• Hi Guest Just in case you were not aware I wanted to highlight that you can now get a free 7 day trial of Horseracebase here.
    We have a lot of members who are existing users of Horseracebase so help is always available if needed, as well as dedicated section of the fourm here.
    Best Wishes
    AR

Any Geeks, Software Developers here ?

I have ordered the Microsoft SQL Developer 2012.

Mention this to give this thread a bump , and to ask if there is a complete beginners guide to using the software which is horse racing specific.
 
Don't know of any guide that's specific to horse-racing, either for any flavour of SQL or for Access. The nearest I've got to it is this thread on the SQL Server Central forums:
Code: 
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1388991-391-1.aspx

...but it's tangential to horse racing. You may have to register to see the thread, but it's well worth doing so as the site is a mine of information on MS SQL Server, especially in their Articles, Stairways and Scripts sections. Another very useful site is:
Code: 
https://www.simple-talk.com/

There are dozens of books available on everything to do with MS SQL, but mostly from a DB professional's point of view. This is one of the best resources I know (unfortunately, pop-up screens at every mouse click and only one download per hour, unless you pay):
Code: 
http://www.wowebook.info/

For absolute beginners, I found the Joes2Pros series to be useful and I still refer to it every now and again (also available in Kindle versions):
Code: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=joes2pros&sprefix=Joes2%2Caps%2C226&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ajoes2pros
Code: 
http://joes2pros.com/

This video series is well done:
Code: 
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL08903FB7ACA1C2FB

Finally, there are some very helpful people on this forum who have considerable practical expertise in SQL Server and from whom I've learned a lot. It's well worth asking a question here if you can't find your answer on the web.

Good luck!

Ray
 
Off topic within the off topic :)
a mate(yes I have one :) ) has acquired a keylogger prob,whether by a hacker or Trojan I don't know,but his emails are being used by this little barsteward,of course email passwords are encrypted,but not to a keylog merchant,sooo my suggestion was to visit the nearest tinternet kayf,or library and change the password/s from there,which I thought could at least put them on hold until the puter was sorted,don't know if this could be a temporary solution?
Also,can anyone suggest a kosher 'seek and destroy' program/software that may help to eradicate the Trojan/hack prob,(free or paid) :drinks:
 
arkroyal said:
Has he tried AVG? They do a free version which is pretty good.
Click to expand...
cheers kev but I think AVG would be a bit after the event,imo he needs something with a great deal of oomph,that's techno speak btw :) :) :drinks:
 
hayzee said:
imo he needs something with a great deal of oomph,that's techno speak btw :) :) :drinks:
Click to expand...

Malwarebytes has a good reputation. Worth a try.

Code: 
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/

Ray
 
I have always found trend micros housecall to be very good

Code: 
http://www.trendmicro.co.uk/campaigns/housecall/index_a.html?mkwid=sFLdxndCS_dc&pcrid=28710322866&kword=trend%20micro%20housecall&match=e&plid=&gclid=CJ-iyqD70bgCFUTItAodRTYAYg
 
I bought Joes2Pros Beginning SQL 2012 Vol 1 this is brilliant for complete beginners like me.

Where do people get their historical data from.I can't afford Raceform Interactive or Proform.
And I'm guessing it would be beneficial to use the same source to keep up to date with the daily updating.

I currently subscribe to HorseRaceBase but would have to download results on a day by day basis , this would be OK for daily updating
but would be very time consuming if going back 3 to 5 years.

I also have a subscription to the Racing Post.
 
There are a some options open to you:

1. A free database that's available and updated on a regular basis, but not daily (or weekly - not sure) unless you pay, can be found here (latest version, 1994 to 16th June 2013):

Code: 
http://www.racingsense.com/download.htm

It's an Access DB and you'll need Access to convert it to Access 2003 format in order to import it into SQL Server. I can give you the steps for getting it into SQL Server, if you need them.

2. You could purchase an 8-week subscription to Proform and renew it when you need to have the latest data. Once your subscription lapses, you can't use the Proform interface to access the database, but you'll still be able to access it via SSMS.

3. You could take up one of the reduced deals that Raceform Interactive have and renew your subscription when you need to. They sell five years of data, but if you ring them and ask for it they'll send you ten years' worth. I believe there's someone on this forum who has the RI data tucked up in SQL Server. If they read this, maybe they'll chime in with more information.

4. You could write a web-scraper to download the results from the Racing Post on a daily basis. French racing is my interest, so I don't have a scraper for the RP. But I think that some have been posted in this Geeks forum. Might be worth taking a look.

If you're taking legacy data from a database that's different to the data you're going to download on a daily basis, you'll have a lot of careful planning to do!

Anyway, let us know how you get on.

Ray
 
Hi Ray

I have downloaded the racing sense software.
I don't have Access at the moment(and don't really want to have to buy it)so could I use a trial version ?
I would be grateful for the steps required to import this to SQL server.

Robert
 
Hi Robert,

I imagine you'll be able to convert it with a trial version, but I don't know for sure. Assuming you can, you can later decide if a purchase of Access is worth it for converting subsequent updates to the SSR database. Anyway, here are the steps to take:

1. Extract the "racingsenseyyyymmdd.zip" file
2. Open the "racingsenseyyyymmdd" folder and extract the "SSR132.CAB" file. Had to use 7-zip for this, as Windows zip doesn't show up in the context menu when right-clicking the file.
3. Locate the "ssr.mdb" file in the "SSR132" folder and note its path.
4. Open Access and go to Tools-->Database Utilities-->Convert Database and select To Access 2002 - 2003 File Format. Save the converted file.
5. In SSMS, create a new database in << Server Name you used when installing SQL Server >>, e.g. SSR_Jun2013, and give names to the .mdf and *log.ldf files, e.g. SSR_Jun_2013.mdf and SSR_Jun2013_log.ldf.
6. Right-click on the new database -->Tasks -->Import Data...
7. In Data source, select Microsoft Access (Microsoft Access Database Engine).
8. Browse to the Access .mdb file that was converted in 4, above.
9. Make sure the Server and database names are correct.
10. Click on Next (not Finish) and select all tables and then Next.
11. Select Run immediately.
12. In the actions summary window, click Finish.

Happy explorations!

Ray
 
rpjd99 said:
There are a some options open to you:

1. A free database that's available and updated on a regular basis, but not daily (or weekly - not sure) unless you pay, can be found here (latest version, 1994 to 16th June 2013):

Code: 
http://www.racingsense.com/download.htm

It's an Access DB and you'll need Access to convert it to Access 2003 format in order to import it into SQL Server. I can give you the steps for getting it into SQL Server, if you need them.
Click to expand...

:text-goodpost:
Nice find mate! Thanks!
 
In regards to access you can buy a cheap original copy of office 2003 on ebay. I got a very basic (without access) for the£20. Full licence and original disc. Now I need a copy of excel 2007 so I will be shopping again. Bit more pricey for that. But de give ebay a try for a 2003 product.
 
I am interested in obtaining a full past history of results which can be updated daily and had looked at Proform before. When you say about Raceform 'selling you five years of data but if you ask they will send you ten', is this a special purchase disc or download they sell knowing you will use this information in a database and separate from joining Raceform monthly, or do you mean by joining Raceform monthly, getting the latest disk (as I have done in the past) and then using a Query on Raceform to extract the data, such as horse, course, distance, jockey, trainer etc., then saving in excel and transferring to a database? If the latter would it not take a long time to get five/ten years of info?

Thank you, it's a very interesting thread.
 
Hi Wizardry7,

First of all you need a proper avatar.......There you go, please feel free to change it to something more appropraite by going to your profile.
I believe Ray is saying that when buy RI it comes with 5 years of data as standard but if you phone them they will give you 10. This dat will be there in thier database but it is easy enough to link their tables to your own database so you can write your own queries etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top