser windows open. Other useful features, include the facility to personalize the race card, or download the entire card for free. You can even listen to the races as they unfold via the Radio icon. On a cautionary note, be aware that there is a time delay between what’s actually happening on course compared to the real time odds of each runner on Betfair. Often this is quite severe, so combining the two to develop a profitable betting strategy is very difficult, and potentially risky.
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