I played at virtual form and noticed a column headed API.
Could someone please inform what this stands for.
I guessed average prizemoney index,but don't sound too plausible.

Yep. That's what it is. Just multiply the API number by $1000 and that's the horse's average prizemoney per start.

Thanks again Sportznut.
I think there must be a major factor in this figure to compare horses chances.
Do you,Sportznut have any systems that used this figure in your analysis,and did you find it useful or am I looking at the wrong place?

API is a great indication of the class of a horse and if you concentrate on the top 5 API runners you have a good chance of getting the winner....the only problem is that API is for the horses career so if you have a horse that won some really big races as a 2 and 3 year old but is now 5 and not winning these figures can be distorted also this includes the many race bonuses that they have in VIC and QLD so so a horse with a high API may not be the class runner if they have won a lot of races with bonuses....a lot of people on here will tell you it is better to say take the horses last 10 starts prize money winnings and devide that by 10 the give you a more current API you could use less starts if you wish....if you don't have access to that many starts or the form you have is limited use the API on that site or in many racing papers it is a great place to start your form selections.

Shaun,

You could think of multiplying the horse's API by it's win% or it's place%. Perhaps the place% because history suggests it seems to be a slightly better indication of how the horse is going to go today than the win%.

But yes Mo, I think the API is a good thing to use. Thank you for pointing out that it was on that website because I didn't know that. I actually don't have any systems relating to it, but I might have to have a look at it.

Shaun,I don't have the information for the last 10 starts,but I suppose we need to put in an effort don't we?

Sportznut,I think with API,win% and total prizemoney won,there must be something there.
Let the trainer do the homework.
And bet on how badly the trainer wants to win the race.

The problempointed out with API can soon be overcome by comparing the API with the API of the horses last three starts.

If the API of the last three starts is > or = the career API we have a fit class horse.

Of course the odds are not big but it's a way of getting rid of the early performers who now have lost form.

Chrome Prince you refer to the last 3 API would that be say using cyberhorse and taking the amount next to the race value the one in beackets

Hi Shaun,

Yes it's in the horse form in brackets next to the race prizemoney. This is the figure actually earned by the horse in the race.

Let's say your horse has a career API of 13.6, that's $13,600 per start.

Now take his last three races, might be $800, 4,800, $13,000 for example.

That's $18,600 / 3 = $6,200 API last three starts.

This tells you that the horse had some earlier better class wins or placings than currently or sustained a better win S/R as say a 2 yo. If the last three starts API is higher than the career API, then the horse is in peak class and form or consistency at that level.

This is a guideline only and objective judgement needs to come into play.

Chrome Prince.
Could you tell me where you got the prizemoney earnt at the runners last 3 starts,and can I get the prizemoney earnt further back than the previous 3?