Frequently Ask Questions


1 Q. Do I need a PayPal account to subscribe?
2 Q. Is My subscription automatically renewed at the initial subscription term?
3 Q. Can I subscribe to williespicks by mail?
4 Q. How can I cancel my subscription?
5 Q. What is Willies Picks?
6 Q. Does my subscription include each and every pick you make each day?
7 Q. Why should I subscribe to Willies Picks?
8 Q. How is Willie's Picks different from "tip sheets" or other handicapping services?
9 Q. How accurate are Willie's Picks reports?
10 Q. Do you recommend playing or skipping a wet track with your system?
11 Q. What is your ROI (return on investment)?
12 Q. How do I see some of the results of willie`s picks selections?
13 Q. I clicked on the Willie's image with no results, what should I do?
14 Q. How do I get Adobe Acrobat Reader?
15 Q. If I have a problem how can I contact someone to help me?
16 Q. What is a first time starter and why do you exclude them from your accuracy ratings?
17 Q. Do I have to know all about Thoroughbred racing to use Willie`s picks?
18 Q. How often are new Willie's Picks reports produced?
19 Q. What factors are used to create your Speed category?
20 Q. What factors make up your Pace category?
21 Q. Okay, what goes into Class?
22 Q. What about Post position?
23 Q. How do you evaluate Jockey?
24 Q. What do you base your Trainer rating on?
25 Q. What do the numbers after the jockey's name on the report represent? ex.- "2/0".
26 Q. What is a good gap in performance point numbers to seperate the contenders from the pretenders?
27 Q. What other information do you provide?
28 Q. Can I download the reports?
29 Q. Can I have these reports emailed to me?
30 Q. Is there any customer support, and if so does it cost more?
31 Q. Should I take the reports to my racetrack, OTB or sports book?
32 Q. Can I share the reports with my friends?
33 Q. Do you handicap harness racing? If not, why not?
34 Q. What tracks do you provide handicapping reports for?
35 Q. I tried to print out the trial selection page and can only get the first page of selections. Can you tell me why?
36 Q. Can I place a wager on a race at your site?
37 Q. Why wouldn't I just keep coming back for your "Free Pick" every day instead of purchasing your reports?
38 Q. What if one of your top four entries in the Willies Picks report scratches?
39 Q. What is PayPal?
40 Q. Is my credit card information secure?
41 Q. What are "Subscription" purchases?
42 Q. If I forget my password what do I do?
43 Q. Do you make guarantees on your race reports?
44 Q. How often can I purchase your reports?
45 Q. Why can't I get my reports after I've "purchased" them?
46 Q. How do I read the willies picks sheet?
47 Q. How can I get help with a gambling problem?
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Q. Do I need a PayPal account to subscribe?
A. No. You can pay with your credit/debit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) ¡ª all without having a PayPal account.
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Is My subscription automatically renewed at the initial subscription term?
A. No, your Subscription is automatically cancelled at the end of it's term.
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Can I subscribe to williespicks by mail?
A. No not a this time
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Q. How can I cancel my subscription?
A. You do not have to do anything, your Subscription is automatically cancelled at the end of it`s term. "we do not automatically renew your membership". You are required to renew your membership at the end of it`s term.
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Q. What is Willies Picks?
A. Willies Picks is a state of the art method allowing you, the racing enthusiast, to have the information you need to maximize your enjoyment and winnings at the races. Whether a novice to the world of thoroughbred racing or a veteran player, Willie`s Picks helps you select the races that hold the most interest for you. Willie`s Picks employs complex state-of-the-art computer algorithms to analyze the information available for each horse in each race, and assigns a numerical rating for each entry which include the following categories:
1. The horse's Speed capability, determined by past performance.
2. The horse's Pace, a derivative of the horse's speed and how it is used in each leg of the race.
3. The ability and conditioning of the horse to perform at the Class level of this race.
4. The relative effect of the assigned Post position versus the other post positions in this race.
5. The Jockey's relative performance versus other jockeys competing in the same race as determined by recent performance.
6. The Trainer's relative performance versus other trainers competing in the same race as determined by recent performance.
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Q. Does my subscription include each and every pick you make each day?
A. Yes, when you subscribe to Willies Picks you get all the selections that we make which includes up to 30 to 40 major and minor tracks each day, if your favorite track is not listed let us know and we will add if data is available
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Q. Why should I subscribe to Willies Picks?
A. Willie`s picks reports can reduce the time spent handicapping by pointing out the 4 horses most likely to win or finish in the money in each race = less time handicapping and more sleep. Using Willie`s Picks Reports will enable you to gain an edge on the majority of the betting public. The reports can be used by any type of horseplayer (novice and all the way up to professional).You will improve your game and cash more tickets by using our reports and applying the proven strategies. A recipe for success at any racetrack: Willie`s Picks Reports plus Your own Proven Strategy = Profit! You will routinely cash WIN tickets on strong overlays at very generous odds. Along with win tickets will be exactas, trifectas, pick 3's and pick 4's depending on the strategy. You will experience what it feels like to have the ultimate confidence in all of your wagers.
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Q. How is Willie`s Picks different from "tip sheets" or other handicapping services?
A. Willie`s Picks is unique in a field littered with tip sheets and handicapping services of diverse value. Willie`s Picks provides information for all horses entered in all races at each track for that race day. This information is equivalent to that which a sophisticated handicapper might produce given the necessary time, money and resources to evaluate each entrant at the detailed level used by the Willie`s Picks software. Unfortunately, most people wanting to experience the excitement of Thoroughbred racing don't have the time, access or expertise to handicap at this level. Willie`s Picks rates each entrant then ranks each horse relative to the others entered in that race. Although designed as an informational report, historically the top ranked horse wins approximately one third of all races, one of the top four ranked horses wins 60 to 75 percent of all races (excluding races won by first time starters). These results compare favorably with the results achieved using handicapping services charging $25.00 per track or more. Thus Willie`s Picks reports allows the novice to compete successfully with experienced handicappers and provides the more knowledgeable enthusiast the ability to focus on key races and identify profitable exotic wagers.
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Q. How accurate are Willie`s Picks reports?
A. Historically on average our top ranked horse wins approximately one third of all races, one of our top four ranked horses wins 60 to 75 percent of all races. These accuracy figures exclude races won by first time starters.
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Q. Do you recommend playing or skipping a wet track with your system?
A. We would recommend that you skip all off tracks races, even though somes synthetic surfaces do not seem to be effected when wet.
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Q. What is your ROI (return on investment)?
A. No our staff does not maintain any ROI (return on investment) statistics because we provide our clients with over 35 tracks daily keeping ROI would be impossible, however we do keep some statistics on major tracks that we handicap. Click on willie to see the statistics.
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Q. How do I see some of the results of willie`s picks selections?
A. You can see the results and stats of Willies Picks selections by going to our home page and double click on willie`s image. You will find the results of our selections at some of the major tracks around the country This is a PDF report so you will need Adobe acrobat reader version 4 or later to view this document.
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Q. I clicked on the Willie's image with no results, what should I do?
A. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read/view/print these PDF reports. ( This is a free program.)
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Q. How do I get Adobe Acrobat Reader?
A: Adobe Acrobat Reader should load automatically, if not go to Adobe Acrobat website and download Acrobat reader
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Q. If I have a problem how can I contact someone to help me?
A. If have a problem contact. willie@williespicks.com or call Wiligee @ 619-g00opee Monday thru Friday during normal business hour 8:00am to 6:00pm PST
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Q. What is a first time starter and why do you exclude them from your accuracy ratings?
A. For our purposes, a first time starter is any horse making its first qualified appearance at a North American track. This includes horses making their professional debut, horses entering North American racing from other countries, horses whose only previous races where at non-standard distances for Thoroughbreds and horses whose previous outings were not ratable due to injury or mishap. We exclude those races won by first time starters (either) plus or (minus) since we can only provide limited ratings for these entries. This limited rating causes them to be ranked lower than the fully rated entries even though they may be equal too, or superior to higher ranked horses.
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Q. Do I have to know all about Thoroughbred racing to use Willie`s picks?
A. An in depth knowledge about Thoroughbred racing is not needed to benefit from the Willie`s Picks reports, but as with any tool, the more you know, the better you can use the tool.
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Q. How often are new Willie's Picks reports produced?
A. New Willie`s Picks reports are generally available before midnight Eastern time prior to the day's races.
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Q. What factors are used to create your Speed category?
A. Among the information we use to assign a value to speed are speed figures based on past performance fractional times provided by our data service provider, won by/ beaten by lengths and track and speed variants.
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Q. What factors make up your Pace category?
A. We use much of the same information as in our speed category, but this time we evaluate how the speed was used in each fractional call of the race. This "pacing" is analyzed in several different ways to achieve our final pace rating.
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Q. Okay, what goes into Class?
A. We evaluate track and class movements relative to today's track and class, conditioning, consistency, workouts, plus other factors.
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Q. What about Post position?
A: Willie`s Picks uses a complex formula for rating the effect of assigned post position comparable to other assigned post positions in the race. This formula uses statistical data compiled from recent results of similar distances at this track.
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Q. How do you evaluate Jockey?
A. We rate the Jockey's recent performance at this track, versus the other Jockeys competing in the same race. In some instances, the Jockey's year to date performance is also factored into the equation.
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Q. What do you base your Trainer rating on?
A: We rate the Trainer's recent performance, when possible at the same track for this race, versus the other Trainers competing in this race. In some instances, the Trainer's year to date performance is also used in the equation.
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Q. What do the numbers after the jockey's name on the report represent? ex.- "2/0".
A. The numbers after the jockey`s name represent the jockey/trainer combined starts/wins, which sometimes can be very important.
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Q. What is a good gap in performance point numbers to seperate the contenders from the pretenders?
A. We would say that a horse that holds a 5 to 10 point advantage over his competition is a good candidate to win his race, if all other factors are even, however if the top horse holds a 20 or more performance points advantage over his competition, has highest speed, is morning line favorite, and has worked since last race, this horse would be a very strong candidate to win. Our system handicaps the race in the order that we think the horses will finish before scratches, based on many performance factors such as speed, late run ability, level of competition, etc. We consider any of the top four horses after scratches contenders to win the race.
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Q. What other information do you provide?
A: In addition to the expected performance score for each horse, we give you the race number of each race, race track name code, the horse`s program number, the horse`s last race speed rating on todays surface, todays morning line odds, and horse`s name. and we flag first time starters with an FTS. While every attempt is made to insure the accuracy of the program number and morning line odds there are a few tracks that do not show coupled entries so an official race program should be consulted before placing any wagers based on program number.
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Q. Can I download the reports?
A: Yes, you can download and print the reports for your own use, but as per agreement during signup you are not permitted to resell or share these reports or the information they contain.
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Q. Can I have these reports emailed to me?
A: No, not at this time. Since html formatted pages are not properly read by all email programs, we do not currently offer the reports by email.
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Q. Is there any customer support, and if so does it cost more?
A: We've tried to minimize the need for customer support by including information such as this " Frequently Asked Questions" on this site. Additional customer support is available at no additional charge by emailing at willie@williespicks.com or call Wiligee @ 619-g00opee Monday thru Friday during normal business hour 8:00am to 6:00pm PST
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Q. Should I take the reports to my racetrack, OTB or sports book?
A: Definitely! Next question.
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Q. Can I share the reports with my friends?
A: Absolutely not! These reports are available to you for your own use. Any other use is a violation of the signup agreement and we will take all appropriate steps to protect our rights. Also, it's self-defeating. The essence of pari-mutuel wagering is that you are wagering against your friends and everyone else that is wagering on the same race. Giving Willies Picks to your friends can (if enough people do it) reduce the amount you win. However, if you still want to let your friends in on this, tell them about us and let them buy their own copy!
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Q. Do you handicap harness racing? If not, why not?
A: We don't at this time handicap harness or Greyhound races, however we do handicap Arabian, and Quarter Horse race, That doesn't mean that we won't in the future. We've chosen to focus on Thoroughbreds, Arabian and Quarter Horses and be the best at that before we take on any more projects.
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Q. What tracks do you provide handicapping reports for?
A: We currently handicap all the major race circuits and independent tracks in the United States and Canada. Once we begin a track, we handicap it throughout its entire meet. This means that we will provide reports for all the major tracks each race day. If demand is such we will include additional tracks in the future. You may have noticed by now, we're driven by you, our clients.
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Q. I tried to print out the trial selection page and can only get the first page of selections. Can you tell me why?
A. Our free trial selection page does not have a print function, however you can print the free page by using the copy and paste method.
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Q. Can I place a wager on a race at your site?
A: Willies Picks is an information provider only. We do not accept wagering at our site.
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Q. Why wouldn't I just keep coming back for your "Free Pick" every day instead of purchasing your reports?
A: You are certainly welcome to do that, and we hope it profits you. If it does, we trust that you'll invest in our reports and profit even more.
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Q. What if one of your top four entries in the Willies Picks report scratches?
A. Although we attempt to get all of the early scratches, any entry can scratch right up until post time. It's always possible that one of our top ranked entries will scratch. If this occurs, the remaining entries move up to replace the scratched entry or entries. With traditional "tip sheets" you would lose one or all of that race's picks.
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Q. What is PayPal?
A. PayPal, our authorized credit card processor, it is one of the most secure payment processors on the Internet. PayPal memberships are free. Becoming a member is as easy as entering your payment information and selecting a username (your email) and password for that PayPal account that you are only authorize to access. From then on, you can access and maintain this account by logging in at PayPal.com. You may cancel your subscription by viewing your active subscriptions at your PayPal account.
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Q. Is my credit card information secure?
A. Absolutely. When you enter your personal information online, it is encrypted using a Secure Server before being transferred through the Internet. Your credit card numbers, phone numbers, etc. are as safe as it is physically possible to secure them.
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Q. What are "Subscription" purchases?
A. Subscriptions are memberships that will require renewals on a regular basis. A subscription is not a contract, However we do not automatically renew your membership. You are required to renew your membership at the end of that time period. There are five subscriptions avaliable,Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly. With any of the subscriptions you have access to picks for all active tracks during that time period.
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Q. If I forget my password what do I do?
A. If you forget your username/password, click on forgot username/password under login and follow the instructions and you will recieve your username/password via e-mail
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Q. Do you make guarantees on your race reports?
A. We wish we could, but it is still a horse race, and the wrong horse still wins on occasion (ask anyone who has ever bet on a "sure thing"). Willies Picks will achieve its projected winning percentages over the course of the meet, and we don't charge any more for those days when we are over our goals.
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Q. How often can I purchase your reports?
A. At this time you can only purchase Willies Picks by monthly, quarterly or annual subscriptions, however we hope to make daily and weekly options available in the near future, which will entitle you to the same privileges as our present subscribers.
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Q. Why can't I get my reports after I've "purchased" them?
A. The first thing to do is make sure that you actually subscribed to Willies picks. Next, make certain that you entered your user name and password exactly as they were set up, paying specific attention to upper and lower case. The most common problem occurs when members establish their login info using one or more capital letters. To minimize the likelihood of a mistake, we recommend using all lower case letters for both use name and password. and when all else fails contact willie@williespicks.com.
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Q. How do I read the willies picks sheet?
A. Here is some information and example of how read willies picks selections.
Belmont Park 5/13/2009 12:00:00 AM
Race#TrackPower#Post pos#*Speedmorn/odds**Horse name
1BEL395.0782832.50CAPTAIN SWORD
1BEL387.335753.50SLICK WHEELIE
1BEL377.1446736.00CHERNOBYL'S HERO
1BEL361.4918728.00SIR JUSTIN
1BEL358.5724454.00BRASSY EVENT
1BEL357.76676810.00BONGO BOY
1BEL343.92535320.00FIVE CASES
1BEL336.5851735.00SARATOGIAN

using the 1st race at Belmont as an example our top four selections in the order that we think they will finish are CAPTAIN SWORD, SLICK WHEELIE, CHERNOBYL'S HERO, SIR JUSTIN reading from left to right in order the information is as follows on CAPTAIN SWORD,
1 = race number
Bel = Race track
395.078 = The power number compiled from the following info. " Class/strength of last race, beaten lengths, speed, race finish, and over 25 other bits of statistical data on the horse, jockey, and trainer as provideded by our data service?
2 = program number which in most case is the same number as in the track program
83 = speed performance rating of last race which is provided by data service
* if horse has speed rating of 10 or less means the may not have completed his last race or is making its first start.
2.50 = morning line odds provided by track odds maker
CAPTAIN SWORD = horse name
** If horse`s name is proceeded by FTS this means the horse is making his first start and has no record
Let me suggest to you as a new player that you go to our stats page by clicking on Willie and study the statistics even though they are limited and use them to your advantage. if you are looking for top pick wins then Hollywood Park is best. If you like exactas and trifectas then look at Churchill Downs and Pimlico.
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Q. How can I get help with a gambling problem?
A. If you feel you may have a problem with gambling you may want to seek help by Contacting the National Council on Problem Gambling Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700 Email: ncpg@ncpgambling.org