Manage Variants
It's a scientific fact that day to day track conditions can affect times run by dogs. QuickDog can use complex math to determine on a day to day basis how good or poor a track was by looking at race times from all of the races on that day and comparing those times to average times over the course of months. If most races were run faster on a particular day than average, then the track can be said to be FASTER on that day.
Yet again, if race times were slower than average then the track variant for that day would indicate that the track ran slower. How does this help the handicapper?
Suppose two dogs are running against each other today. In its last race, at 550 yards, Dog A ran in a time of 31.59 seconds, and Dog B ran its last race, again at 550 yards, same track, in 30.5 seconds. Without any other knowledge, a handicapper might conclude that Dog B is capable of a significantly better time than Dog A. However, suppose we know that the track was slow on the day that Dog A last ran, and the track was fast on the day that Dog B last ran. Then we might not be so sure which dog may have been the faster dog.
This is precisely the scenario where Track Variants can help. Basically, QuickDog can compute a "Track Variant" for each performance for each race date for a particular track. This value, which will be close to the value of 1.0, can then be multiplied by the dog's race time in order to compensate that dog for having run over a track that is better/worse than average. For example, suppose the track variant in Dog A's last race was .97 (97 hundredths) - a SLOW TRACK due to weather or whatever other factors contributed to it. When you turn on Track Variants, QuickDog will actually multiply a dog's race time by the Track Variant. In this case, the new time would be 30.64. This is called the "Variant Adjusted Run Time" or "VART".
Now suppose that Dog B ran on a fast track in its last race, meaning that the Track Variant was GREATER THAN 1 (a value of 1 would mean the track variant was AVERAGE). Let's suppose the Track Variant for Dog B's race was 1.025. Dog B's "variant adjusted run time" would then be 31.26 seconds.
What we have now is something more to consider rather than just the run times presented in the track program. We have some scientific data which can lead an astute handicapper to the knowledge that Dog A might be the faster dog. While others at the track feel B runs faster than A, you have information pointing to the contrary. This can make for dog A receiving a bigger payoff.
Have you ever watched a race where you thought you'd picked the fastest dog only to find out it finishes near the rear of the pack? Perhaps it just had a faster track to work with last time out.
Creating Track Variants
When you download QuickDog for the first time, that download includes all the information necessary for you to use track variants in your handicapping. However, after you download QuickDog, you must constantly keep this data updated. As you download new race dates, you must create the daily variants for those race dates. This can be done by using the "Manage Variants" feature of QuickDog.
Select this feature and Figure 1 is displayed.
Figure 1 - Manage Variants Menu
You should select the "I WANT HELP TO UNDERSTAND QUICKDOG VARIANTS" to read about managing your variants.