What is Computaform?
South African horseracing’s form guide — explained for first-time punters.
The punter’s cheat sheet
Computaform is South Africa’s free form guide — one PDF per race meeting, listing every race, every horse, and a computer rating of each one’s chance. Think of it as the study notes for race day: you don’t need all of it, and even the ratings alone beat picking on names and colours.
The two ratings that matter
Computaform Rating — the form score. Highest in the race = the pick on paper.
Speed Rating — how fast it has actually run. Near the top of both lists is the sweet spot; just check the horse has run well over a similar distance before.
How to use it — six steps
Download the card
Free PDF for every SA meeting — grab this Saturday’s Durban July card.
Find your race
Each race header shows the time, distance and prize money, then one line per horse.
Shortlist by ratings
Top of the Computaform and Speed lists = the form picks.
Check the details
Draw, weight, recent form and the one-line expert comment.
Dig deeper (optional)
Full run-by-run history plus jockey and trainer stats in the back pages.
Bet on TAB
Start simple: Win or Place on your pick.
Anatomy of a card line
Every horse gets one line in the card. Here’s a real one from this year’s Durban July, decoded:
Number & (draw) — her race number, and in brackets her starting gate. Think parking bay at the start — a low bay is the inside lane.
Weight — what she must carry. The better the horse, the heavier the backpack.
Jockey & trainer — the driver and the coach.
Career record — 10 runs: 5 wins, 4 places. Her report card.
Merit Rating — the official measure of ability. Like a gamer’s Elo score — higher is better.
Forecast odds — the expected price. The price tag: at 14-1, R1 wins you R14 profit.
Two more you’ll meet: C&D next to a horse means it has already won over this course and distance — home-ground advantage — and scratched means it withdrew — a no-show, your stake on it is refunded.
Where to get the latest Computaform
TAB publishes the free Computaform card for every South African meeting. You’ll find the Computaform download button on TAB’s featured pages and event portals — for the Hollywoodbets Durban July it’s right in the July portal menu, or grab it directly:
Download this week’s Computaform (Durban July, 4 July)
New card, new meeting: each PDF is named for its venue and date, and is published in the days before the meeting once final fields are declared. If you’re betting a different meeting, look for its Computaform link on the TAB racing pages for that day.