Formgrids South Africa shuts down today

"we will not be aiding anything to do with Formgrids"
Please can you tell us which particular braindead individual made that statement.
If the results of races are regarded as the intelectual property of the operator, and not available to other services,then it is time for a formal complaint to the competitions board...........racing must be "at risk" in so many aspects of what constitutes unfair competition.
Time to get the ball rolling and test their comfort zone ...............maybe it won't be so comfortable at all,if coming under scrutiny.

I, for one, am prepared to take no bets whatsoever with saftote (you have no idea what a sacrifice it is to not take exotics....lol) but this would have to be an organized and formal protest.Perhaps we could get some assistance with how to do this properly from experts(taxi assoc. might be start...............lol)
I wonder how long they would survive on their core punters only?

I am not seeing this so much as a formgrids issue in isolation,as I survived before them and will survive after, but I see the operators arrogance and attitude to formgrids as an overall situation which needs to be changed by whatever it takes.

I remember when Computaform stopped those excellent Fotoforms, 800mt: 400mt : 200mt : Finish.That was a real loss as I used to file them in ref order and when Form was the real criterion before the Merit rating disaster, could always refer and look up runs and running strength.

The current Fotoform is really a waste of time.

Mike that was some time ago...ya bin racing a while bud

Pirhobeta Wrote:

---

> mister a
> I am sorry to see the demise. I cannot afford to
> subscribe to Formgrids, it's an economic thing
> (wife and kids...democracy etc) You are way ahead
> of your time for the narrow minded, SHORT-TERM
> inconsiderate morons that currently run racing
> (may be substituted with local government or
> whatever...self righteous MF)
> All the best and thank you for providing a
> first-world product in a third world country. We
> may appreciate it in the future(tu)

P you have a PM

RacePatterns Wrote:

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> I hope the point Formgrids trying make helps them
> as it's not helping punters.... Finances are not
> the issue here as there are lots of people will to
> pay for this service.... Anyways good luck guys..

RP as you can read in some of the posts on this thread there are many punters that play with a limited budget and cannot afford to pay any sort of subscription...lets not loose sight of how important they are to the racing industry

Thanks Titch.
To the powers that be at SA horseracing...
This has opened a raw nerve...The same bullshit that was used by the previous regime. It's like not being allowed to play a game of football in the park with the neighbourhood kids because you do not have soccer boots... sis on you. May this weigh heavily on your conscious.
The Pontius Pilate thing comes to mind...

A very sad day, I have over 1000 followers who use my selections on a daily basis which I obtain by the study of FORMGRIDS.

As many of you will know, I have made countless videos on how to use this exceptional service and have posted them on YouTube.

South African racing authorities are very short sighted in their attitude and their revenue will suffer, as without informed selections, there will be no confidence to make larger bets.

I also believe that over the course of the next few years, horse racing in South Africa will slowly diminish with the closure of more and more tracks. Their reason for this is financial, as when overseas racing is broadcast they only have to pay a broadcast fee and do not have to contribute to horse racing prizes in this country.

It is not in their interest to screen South African horse racing.

From my side, I will now concentrate more on the UK racing and hope that my clients use

Ladbrooks or other bookmakers and not the TAB
John Sweet
Inform Racing

Harris Wrote:

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> Shit, look how many people you have let down
> David. Why not offer a subscription? I will pay.
> When last I looked Sportingpost, ARO and
> Winningform were not funded by Phumelela. Your
> actions are disgusting.


ok Harris if my one day not having Formgrids up is disgusting the what do we call my 2900 of having Formgrids up

mister a
As with a lot of posts on this forum, some people miss the point. I think we are all a bit emotional. I think the point that some are trying to make, is that they are prepared to pay for your service. I for one appreciate that you are trying to perform a service to all. I think it sad that the information that you require cannot be provided to you in a user friendly way/download. IMO they are deliberately being obstructive. "taking up your running"
Innovation is not in their vocabulary...
I'm going to now take a place bet in the Gold Cup (six places for my benefit!!!) so that I can retire with my R20,00 bet and the R1,50 "value" payout. Thank you TAB><

After much thought... @%$#%$#@ and more @^%@
An investigation/audit into horse racing would reveal the same result as with the municipalities....
those in charge have no f%$&#$ing clue!

having read this thread, I am left somewhat confused by the commotion and would like to make a few completely uninformed observations, some may be completely wrong and if so, please do not ridicule me in telling me so. Firstly, I wish David well, at the end of the day it his site and he can do as he wishes, hard though that may be for some to accept...

1. Am I wrong in thinking that Phumelela own Computaform? If this is correct then surely, irrelevant of whether it is short-sighted or not, this means they are in direct competition with Formgrids and it is not in their interests for Formgrids to develop and take clients away who would otherwise purchase computaform.

2. I purchased computaform last week, the writing was so small and feint that I could not read it, I bought four issues and didn't use them, a complete waste of money. If Phumelela want people tpo purchase their publications then at least make it a decent and readable publlication!

3. The most striking thing to me reading the thread was that in the figures David published here, the average visit time on Formgrids appears to be less than 16 minutes. If that is correct then it is simply insufficient time for someone to fully study the form of one race, given that I believe Formgrids is meant to be a minefield of information. Assuming some people are like me and leave the form guide they use open for 5 or 6 hours per day, if these users were taken out of the timings then, lets say, it becomes only 10 minutes per visit. This indicates to me that people are generally using formgrids as a reference not as their primary form study.

4. From point 3, one could argue that most people still use Computaform and would continue to do so and merely use Formgrids for additional information. I doubt therefore that there would be 1000s crying if it is no longer available. One could also say that Phumulela do not need to see it as competition but as an ally.

5. Anyone who posts regularly on the daily threads would appreciate the fact that most people struggle to find the time to read form, even on Computaform. I find it very hard to believe then that there is a multitude of punters out there that use Formgrids to study the form for many races, maybe they choose one or two per day but it seems to me that if you don't have time to read Computaform then you certainly don't have time to go through Formgrids race by race. When I have taken the time to explain to a couple of people why I liked a particular horse they are amazed that I have the time to look at it "so in depth". It takes me no time at all really but again it demonstrates a mind-set.

6. It is clear that formgrids has a wealth of information and a definite place in racing but I just can't see how it is going to appeal right now to your mug punter... and most of us are exactly that. I hear OR, Pirho etc and I understand they see Formgrids as vital but honestly, how many others can really say that?

7. I joined Formgrids but, as I have said a load of times, I am a simple form reader and it was too much for me. All I want is a publication like Winning Form. But and it is a huge "but", I want their information to be accurate and informative... just as simple examples, giving graphs showing the % winners from each draw is great, until you realise that many of the graphs are not updated correctly! And how often can we not find out whether its the Vaal inner or outer track? And then we try and read the Vaal form but have no idea if the previous Vaal races were on the inside or outside track, we therefore don't know if the draw had any major impact in that race. Basic information like this must be given and accurately... and in the case of Computaform in a print size and colour that can be read easily!!

8. As for the way forward, that is for David to decide, as I said at the start its his baby and he could do as he wishes and i think some of the comments here have been a little harsh. It does seem like a huge waste of time, effort and money (?) though for David to simply throw this all away and shut it down. Could he not perhaps keep it going for another 6 months and put it up for sale or similar? Maybe I'm being naive...

All I would say is that maybe Formgrids is not something for the masses and therefore sponsorship or subscription may be the only way forward... and there are ways of still making it accessable to those who can't afford it, no different to unemployment benefits etc, just depends how much you want to do to organise that type of system.

Anyway, as I said at the start, its a very non-informed post, just thoughts and observations and though quite lengthy, it only really touches the surface. Apologies to anyone and everyone if some of my comments are without foundation or based on incorrect "assumptions".

Reading the message on the formgrids site is certainly food for thought ...............

The message makes a lot of sense ,but the operators don't and won't give a toss and I do not see them ever paying Formgrids unless they owned it ,or at least a significant shareholding,and then it will definitely not be free!
The service will either have to be paid for by sponsors/advertisers or subscription...........that is inevitable in my opinion.(to date the service has been sponsored by Formgrid shareholders..........it has never been cost-free,it was merely absorbed rather than passed on.)
Lets be honest,form guides are never going to be regarded as a basic need,so affordability will eventually dictate who gets the benefit.............there is nothing particularly novel about the principle.
The real fight that should be taken to the operators is the fact that the costs are increased by their failure to provide data(they do to other formguides)thereby making any future subscription more costly than necessary.That is a fight that needs to be vigorously persued but any financial contribution by a corporate will only ever happen if the return can be measured in a pecuniary manner........either directly or indirectly.
Expecting any other type of response from a business is a pipedream............but of course, maybe companies should not be running racing(no maybe about it in my book)but by clubs,as in the past ,but merely in a businesslike manner,including strategies and management.(something which, ironically, "P" has not achieved )