Steve Carp: Racing Form gets another challenge

Thursday, May 8, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

AS THEY TRIED to pick winners over the weekend, local horse players found themselves armed with more than the Daily Racing Form for information.

Race books throughout town had another newspaper being distributed on the premises. It, too, had all sorts of facts and figures and it was very thorough, with seven tracks, from New York to California, within its covers.

The Form, which has been around for more than a century, has beaten back several challenges to its domain. Now, it faces another. This time, it's the "Daily Racing Program." The new publication, which has been in the works for nearly a year, hit the stands Friday and will be distributed free during May in Las Vegas race books.

It is geared for the simulcast player, the guy betting at several different tracks who needs the required information. Instead of buying three forms to play races in New York, Kentucky and California, the Daily Racing Program is all-inclusive, making only one necessary.

"We're giving the player value," said Irwin Cohen, the DRP's editor-in-chief. "The horse player has been left in the dust with taxes, takeout ... all the costs are skyrocketing. This is one time they get back something they can see, touch and feel."

The DRP will cost $3 beginning next month. The Form also costs $3, but if you wanted to bet coast-to-coast, it would require three forms and $9. The $6 savings translates into three more bets.

"I'm a player myself, so I'm sensitive to these things," Cohen said.

But what about the information? How will someone who has grown up reading the Form adjust to the Daily Racing Program?

The DRP is similar to the Form in many respects. It has past performances thanks to Equibase. It has speed figures. It has trip notes. It has workouts. But it also has additional features that horse players will find handy. It has additional past performance lines, up to 25, so a bettor can go farther back in researching a horse. It also highlights horses who have run against each other in the same race, so you don't have to search for the info.

It also provides equipment and shoe information within the charts. If a horse ran with mud caulks, it will appear in the past performances. And the horse's program number appears next to it. Thus, the name "Daily Racing Program."

You won't find a lot of editorial content. There won't be a lot of "industry news" or commentary. Cohen said the Las Vegas simulcast player is too busy handicapping the next race to spend time reading about yearling sales.

"We've had a lot of positive feedback," Cohen said. "A couple of quacks called and said we have too much information in it. But that's like saying you have too much money."

Cohen wouldn't say how much money has been invested in this venture or how deep the pockets are to sustain the publication over the long haul. The last time someone challenged the Racing Form in 1992, the results were disastrous. The Racing Times, fraught with internal troubles and lack of capital, packed it in before the quarter pole and didn't make it to a full year.

Time will decide whether the Daily Racing Program succeeds. It won't be easy converting the masses who have been weaned on the Racing Form. But this game is tough enough for horse players. If someone can give more information and help pick winners without charging an arm and a leg for it, how can that hurt?