TO jfc, after some investigation as far as using track records as a basis for a system, I would have to agree with your reasons as to why it would not work. I still think however that there may be some instances where times can help establish the field strength of a particular grade of race. For example, a horse wins a race by ten lengths, is it the next Phar Lap or has it come up against a bunch of camels? I take it your methods of form study are more class/weight related! What factors would you use to determine whether a ten length win is a sign of things to come? some ratings I have seen on websites seem to vary quite a bit as far as giving a class figure for each race is concerned. e.g after allowing for weight and beaten margin adjustments even class 2 events at the same track can vary by up to 5 kilos. Would these figures be very accurate? I would be interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this matter.