Are the dupes errors, or does the underlying data differ and the labels are just the same?
Thanks for picking that up. They are different, it seems it did not display correctly when I copied the data over. I shall amend later.
Also, shouldn't a Country BM 58, for example, be a higher rating race than a Country BM 50? ...unless you factor the 4kg difference in some other way, I guess.
Country BM 58 is an error in copying across to the forum.
Are maidens equally strong year-round? Do trainers throw them into a race as soon as they're ready, or do they target certain times of year so that if their horse responds well they might dodge the handicapper and get into higher-value races better weighted?
Some of the ratings have different values depending on the month. I can post them in a separate list as it is > 12 columns wide.
What about class ratings with respect to prizemoney? For example at Coffs Harbour today there was an Open race with $85k prizemoney and another couple with $35k prizemoney. Are they equivalent in your race rating system, or is the former rated higher on account of attracting stronger candidates?
Unfortunately I was not able to take into account prizemoney since I cannot get the historical data for it. That is definitely an avenue I'd like to pursue. The data is readily available for group and listed races only (that I could find).
Are you automatically specifying whether it's a provincial or metro race by venue? Victorian weekend metro races are held on provincial tracks 3 (or is it 4 now?) times per year.
Yes, automatically specified by venue and day. However, all races that are Group/Listed and appear in the link below are treated separately and specified by their class, age, weight etc. http://www.racingaustralia.horse/ar.../2016-2017.aspx
Are Sydney/Melbourne Group races equivalent to those in other states? (Oh. I just re-read the thread and see that you queried something similar in your first post. My novice opinion: no. I'm not even certain that Melbourne Group races in Autumn are equivalent to Melbourne Group races in Spring...)
I agree. As to the weighting difference to apply, I'm not sure. Perhaps some factor according to pricemoney from group/listed races might be worth considering.
Those were my initial thoughts.
Cheers
