MAIN PANEL

Main View

The Main Panel is an implementation of Google-Maps. It retains most of the functionality normally provided e.g. moving the map around with mouse dragging. By using controls in the surrounding panels, various views can be superimposed. Illustrated above is the path taken by one of the horses [ shown in white ]. Paths for several horses can be shown simultaneously. An option in the Tools Menu allows for the drawing of the inside path.

Sectional-markers are added dynamically and there is provision to add extra detail that may relate to a specific venue.

User Control

Click anywhere on the map to locate the selected horse to a point on the track nearest to the clicked position. If no horse is selected, the group will locate to the nearest track point. Where there are multiple laps in a race, a lap-counter will show mid-map. To switch views between various laps, click multiple times without shifting the mouse position.

RACE CONTROL PANEL

The Legend

The Legend is dynamically set to display all the competitors in a race. If there are scratchings in a particular race, these names are shown with a strike-through and the corresponding functions are disabled. The coloured check-box indicates the competitor-colour used as reference in other parts of the application. Click on this to highlight the path taken by the horse in question, and click again to remove. Multiple selections can be displayed to compare various aspects of the race.

The plain check box is used to make selections for the popup charts. When no box is checked, all graphical points are plotted. Again, this could be useful for comparing performances between two or more competitors. A click anywhere on a particular line will enable or disable the name tag that is attached in the main panel and the zoom-panel.

Control Buttons

The five buttons beneath the Legend are used to control the race playback, much the same way as controls on a video recorder. Functions are provided to Play, Pause, Stop, Step-Forward, Step-Back, and Fast-Forward. If the race-call audio is enabled, the sound will synchronize and play as expected from any point in the race.

ZOOM VIEWER PANEL

The Viewer

This panel displays a scalable view of the horses' relative positions in relation to the selected horse i.e. the horse with the name-tag attached. In Play-Mode, these positions change to follow the progress of the race. In Pause-Mode, the viewer presents a snapshot at the chosen moment in the race. Mouse-over on any of the horse graphics to display the name of the related horse.

User Control

The user can select a position of interest by clicking on the main panel for broad resolution, or clicking on the Zoom-Viewer to select a position more accurately. For instance, if the finish-line is visible, a click on this line will move the selected horse to that position. All associated statistical information is adjusted accordingly. A scroll-bar at the top of the viewer sets the zoom-level between preselected limits.

RACE INFORMATION

Extra Statistics

There are two drop-down selection boxes at the top of the Statistics Panel. These control the information that is displayed in the two columns following the horse names. The options are as follows...

RACE INFORMATION

Race Placings

The row of numbered coloured-boxes at the top of the Information Panel shows the race order for the first ten horses. These are updated dynamically to reflect the chosen moment in the race. By clicking on a box, the user can set the selected horse, much the same as making the selection in the Race-Control Panel.

Sectional Times and Placings

Each line on the Information Panel represents the results at the given sectional-marker. When the leading horse has passed each marker, it is highlighted. The coloured boxes at the end of the lines indicate the leading three horses for the section.

ENERGY GRAPH POPUP

Energy Graph

The data and calculations behind this graph are very much a work in progress. There are quite complex algorithms involved here and much testing with good data will be required before a useful quantitative measure of energy can be defined.

SPEED GRAPH POPUP

Speed Graph

This graph displays the speed at various intervals throughout the race for each of the horses. It is dynamically linked to the Legend [ Panel ] so that specific horses can be selected for comparison. In the screen-shot above, there were a couple of data anomalies that were responsible for the extreme excursions. There is an option to filter out these anomalies if desired.