Pratt meter

[OPM]

Hey Mall:
Hope you had a good time at MNR.   How do we bring this Pratt meter to reality?  If we can get the specs for this meter, I can start e-mailing to all track superintendent for the next weeks, months, years to get them to use this stuff.  If we can get the specs on how exactly it works, what studies were done using it to verify that it works, we will have a better case.  Also, we need to find out exactly how many measurements are needed.  Do we measure every 1/16th, every furlong, how many paths do we measure at each point?  Also, is this times intensive or do you just stick it into the ground and it gives you a reading?

[Mall]

I more than succeeded in my modest goals, which were to help W.Ando & not lose too much. Coincidentally, the Mnr track was recently \"winterized\" & there seemed to be a severe inside speed bias. W.Ando was attacking the windows with gusto, & made the kind of profit which qualifies for a nickname, which poses a problem, since King of the Mountain & Mountain Man are already taken. A distaff friend suggested Mt. Ando, despite a concern that you or one of my other cohorts might try to do something with the literal translation, which I assured her would not happen unless, of course, the right opportunity presents itself.

Imagine a long, motorized arm attached to the inner rail which goes around the entire track & which has measuring devices at various points along the arm, & which can be stopped as often as you want to take measurements. In his Part II post, JB capitalized a quote from a study I posted on a month or so ago. Ironically, the authors\' source for that quote is Dr Pratt\'s 1980 TBred Times article in which he outlines how a Pratt Meter works. The reason those authors cite Pratt but did not use his meter was undoubtedly cost, which at approx $100k is a major impediment. As an alternative, they had each hoove shod with instrumented shoes containing transducers, the leads of which were connected to preamplifiers attached to each leg. The cables from the preamps were connected to a multichannel recorder in backpack worn by the jockey. Extremely clever & resourceful, so much so that they obtained a patent.

Let me suggest a more modest goal. MagnaScan\'s turf measurements are done using a GPS they already have, so all they presumably would need are the coordinates of US turf courses. Your present enthusiasm leads me to believe you\'re the right man for the job.