About

In the beginning...

Hello...

My name is Keith Eckstein and I'm the creator of Focus Ratings.

I wasn't always madly and passionately interested in (for that, read addicted to!) horse racing and....

I didn't always live in France.

I still remember when I was an IT Sevice Manager at Chase Manhattan Bank and hiding in the toilet when my secretary came round collecting for the Grand national office sweepstake!

"Betting on horses was a mug's game - or so I thought then!"

"I seem to have changed my tune now, though - I do have to say!"

You see, back in the old days (should I say bad old days?) I used to be an IT manager, working in the city for major global investment banks.

And I loved my work (or so I thought at the time); the pressure, the stress and, of course, the wages!

But something was missing and, during the summer of 2001, I discovered what it was....

I had three weeks holidays in August of 2001 but, because of some ongoing work, I wasn't allowed to leave the country (just in case things went horribly wrong, as they were apt to do, on occasion) and so I spent my holidays at home, in that part of East London which we city boys called Docklands!

And, during my three weeks off, I would get up, wander down to the shops, have a coffee and slowly read the paper.

I'd then spend an age wandering round the supermarket choosing what I was going to eat that night.

I'd then wander back home and spend the rest of the day sat in the back garden (as luck would have it, my three weeks were during a mini heatwave) reading, listening to music and, of course, sipping the occasional glass of wine!

Just like France....

And, when I returned to work...

And I described how I'd spent my three weeks off, one of my helpdesk girls said...

"Just like a holiday in France?"

And, you know, apart from all the hassle of getting to France, it was exactly as I would have spent a holiday in Brittany (where I had spent so many happy family holidays during my childhood.)

I'd like to say that I decided there and then to jack in my job, pack all my worldly possessions into the car and leave my friends and family, my job security and those rather nice wages and...

Move to France!

But actually....

It took me a whole week to decide to do all that stuff!

A slight change of lifestyle...

Having moved to France I needed to earn some money (to pay for all that red wine and smelly cheese) and so I took the first job that came my way.

I do have to mention that, as Brittany is rather rural and a million miles (in thought, if not actually) from the hustle and bustle of the financial world; my first job wasn't in the server room of a major bank but....

In an abattoir!

I ended up working there for six years (and believe me, it wasn't as bad as it sounds - think of it as a large meat packing factory - I spent most of those six years putting cardboard boxes on pallets.)

But then I got ill and had to leave.

It turned out that I suffer from severe central sleep apnea...

Which basically means that when I go to sleep I stop breathing...

Bummer, eh?

So, I had to find another way of earning a living and decided to set myself up as a general IT support person and web designer.

By the way, by this time I'd met the gorgeous Jill who manages to make the sun shine for me even on the rainiest day!

A chance meeting...

Now, in the summer of 2010 some friends of Jill's came to stay for a week and, as is common, many hours were spent in the garden sipping the occasional beer.

And, during this time, I spent many hours speaking to John & Mark about their interest (or, should I say, passion) - horse racing.

And I was hooked, because after they went home, I started looking deeper and deeper into this fascinating sport.

What had started as an interest now became something that seemed the perfect arena for me to combine my mathematical background and my programming skills.

John and Mark didn't realise it but...

They'd created a monster!

Analysis, analysis and more analysis....

There followed two years of analysing data, identifying trends and writing complex, predicative software.

Along the way, I came up with a few good ideas...

One of which is Focus Ratings which, by the way, I hope that you've already decided to try out - if you haven't you really should!

So, summing up...

So, that's about it for me...

Just another Brit expat living the good life in France!

Albeit one who happens to have, over the last two years, become madly and passionately interested in Horse Racing!

My kindest regards