                                 OVERVIEW

B.L. SOFTWARE designs, develops and markets software to handicap
thoroughbred, harness and greyhound races. Since its 1983 introduction,
the software algorithms, or the way mathematical equations are solved,
were continually fine-tuned to offer the racing fan very powerful and  low
cost handicapping software with increased predictability.

B.L. SOFTWARE'S HANDICAPPER and DATABASE MANAGER for HARNESS RACING runs
under Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.*  The program consists of three modules;

              Entries Database Module  (Harness)
              Past Performance Database Module (Data-Harn)
              Predictor  (Predict-H)

Just enter the current race and past performance data for 5 entries
from the racing form or program into their respective databases.
Run the Predictor and get the predicted WIN, PLACE and SHOW entries!
Also, our own Speed Factor is calculated and printed for each entry. You
can ADD, DELETE, MODIFY and SEARCH RECORDS in the database. You can enter
as many past performance records for each entry as you desire, within the
limits of your systems storage capacity.

Let your personal computer do the number crunching it was designed to
do. Get the results to CASH not TRASH  those tickets!!

B.L. SOFTWARE has customers world wide and is ready to welcome
many more.  Visit our WWW home page at  http://www.infi.net/~blsoft
or for your convenience you may email us at  blsoft@infi.net for any
questions you may have.


                                    1.


                               INSTALLATION
                             

WINDOWS 3.1

         1. Log on to directory that files were unzipped.
         2. Click on Install
         3. Follow installation instructions.
         4. Read the readme file....then
         5. READ MANUAL!!


WINDOWS 95

        1. Log on to directory that files were unzipped.
        2. Click on Install
        3. Follow installation instructions.
        4. Drag the Harness, Data-Harn and Predict-H icons from the
           Harness Racing window to your desktop. Close the
           Harness Racing Window.
        5. READ MANUAL!!
        6. Be sure to run modules from the desktop icons.


                                    2.


                  PAST PERFORMANCE DATABASE  (Data-Harn)

Before handicapping a race, you must know where to locate data in your
racing program or form. Then select a race to be handicapped and enter the
past performance data for each entry.  You may enter data for as
many past performance races you desire, for each entry. However, you must
enter data for at least one  race. The following minimum criteria should
be met for each past performance race selected;

          1. Not a qualifying race, trial etc.
          2. Did not have an accident, disqualification, did not finish,
             etc.

Click on the Data-Harn icon.  A  sample record will be displayed for DUKE
RODNEY.

HORSE: DUKE RODNEY

TRACK: DMV

DATE:  07/21/95

RACE NR./CLASS: 05/CLAIMING

DISTANCE: 8.0

POST POSITION: 2

TROTTER/PACER (T/P): T

DRIVER: JOHNSON

STRETCH: 6.00

FINISH:  0.00

MEDICATION: N

BROKE (Y/N): N

FINISH TIME: 1.592

FINISH POSITION: 1

WIN: DUKE RODNEY

PLACE: MERRY WAY

SHOW: CRACKLE

      Get/Beg/End/Next/Prev/Rept/Modify/Add/Del/Tally/Filt/Help/Quit

                                 FIGURE 1.

                                    3.


The following is the definition of each field including the menu commands
shown at the bottom of FIGURE 1.

HORSE:  Name of the entry.
TRACK:  Abbreviation for the track as provided. (See the README file.)
        if abbreviation is not listed, use the abbreviation as shown in
        the track program or racing form.
DATE:  Date of race.  Use month/day/year convention.
RACE NR/CLASS:  Race number and class of race. For example; 10th race at
                DOVER DOWNS, CLAIMING race, would be entered as
                DD/10/CLAIMING.
DISTANCE:  Length of race in furlongs. The vast majority of harness races
           are 1 mile.  8 furlongs= 1 mile.
POST POSITION:  Position at gate. Not cloth number.
TROTTER/PACER:  Running gait of horse.
DRIVER:  Name of driver.
STRETCH:  Number of lengths behind/ahead of leader at top of stretch.
          Examples; At  top of stretch horse is..........
                     1. in the lead by 2 3/4 lengths.  Enter  -2.75
                     2. behind 1 length.  Enter  1
                     3. ahead by a nose.  Enter -.05
                     4. behind by a nose. Enter .05
                     5. ahead by head. Enter -.1
                     6. behind by head. Enter .1
                     7. ahead by a neck. Enter -.2
                     8. behind by a neck. Enter .2
                     9. nose to nose. Enter 0
FINISH:  Number of lengths behind/ahead at finish. Entered in fractions.
         Examples;  At finish.........
                     1. winning horse finishes 4 lengths ahead of place
                        horse, enter -4.
                     2. place horse is 4 lengths behind winner, enter 4
                     3. horse is 61/2 lengths behind winner, enter 6.5.
                     4. winning horse finishes 1/2 length ahead of place
                        horse, enter -.5
                     5. win by a nose.  Enter -.05
                     6. behind by a nose. Enter .05
                     7. win by head. Enter -.1
                     8. behind by head. Enter .1
                     9. win by a neck. Enter -.2
                    10. behind by a neck. Enter .2
                    11. dead heat. Enter 0
MEDICATION: If horse was on medication at race time.
BROKE:  If horse broke stride during race.
FINISH TIME:  Finishing time of horse. Example; horse finishes in 2.05
              3/5 seconds. Enter 2.053.
FINISH POSITION: Position in field at finish.
WIN:  Name of winning horse.
PLACE:  Name of second place horse.
SHOW:  Name of third place horse.


                                    4.


When adding and modifying records, certain numeric fields in the record
will have default values assigned. These values can obviously be changed
to the actual data, as required within a given range.  The following shows
the default values and range for each of these numeric fields.

       FIELD                DEFAULT                RANGE

    DISTANCE                  8.0                  7 - 10
    POST POSITION             1                    1 - 14
    STRETCH                   0                    N/A
    FINISH                    0                    N/A
    FINISH TIME               2.500 Seconds        1.000 - 3.000
    FINISH POSITION           3                    1 - 14


Refer to the menu at the bottom of FIGURE 1. Entering  the first letter of
each menu item executes commands as follows;

 (G)et:  Retrieve a record by subject horse. When you select G, you will
         be prompted for the name of the horse. All the records for the
         horse will then be displayed in alphabetical order as the (N)ext
         command is selected.
(B)eg:  Go to the beginning of the database.
(E)nd:  Go to the end of the database.
(N)ext:  Go to the next record.
(P)rev:  Go to the previous record.
(R)ept:  Print/display reports menu. See REPORTS MENU.
(M)odify:  Edit the current record. To leave Modify, press ESC or go to
           end of the record. You will be prompted to save or not save
           changes..
(A)dd:  Add records to the database. To leave (A)dd press ESC.
(D)el:  Delete records from the database.  CAUTION: There are five past
        performance records in the database. DUKE RODNEY, IRISH PUB,
        MILFORD, PART TWO and WARM WIND.  ZZEND is a master
        record. These records must not be deleted.
(F)ilt:  This command sets the filter and allows you to retrieve on any
         field.
         Example: Select F. This sets the filter on. The screen will clear
         and cursor will be at the empty horse field. Assume you want to
         find all records for MILFORD Enter MILFORD  and press the ESC
         key. A record will appear for MILFORD.   (If MILFORD was not in
         the database, a NONE FOUND message would appear).  Any additional
         records for MILFORD would be displayed by using the (N)ext
         command. To  cancel the filter, select F and then C to cancel.
(T)ally:  Gives number of records in database.
(H)elp:  Lists commands and key actions.
(Q)uit:  Displays the update menu.

                                    5.


                               REPORTS MENU

Upon selecting (R)ept from the past performance menu, a menu will be
displayed.

   REPORT FORMAT #1   REPORT FORMAT #2     REPORT FORMAT #3

   HORSE              HORSE                HORSE
   DATE               DATE                 POST POSITION
   DRIVER NAME        RACE NR/CLASS        DATE
                      TROTTER /PACER       TRACK
                      BROKE                FINISH POSITION
                      MEDICATION           FINISH TIME

Select 1, 2, 3 or press M to RETURN to the database. Each report contains
the information as shown for each format, sorted alphabetically by horse
name. You can display or print the information.


                           PRACTICE  EXERCISE A

Past performance data has been provided for horse, DUKE RODNEY.
Enter data for the remaining four horses as follows;

 FIELDS          IRISH PUB     MILFORD     PART TWO

 TRACK           DMV           DMV         DMV
 DATE            07/17/95      07/18/95    08/15/95
 RACE NR/CLASS   05/CLAIMING   10/STAKES   11/CLAIMING
 DISTANCE        8.0           8           8
 POST POSITION   3             6           3
 TROTTER/PACER   T             T           T
 DRIVER          HOPE          SMOLTER     ARMOND
 STRETCH         2.00          3.00        1.00
 FINISH          0.00          -2.00       0.00
 MEDICATION      N             N           Y
 BROKE           N             N           N
 FINISH TIME     1.590         1.594       1.591
 FINISH POSITION 1             1           1
 WIN             IRISH PUB     MILFORD     PART  TWO
 PLACE           GRAND ONE     CRYSTAL     MAIL TIME
 SHOW            TRI CITY      SHANNON     KNOW ALL

 FIELDS          WARM WIND

 TRACK           DMV
 DATE            08/10/95
 RACE NR/CLASS   08/CLAIMING
 DISTANCE        8.0
 POST POSITION   5
 TROTTER/PACER   T
 DRIVER          SANCHEZ
 STRETCH         2.00
 FINISH          -1.00
 MEDICATION      N
 BROKE           N
 FINISH TIME     1.593
 FINISH POSITION 1
 WIN             WARM WIND
 PLACE           WHISPER
 SHOW            HOLLY VINE


After entering data, practice using the various command keys.

CAUTION: If you modify or add any records, be sure to re-enter the data as
above and/or delete the new records.

Now press Q to quit the Past Performance Module. All data will be compiled
and written to files for use by the Predictor Module later.

                                    6.

                        ENTRIES DATABASE  (Harness)

After entering  past performance data, the next step is to enter data for
horses to be handicapped into the entries database.

Click on the HARNESS icon.  A sample record will be displayed for a horse
DUKE RODNEY.

HORSE: DUKE RODNEY

DRIVER WINNING PERCENTAGE: 19

DRIVER: GIBSON

STARTS: 23

TIMES IN MONEY: 13

WINS: 6

             Beg/End/Next/Prev/Modify/Add/Del/Tally/Help/Quit

                                 FIGURE 2.


As shown in FIGURE 2,  there are 3 new fields in the Entries database.
STARTS, TIMES IN MONEY and WINS. The definitions for the other fields and
menu commands shown above are the same as those given for the
past performance database.

STARTS: Number of starts year to date.
TIMES IN MONEY: Number of times finishing Win, Place and Show for
                year to date. Cannot exceed number of starts.
WINS:  Number of Wins year to date. Must not exceed Times in Money.

Like the past performance database, when adding new records, certain
numeric fields in the record will have default and range values assigned.


              FIELD             DEFAULT          RANGE

          DRIVER WINNING %         0            1 - 100
          STARTS                   0            0 - 999
          TIMES in MONEY           0            0 - 999

                                    7.


                           PRACTICE  EXERCISE B

Data has been provided for horse, DUKE RODNEY. Enter data for the
remaining four horses as follows;


After entering data, practice using the various command keys.


 FIELDS            IRISH PUB   MILFORD   PART TWO   WARM WIND

 DRIVER WIN %      9           21        13         8
 DRIVER            BACKUS      HORATIO   CRAWFORD   THELA
 STARTS            12          22        17         9
 TIMES IN MONEY    3           17        8          2
 WINS              1           5         3          1


CAUTION: If you modify or add any records, be sure to re-enter the data as
above and/or delete any new records to continue your practice session.

Now press Q to quit the Entries database.  All data will be compiled and
written to files for use by the Predictor Module later.

NOTE:  When you complete the practice session, be sure to delete the
       5 sample entries given above. DO NOT delete the record ZZEND.
       Also, when handicapping a new race, be sure to delete the records
       from the previous race, unless you want to use an entry
       or entries for race simulations. Simulations will be discussed
       later.

NOTE:  You can print individual records from the Past Performance or
       Entries Database and Predictor by displaying the record on your
       screen and pressing the PRINT SCREEN  key once. The data file will
       be transferred to the WINDOWS CLIPBOARD and saved to your system.
       You can then open and print the file using a wordprocessor.


                        THE PREDICTOR  (Predict-H)

O.K. You are ready to get the predictions!  Click on the PREDICT-H icon.
Lets assume this race is run at DELMARVA. When prompted for Track, enter
DMV. If you made any data errors in the entries or past performance
databases, you will get one or more error messages. If not, a screen will
be displayed, with the WIN, PLACE and SHOW predictions. See FIGURE 3.


                                    8.



              B.L. SOFTWARE HANDICAPPER and DATABASE MANAGER
                         FOR HARNESS RACING  V5.0
                       COPYRIGHT 1995 B.L. SOFTWARE



                                      MILFORD         WIN

                                      DUKE RODNEY     PLACE

                                      WARM WIND       SHOW


      [1]   PRINT PREDICTIONS AND B.L. SOFTWARE'S SPEED FACTORS
      [2]   RETURN TO ENTRIES DATABASE
      [3]   RETURN TO PAST PERFORMANCE DATABASE
      [4]   QUIT TO SYSTEM

      SELECT  __


                                 FIGURE 3.


The predicted winner is MILFORD,  DUKE RODNEY for place and WARM WIND for
show.

Select 1: Enter the DATE of RACE and TRACK/RACE #/CLASS  when prompted.
(Optional entries). You will then get a printout showing the track, race
number, class of race, distance (default 1 mile), date of race, WIN, PLACE
and SHOW predictions, including B.L. SOFTWARE'S SPEED FACTOR for each
horse in the race. This factor is the result of an analysis of speed
related data for each horse and may be useful for comparing their speed
characteristics.  The LOWER  the SPEED FACTOR  the better the speed
characteristics of a given horse. A useful tool for the SPEED HANDICAPPER.

Select 2: Returns program to the Entries Database.

Select 3: Returns program to the Past Performance Database.

Select 4: Returns to system.

CAUTION:  There must always be at least five and no more than 14
entries in the Entries database before running the Predictor.  ZZEND is
a master record. DO NOT delete this record.

                                    9.


                             RACE SIMULATIONS

B.L. SOFTWARE'S HANDICAPPER and DATABASE MANAGER has built in flexibility.
You can vary past performance and/or entry data for any given race to
determine effects of the changes on race predictions.

You can assemble your own racing field using any of the horses in the past
performance database. Select any 5 to 14 horses. Enter the data in the
Entries database. Assign you own driver winning percentages, starts, wins
and times in money, as desired .

When handicapping an actual race you can even add another horse or horses
of your choice.


                                  SUMMARY

Know how to locate data in your racing program or form. Select the race to
be handicapped. Click on the Data-Harn icon. Enter past performance data
for each horse in the race. Enter data from at least one past performance
race.  Click on the Harness icon. Enter the current race data for each
horse. Click on the Predict-H  icon. Enter the track and get the WIN,
PLACE and SHOW predictions. Easy as 1,2,3!

                                GOOD LUCK!



                              B.L.  SOFTWARE
                              P.O. BOX 13474
                           CHESAPEAKE, VA. 23325
                              (804) 420-8380
                      EMAIL ADDRESS: blsoft @infi.net
                  HOME PAGE: http://www.infi.net/~blsoft

                                    10.
