Many thanks to Punter57 and Kenny Victor for your valuable comments..."As for LSW it has more to do with the perceived "class" of the LSW than anything else. Some people may bet blindly on that "1" in the guide but their money is very DILUTED by all the "1"s you'll find most days. cheers."

Yes..that is where the combining of ratings with a selection method takes care of the class factor. Call me lazy, but using freely available ratings takes into account all these factors such as class, jock, trainer ..the lot. I would not use a straight mechanical system without ratings, and likewise I dont habve the time nor the inclination to manually do ratings myself. I understand those who get their enjoyment from doing the ratings. It is an art. I'll say art rather than science..because my logic tells me that if it was an exact science every ratings person would arrive at the same selections. Clearly, this does not happen

"The only bonus I give a horse for recent runs is if it's in the last 6 days. Shows it's fit and didn't suffer any ill effects from its last race."

I can fully appreciate your logic there K.V. many a winner in the Spring carnival backs up like this and wins easily. Ive noticed here in NZ, where they sometimes have trots twice at a track over a three day weekend and often the winners on the last day were also winners on the first day. Ive only noticed this as a casual observer as I am not a trottting person.