Duck,

There are many sets of stats around and they don't always agree, do they? I compile my own to compare - and to get insights into how its done and what its about.

I wonder about excessive minutae in statistics. The more I deal with stats the more I round things out to whole numbers and just look at *proportions*, not percentages. When you get a figure like 67.5% winners started last start 1-14 days, there is nothing at all significant about the exact figure. Round it off to 7/10. The exact figure will hover around there, near enough. No need to put on a white lab coat and be all scientific about it. Rough stats will do. Its the broad ratios and proportions you need to build from.

Exact figures contribute to the scientific mystique of stats when, as Homer Simpson pointed out, 52% of people know they're rubbish.

(However, he also said, "The flu on the wekend. What are the chances? A million to one!")

Hermes