For many racegoers, choosing a horse to bet on is both the most exciting and hardest part of a day at the races.
 | FORECASTER FACTORS Jockey's form Trainer's form Distance Going Influence of course The draw (Flat) Horse's form |
With a myriad of jockeys, runners, trainers and stables, along with a collection of 'expert tipsters' who all seem to pick different horses, it can make for a confusing afternoon.
The unpredictability is of course part of the sport's enduring attraction, but all too often it is the bookies who leave laughing, and the punters who depart skint.
Help is at hand in the shape of the BBC Forecaster, introduced at this year's Grand National meeting at Aintree, and used throughout the summer.
The Forecaster may not win you a fortune, but it does give an interesting insight into the factors experts use when analysing a race.
The form of the jockey, trainer and the going are all crucial elements in this calculation, in addition to their previous successes at a particular course.
Developed for the BBC by Iknowledge, the calculated predictions are based on the pure mathematical analysis of racing data - with no human intervention.
The Forecaster has continued to develop from those early days in Liverpool, and as viewers at Glorious Goodwood would have seen, it recorded a 40% success rate in selecting four winners from ten races.
|  It gives viewers good idea of the factors that go into backing successful racehorses |
Of those, the highlight has to be the choice of 2001 winner Persian Punch to edge Jardines Lookout into second place in the Goodwood Cup.
Persian Punch finished last in the 2002 race, and prompted BBC radio pundits Cornelius Lysaght and Lee McKenzie to suggest the ten-year-old gelding should be retired.
But taking on board the horse's 2003 form, his performances at Goodwood and over two miles, the computer correctly predicted that the veteran would be in with a chance at the line.
For every victory, there is also a loss for the Forecaster when a fancied horse comes in last or an outsider produces a blinding finish to take the win.
That is the nature of the game, but BBC betting pundit Angus Loughran, who uses the technology during broadcasts, believes it is a useful guide for viewers keen to place a bet.
"Anything that can help the punters back a winner and makes good television is worth trying," he said.
"I know a lot of people don't understand what the Forecaster is about, but essentially it does their homework for them.
"It gives them a good idea of the factors that go into backing successful racehorses, and as a guide for placing each-way bets, it's pretty good. "One thing I have noticed is that it gets a lot of winners from horses it has placed in the top three so punters shouldn't be afraid of backing a horse to win that they think will finish in the top three."
The message is this - don't put your house on one of the Forecaster's selections - but equally don't ignore what it has to offer.
The factors it uses in deciding a horse's potential are exactly the same ones that betting experts and bookies look at when determining who will prevail at any given meeting.
And who knows, with a bit of homework and practice you could be chuckling all the way home after a successful day at the races.
MMIX
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