- This topic has 17 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 7 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I do not know how many on here subscribe to professional publications but I have subscribed to Superform for about 10 years and was saddened today to be informed by letter that they are packing it in.
They cite the demise of their printed work as most people use the internet.
They will be sadly missed as I found them the best of all the publications you could purchase.
It will certainly make it a lot harder.
That is sad to hear mate, though I never subscribed to that organisation, finding Timeform early in my gambling days. Hope Timeform do not do the same with the Perspective. With Raceform and Timeform and probably others too, there are still choices.
Ginge
Value Is EverythingA bit strange they didn’t set up a web subscription? If they’ve been around that long you’d think they would have plenty of satisfied customers who would be just as willing to use an on-line service.
What other choices are there?
Superform’s £11 per month for an all you can eat buffet of both flat and jumps cards plus a database of results over 5 year was fantastic value.. verses the "others":
Raceform Interactive Flat & Jumps data plus daily updates – monthly rate
£69 per monthTimeform:
– Race Insight £1.50 per race,
– Race card £5 meeting
– Timeform-i (12 months Flat) £48 month
– Timeform-i (12 months Jumps) £48 monthRacing Post
– Free (for now)I would have paid a lot more to keep the service alive.. sad loss!
That is a real shame as the old Superform annuals were the first I ever bought and the starting point for many good journalists etc including Simon Holt.
Indeed Slipperytoad, the best value around and excellent commentary with a fantastic database.
I will probably pack the game in without them.
The rest are to expensive.
A sad loss to racing.
Both HappyJack and myself worked for Superform for many years before moving on to pastures new!
It is indeed a sad loss, especially as I still have a password to the site
I suppose I will have to get used to the Racing Post!I guess at just £12 a month it is hard to compete with something that is free and with the paper subscriptions falling I suppose it was inevitable in the end. It also doesn’t help that Kevin Gilroy, who started Superform back in the 70’s, has finally decided that retirement is a sensible option
slipperytoad, Proform is excellent at around £12 per week for both flat & jumps (before discount) Best system builder tool around.
This is a real shame – their commentaries have always been much better than their rivals and they will be a sad loss.
Did the letter say when and why they were packing in? Maybe news of their demise could bring some old subscribers out of the woodwork and something could be salvaged.I’m obviously biased but Superform is a very fine company and I will always be grateful to them for giving me my first job in racing. It is a terrible shame that they are folding, but on the other hand Kevin Gilroy has worked incredibly hard on the business for the past 35 years and he thoroughly deserves a long and happy retirement.
I have been using Superform for over 30 years,does anyone remember the old Haig book?Sad news.
If you go to back a certainty always buy a return ticket.
I remember the Haig form books, in fact I have only recently given them to someone who wanted to do some research.
Colin
I’ve got a few of the Haig books from the early 1980s. In terms of historical completeness they have always fallen a little short of the Raceform / Chaseform equivalents for me, on account of unplaced horses, also-rans and most failures to finish not featuring comments in running or jockeys. However, the little resumes of certain horses’ trip, course and ground preferences have saved me a hell of a lot of time and effort on many occasions.
Some of the comments seem to have been hewn from the same rock as Mackenzie, Selby and Harris carve – in one race I was looking at the other day, the hapless gelding Dan Dare is given no more of a write-up than the dismissive, "Whatever was he doing in this affair!"
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
I did not subscribe to superform as you will know from my following comments.
What is it in particular that you are missing and cant get?
I ask as i use several very cheap or free sites and have lots of information readily available. The combined cost is about a tenner a month.
In terms of database, the one at horseracebase is the best i have came across and i have seen several suggestions made to them implemented. You can break any set of criteria down by anything you like, quite an invention!
This along with the free videos at ATR, the racing post’s comments in running and i do ok.
But id be very interested as i say in what you guys can no longer get, id be willing to bet if you wrote to horseracebase they may well take it on for you.
The comments and their ratings were second to none. It was rare that they were that far off the mark.
They were unbiased (unlike some) and often said what others in racing would not which was refreshing.
They were more than just ratings, there insight was second to none and I must admit that without them and their value for money compared with others have left me contempalting packing it all in.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.