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swordmageSeeing as you lot have been listening (eerr...reading) about my Matrix Project multiple times in passing, I think it’s high time I actually gave a good description of it.
Besides, as my friend Jon put it - “If this wasn’t being graded, it would actually be sort of fun.”
There are a few of you who probably don’t know that I’m in Tucson at the University of Arizona for (nearly) one reason. at least that’s how it started. things have changed in the past few months and there’s now quite a bit keeping me here... *grins* That reason happens to be the Racetrack Industry Program. What exactly is it? Best (and easiest) description is that it’s a program for people who want to work in animal racing. Most of us are Thoroughbred people, though there are a few who follow Quarter Horses. I’m not sure if anyone is in Harness or Greyhounds... It’s actually a really good program. The University of Louisville is really the only other school that offers something like it. However, their program is in the College of Business, while UA’s is a part of their College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. We’ve also got the Symposium on Racing and Gaming, which is a several day, very large, conference devoted to just that. this year there were panels on marketing horse racing (I should link the article written by the guy who ran it, he’s stellar), racino design and management, slots, racing surfaces, and many other topics relevant to the industry. I came here thinking I wanted to possibly go into Breeding and Sales, but since getting here I’ve decided I’d be happier working more on the Business side of things - Marketing, Management or something along those lines.
At any rate, one of my classes this semester is Organization and Administration of the Racing Office. Guy teaching it is Doug, former Racing Secretary for several tracks and head of the program (not that that bit’s relevant, but still). It’s a class that’s mostly interesting, but has it’s moments. We’re currently covering stall allocation - which is a topic both interesting and yet sometimes I just want to kill. I swear, giving trainers/horses stalls is both an art and a science. Also covered has been entering horses (we got/get to play around with InCompass,, which is the universal software that keeps track of all horses running, be they Quarter, Standardbred, or what have you. I don’t know about the dogs...
So, the major project in the class is called the Matrix. What does this rite of passage for the department entail? Write a condition book for an entire meet. Granted, the meet’s short - only about 33 days - but it’s mixed (Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse). Did I mention that Quarter Horses are not my forte? They make up 30% of the meet though, which is nice.
Now, an explanation of the condition book is probably needed. A condition book is the list of races that comes out approximately every ten days to two weeks telling all the races the racing secretary (person in charge of the races) plans on running. Generally, there’re all the races that will be run and an extra or two in case the planned ones don’t fill. The reasons for not filling are most likely an entry in and of themselves, so I won’t get into them here.
Essentially, we have to make up a meet for a middle-of-the-road mythical track in the Midwest. This will not be Saratoga or Del Mar - where purses (award money, for lack of a better term) are high and the races are filled (you have enough to give the public a nice choice in the betting. Full fields are better). Likewise, this is not the fair circuit, so in theory we could attract decent horses (no, I’m not knocking the fairs, they’re just different). Management has, in this case, been kind enough to provide us poor little racing secretaries with the the numbers so with a few small calculations, we can figure out how much money to allocate for purses.
So what needs to be done is that I create a book. I need races for 2 year olds, 3 years olds, 4 and ups, long races, short races, turf races, maiden (non-winners), claimers (you can buy any of the horses running, though it takes more than just walking in off the street and money), allowance(rung down from stakes, which are the top caliber horses out there. Of course, this is in theory - don’t get me started), and a few stakes for both breeds. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a bit headache inducing, but I want to turn the thing in on the 15th (get a few extra points = woot!), and actually, I don’t think it’s going to be all that bad.
But the matrix (spreadsheet or paper with all the races neatly written down and color coded) is more than just randomly sticking races on a grid, and that’s where things get a bit tricky. You need to take into account that horses are not machines, and need some rest time. I can probably have the cheap(er) ones back on the track in about a week and a half or so, but as they go up the ladder, they take more time to rest between races. (Which, by the way, I think is idiotic, though I know and understand the reasoning behind it...) If things are worked out right, you end up with a literal ladder of sorts, if you were to look at a spreadsheet it would be filled cell, then down and over one cell, then filled, then down and over one cell, etc. Naturally, things will be a little off because of dark days (no racing) and the number of races on the card, but it’s the principle of the thing and provides a place to start from.
In addition to this, I’ve got a few worksheets dealing with stall allocation and purse money as well as the breakdown of races. I’ve done the first two, and some of the third. this leaves about two and a half left in addition to creating the actual matrix itself. And here’s the funny thing, the matrix isn’t worth the most points. Sure, it’s a sizable amount, and if you fuck it up, you fuck up your grade, but there’s some room for error, which is quite kind of Doug.
And that, people, is the Matrix. Now you’ve a vague idea what I’m rambling about when I say I’ve got to work on it. It’ll take a fair amount of my spare time, but those who care, don’t worry, I can make time for whatever. Besides, I’ll probably welcome the excuse. *grins* (Yes, I’ll be at WOWTBG. Am not planning on missing that.)
In other news, the weekend was nice. Didn’t do all that much besides the work due this week and watch a bunch of movies. I feel sort of bad, as I’m a little out of the Derby loop (*sigh*) and should know more, but at the same time I think it’s an over-hyped load of BS. Yes, I did just type that. The winner (and several other runner) will most likely be retired by the end of either this or next year (aahh yes, the joys of stud). But that’s an argument for another time.
Besides, as my friend Jon put it - “If this wasn’t being graded, it would actually be sort of fun.”
There are a few of you who probably don’t know that I’m in Tucson at the University of Arizona for (nearly) one reason. at least that’s how it started. things have changed in the past few months and there’s now quite a bit keeping me here... *grins* That reason happens to be the Racetrack Industry Program. What exactly is it? Best (and easiest) description is that it’s a program for people who want to work in animal racing. Most of us are Thoroughbred people, though there are a few who follow Quarter Horses. I’m not sure if anyone is in Harness or Greyhounds... It’s actually a really good program. The University of Louisville is really the only other school that offers something like it. However, their program is in the College of Business, while UA’s is a part of their College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. We’ve also got the Symposium on Racing and Gaming, which is a several day, very large, conference devoted to just that. this year there were panels on marketing horse racing (I should link the article written by the guy who ran it, he’s stellar), racino design and management, slots, racing surfaces, and many other topics relevant to the industry. I came here thinking I wanted to possibly go into Breeding and Sales, but since getting here I’ve decided I’d be happier working more on the Business side of things - Marketing, Management or something along those lines.
At any rate, one of my classes this semester is Organization and Administration of the Racing Office. Guy teaching it is Doug, former Racing Secretary for several tracks and head of the program (not that that bit’s relevant, but still). It’s a class that’s mostly interesting, but has it’s moments. We’re currently covering stall allocation - which is a topic both interesting and yet sometimes I just want to kill. I swear, giving trainers/horses stalls is both an art and a science. Also covered has been entering horses (we got/get to play around with InCompass,, which is the universal software that keeps track of all horses running, be they Quarter, Standardbred, or what have you. I don’t know about the dogs...
So, the major project in the class is called the Matrix. What does this rite of passage for the department entail? Write a condition book for an entire meet. Granted, the meet’s short - only about 33 days - but it’s mixed (Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse). Did I mention that Quarter Horses are not my forte? They make up 30% of the meet though, which is nice.
Now, an explanation of the condition book is probably needed. A condition book is the list of races that comes out approximately every ten days to two weeks telling all the races the racing secretary (person in charge of the races) plans on running. Generally, there’re all the races that will be run and an extra or two in case the planned ones don’t fill. The reasons for not filling are most likely an entry in and of themselves, so I won’t get into them here.
Essentially, we have to make up a meet for a middle-of-the-road mythical track in the Midwest. This will not be Saratoga or Del Mar - where purses (award money, for lack of a better term) are high and the races are filled (you have enough to give the public a nice choice in the betting. Full fields are better). Likewise, this is not the fair circuit, so in theory we could attract decent horses (no, I’m not knocking the fairs, they’re just different). Management has, in this case, been kind enough to provide us poor little racing secretaries with the the numbers so with a few small calculations, we can figure out how much money to allocate for purses.
So what needs to be done is that I create a book. I need races for 2 year olds, 3 years olds, 4 and ups, long races, short races, turf races, maiden (non-winners), claimers (you can buy any of the horses running, though it takes more than just walking in off the street and money), allowance(rung down from stakes, which are the top caliber horses out there. Of course, this is in theory - don’t get me started), and a few stakes for both breeds. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a bit headache inducing, but I want to turn the thing in on the 15th (get a few extra points = woot!), and actually, I don’t think it’s going to be all that bad.
But the matrix (spreadsheet or paper with all the races neatly written down and color coded) is more than just randomly sticking races on a grid, and that’s where things get a bit tricky. You need to take into account that horses are not machines, and need some rest time. I can probably have the cheap(er) ones back on the track in about a week and a half or so, but as they go up the ladder, they take more time to rest between races. (Which, by the way, I think is idiotic, though I know and understand the reasoning behind it...) If things are worked out right, you end up with a literal ladder of sorts, if you were to look at a spreadsheet it would be filled cell, then down and over one cell, then filled, then down and over one cell, etc. Naturally, things will be a little off because of dark days (no racing) and the number of races on the card, but it’s the principle of the thing and provides a place to start from.
In addition to this, I’ve got a few worksheets dealing with stall allocation and purse money as well as the breakdown of races. I’ve done the first two, and some of the third. this leaves about two and a half left in addition to creating the actual matrix itself. And here’s the funny thing, the matrix isn’t worth the most points. Sure, it’s a sizable amount, and if you fuck it up, you fuck up your grade, but there’s some room for error, which is quite kind of Doug.
And that, people, is the Matrix. Now you’ve a vague idea what I’m rambling about when I say I’ve got to work on it. It’ll take a fair amount of my spare time, but those who care, don’t worry, I can make time for whatever. Besides, I’ll probably welcome the excuse. *grins* (Yes, I’ll be at WOWTBG. Am not planning on missing that.)
In other news, the weekend was nice. Didn’t do all that much besides the work due this week and watch a bunch of movies. I feel sort of bad, as I’m a little out of the Derby loop (*sigh*) and should know more, but at the same time I think it’s an over-hyped load of BS. Yes, I did just type that. The winner (and several other runner) will most likely be retired by the end of either this or next year (aahh yes, the joys of stud). But that’s an argument for another time.
