Different places come up with different ways of classifying a leader. I guess it will all depend on what service you get.

Yes, you right there wespi. Like ratings and pp odds. There is a subjective element involved in deciding running style for any horse younger than 4yrs. old. and where noted, running style for most 2yr. olds should be ignored outright, regardless of source.

Another big problem is jockeys who ignore a horses running style and trainers instructions!

Crash,
quite bemused by your comment about how Sportsman can't supply live TAB odds.Tell me a paper that can.
As for cost as against paying for a service,I wouldn't know what a decent (or bad)service was,as I have never payed for one,but some that I have seen advertised or recieved the"glossies"in the mail far outweigh my cost of the Saturday Sportsman.
I don't bet midweek,only Saturday Sydney and Melbourne.
I don't go back 10 starts,5 is enough for me.
You get Zipform ratings Zipform liftout with all sorts of valuable info at a glance,jockey/trainer s/r,sectional times,and a comprehensive trackwork section.
What is the"heaps of other stuff you need?"
Not having a dig at you here,so please don't take offence.
If you subscribe to a decent service and it works for you,good onya.
I just prefer to put in the hard yards and back my own judgement,not someone else's that I have to pay for.
I don't bet with the TAB anymore,so I don't need their live odds anyway.
As any serious punter knows(and I'm sure your'e one)if you don't put in the time and effort you will never win long term.
Which also to me means keeping meticulous records of every bet.
How many punters do you know who do that?

go4it,

I used to use the the Sportsman for many years and it's certainly a good form, but the old eyesight isn't what it used to be and I'd need a very good light source, reading glasses AND a magnifying glass to wade through a lot of the Sportsman's tiny font size nowadays. When young, we always ignore the strain we put our eyes through and think sharp eyesight is forever.

I only change to on-line form because of eyesight issues that started kicking in with age [caused by too many years reading newsprint form info. font size?]. I'd never go back now even if I regained 20/20 vision. It's the difference between driving an old Holden and a new BMW 7 series.

On-line form suits my eyesight fine. I can copy and paste any info. I want to 'notepad' [a bit hard with newsprint] or copy whole pages and easily store any info I want for future use with a couple of clicks of the mouse also print out anything I want arranged anyway I want if I need to, in an easy to read font size of my choice.

If I want to go to our Local Bairnsdale country meeting, with a few clicks I can head off there with a comprehensive form guide, neatly printed up on A4 with as much or as little form info. in it as I want.

Sure, form services aren't for everyone but they have moved light years ahead of what old fashioned newsprint form offers. I've also found my returns have improved way beyond what the on-line service costs. It pays for itself.

Crash,

good explanation,thanx.

Just for the record,my eyes aint' what they used to be either,and I do have a degree of difficulty reading the small print,even in good light and with my glasses on.

Maybe it's time I considered changing to your approach.

I'd take the old Holden anyday.
Cheaper to run and fix, and far more reliable - but then I'm biased

However, I currently drive an old LTD (1980's version), which is like driving a 12 foot boat across Bass Strait with a crosswind

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Hi guy’s,
Why don’t you look into improving your eyesight by exercising them? There are wonderful instructions how to do it, cost nothing only 5 –10 min per day. (Google) or your local library. Get all the info you need.
It helped me a lot. The only downside is the discipline; it must be done every day, morning and evening.
If you have time for forum and betting, shouldn’t have a problem. Been doing it for 15 years, 5 min in the morning and 5 while laying in you bad before you go to sleep, my vision is just getting better and better.
Cost nothing to have a go.

go4it,

Well you can always access for a single 24hrs. for $5 to check out my service. In fact if you only follow Sat. your better off getting a booklet of 5 or 10 single 24hr. visits if you like the service [cheaper than a monthly 24/7] and access Friday sometime for 24hrs. to do Sat. form. For free you can read up carefully on what everything on [inclusive] offer within the service is and means. Examples provided.

My form service just provides info., it doesn't tell me what to back. It's basic [you can get a lot more bells and whistles at a price from other services but it's rubbish info as far as I'm concerned] and the cheapest around but more than enough info. for my needs. If you want to know the site, just e/m me: akabilk AT internode DOT on DOT net DOT com

I had an eye retinal detachment [eye outer tearing across itself at the rear of the eyeball] several yrs. ago and have been doing eye exercises ever since. One of them was to avoid very small print in poor light! :-))

I just read how you guys struggle a little with reading the Sportsman paper because of the small print. Just thought I'd let you know that I subscribe to the weekend Sportsman online, so from every Thursday arvo/evening I can download the Sportsman paper to my computer. This means I don't have to have tonnes of newspapers lying around all the time, I don't have to visit numerous newsagents trying to track down a copy of the paper, and also I can access any of the past editions I've paid for from my computer anytime I want. And for anyone who struggles to read the small print, there's a zoom in/zoom out button to help make everything more readable. You can also buy single versions of the online editions too, if needed, and the price is always the standard $5 per paper. I've been a subscriber to the online version of the Sportsman for over a year now, and don't have a single complaint with the service, and in case you were wondering, no I don't work for The Sportsman. Check it out.