I ditched this method after 3 years of research. A 40% strike rate is the best I could ever achieve.

Frawley already said in his AA mag that he only ever broke even with it.

There are much better techniques but you have to learn Vedic Astrology.

My experience with the 5th Campanus cusp method has been rather mixed. I gave up using it about a year ago. However, I do find using the closest applying aspect in the chart and the position and aspects of the Asc ruler does work reasonably well, if you don't just look for the name, but also take into account the colours carried.

Interesting point about the scheduled or actual time of the race. I have found that the scheduled time does seem to work better than the actual (later) start time.

I should also say that I only consider applying aspects.

Undoubtedly, the 5th cusp method is the most accurate that i've come across - i'm a bookmaker and have been looking into this for at least 15 years now.

The trick to using this method is realising when it works and when it doesn't - and you'll know when it does because the chart will simply sing out to you. An example would be the 5th cusp quincunx to 12th house Neptune, in the term of Venus, Lady of the 6th, who herself is in the term of Mars, Lord 7 - link with one of those 'Fiftyshadesof..' horses? (Wolves, 27.09.2014, 20:30). Just a single example.

Heh heh heh.

However it doesn't work on every race - but with novices and maidens it seems works a treat. And in my experience it's apparently more accurate on flat than on jumps - i have stats that will make your eyes water - such as there's more and bigger payouts during both the waning and waxing crescent phases than during any other time of the month, for example. Discretion with art, as the old saying goes.

You also need to know a little about racing and about gambling because i'm not sure one can use astrology as some sort of cosmic fruit machine - you have to be selective, know your onions and not be greedy.

A final point is that i suppose that one's philosophical view of astrology is important here - if you happen to be of the saturnian 'it's a science' train of thought, you'll get no-where using this method. It's much more fun to go down the 'poetic metaphor' route - you'll have much more success finding winners too. I'll be dedicating a whole chapter to this subject in the foreseeable future!

Interesting point about the scheduled or actual time of the race. I have found that the scheduled time does seem to work better than the actual (later) start time.

As most races go off no later than about 20 - 40 seconds after the scheduled start - and I'm sure only the most extreme Virgos worry about that, it makes absolutely no difference in the vast majority of races, as most aspects in this method are applying anyway. Even when using the Moon as the flow of events, where she is super speedy - covering 6-7? in a 90 min period (4'mins of arc = 1 min of real time), movement of less than 1? of arc is not going to make the slightest bit of difference.

And as for colours - what happens when there's a silk change (which happens regularly)? Does it mean that the old nag from the rag and bone yard down the road beats Frankel because his jockey is now in red colours on a Tuesday in a Mars hour?

I don't think so either.

Move the cusp on until you find a planet, as astrogooner says, across signs if necessary.

It is an absolute precondition to move across signs - the shortest aspect that Addey's method works with is, from my experience, a Novile - 40?.

I probably did not make myself clear when talking about scheduled time versus actual time of the off.

I have seen races start 60 or even 90 seconds late. The effect is not on planets obviously, it is on the 5th cusp. It can mean that at the scheduled time the 5th cusp was applying to a planetary aspect, but at the actual time, a minute later, this aspect was separating and the cusp is now applying to a different planet. That is rather important

As I said, in fact I find the scheduled time of the race works better. This might mean that separating aspects that are still very close are more effective that applying aspects with a wide orb. Difficult to tell.

It can mean that at the scheduled time the 5th cusp was applying to a planetary aspect, but at the actual time, a minute later, this aspect was separating and the cusp is now applying to a different planet. That is rather important

How many minutes of arc does a cusp move in 90 seconds?

Really, it makes no difference unless the cusp is in exact aspect to the significator to start with. But the whole idea of using this method is to move it until you find the correct planet, and that's not necessarily the first one you come across. Maybe that's why it doesn't work for you?

astrogooner wrote:How many minutes of arc does a cusp move in 90 seconds?
Really, it makes no difference unless the cusp is in exact aspect to the significator to start with.

It can move a degree in 90 seconds. If the original aspect is very close it will make a significant difference, applying becomes separating.

I am not sure what you mean by "But the whole idea of using this method is to move it until you find the correct planet, and that's not necessarily the first one you come across."

Are you saying that the 5th cusp method has to be supported by other indications for the same planet? How do you find "the correct planet"? You seem to be advocating what I and others use - find the horse that is best indicated by a number of reinforcing factors in the chart - where the 5th cusp is just one of them.

Are you saying that the 5th cusp method has to be supported by other indications for the same planet?

I said nothing of the sort, but maybe i didn't make myself clear. I am saying that the 5th Cusp method should be supported by indications for the NAME OF THE HORSE, not the planet. This is because i believe that it's the horse that wins the race, not the planet nor the colour of shirt that the rider happens to be wearing. Of course, the more testimony there is the better chance that particular horse has of winning. It's a question of finding a way into and around the chart. I'm afraid it's not a simple case of casting a chart and Hey Presto! A Winner!

For example - 5th cusp quincunx to 12th house Neptune, in the term of Venus, Lady of the 6th, who herself is in the term of Mars, Lord 7 - clearly shows us the name 'Fiftyshadesoffreed'.

Another example is the horse 'Forgotton Rules' - 5th 21Tau47 opposite Saturn 22Scorp20 in the term of Mercury at 21Lib24R 13:45 Ascot 18.10.14.

But like every thing that astrology is applied to, one needs to understand the subject in question.

A good horse to follow is one named 'Black Granite'. It's won 3 times since October and every time the indicators were different, yet always still carried the same theme, albeit in different ways.