I concur that it is strange for them to suddenly start charging. I prefer DRF past performance files, and when I know I'm going to the track or OTB, I buy them and download the PDFs. The price isn't bad and I like the product.

They also do two free "Races of the Week" as many of you already know, and I have gotten in the habit of checking those out too. It has definitely caused me to play more as I can casually analyze those two races without committing to spending the time of reviewing an entire card. It also gets me to check out DRF.com several times a week, and then I see what their top stories are.

So they already have me as a periodic, and somewhat frequent customer, but they also are keeping me happy by giving me something for free, and that stimulates even more interest. I think it's a great strategy, and their owner, Steve Crist, is a very bright guy.

they should charge a PENNY a day

some casinos do charge for the form but its just a dollar.

The cutting off of free info. is the result of how "tight" the dollar really is.
As a close watcher of handle of the OTB corp that employs me, I can tell you that free info is very costly. Equibase et al is putting the squeeze on everyone therefore making free info no longer free. The fees are costly.
The down handle figures posted on different sites for race tracks etc are real. For a lot of reasons this game and others are in big money trouble.
For at least the last 60 days I have seen 1 up day so far and that was this past Wednesday. As a Dept Head I have been asked for several reports asking for the barest of minimum to operate at the risk of shutting down.