Dating from 1965, The Rating Bureau is Australia's longest established
provider of racing intelligence.
Remy M. F. Plante de Villeneuve (Rem Plante) was an ex-naval air force officer.
After completing his nautical and aeronautical education he studied Law, Ethnology,
and Asian Economics at the Leiden University before graduating as a solicitor
and later becoming a Magistrate. His keen interest in racing was inspired during
his distinguished naval career when he frequently visited racetracks throughout
Europe, Asia and the United States.
The Plante family arrived in Australia in the early 1950's and Rem made an intensive
study of Australian racing for more than a decade during which time he was the
editor of a popular racing magazine of the day known as The Turf Review.
 Rem's philosophy was to teach that which he had learned.
His works culminated in the writing of his first hard cover book in 1965 "The Australian Racing Manual" 1 Following further study Rem
wrote a second book "Australian Horse Racing and Punter's
Guide" 2 which became the most popular
book ever published on Australian horse racing. Second hand copies are still
much in demand and bring up to AU$100 each.
Former Champion jockey George Moore needs no introduction to Australian racegoers.
He was awarded the OBE in 1971, a rare distinction for a jockey. In 1969 George
penned a foreword to the abovementioned book. George said...
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"This is certainly the most comprehensive book yet published
on Australian horse racing and many long-standing misconceptions
about the racing game have been rectified. It will be commended not
only by serious punters but it also contains much of interest to
the most casual racegoer. As a rider of more than thirty years
standing on Australian and overseas tracks I welcome this book as
an important contribution to racing."
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In 1969 Rem's son Marcel became involved on a full
time basis in the well established Plante and
Associates racing business where he learned the art of
weight ratings from his father who was the first person in Australia
to introduce them publicly. To this day Marcel still provides race
results and handicapper's weight charts (with ratings) in the printed
form to many 'pen and paper' clients who have continuously subscribed
for up to three decades.
Marcel quickly applied the learned skills to successfully do what many thousands
of bettors have attempted to do since wagering on races began… to consistently
make money at the races as a bettor. Marcel still runs TRB today but rarely
makes an appearance at the racetrack, preferring to wager via The Internet.
Roger Chapman is an avid racing enthusiast and former disciple of Rem Plante.
In 1987 while Roger was working at The Australian Bureau of Statistics he seized
upon an opportunity to join the Plante organisation as a computer programmer.
Over the ensuing years Roger computerised the proven rating techniques and
developed the racing results database, which became known to its users as Neddybank.
The business name Plante & Associates was changed around 1990 to The
Rating Bureau to more suitably reflect the nature of the business.
Nowadays, Roger maintains and develops the internal processing systems and
maintains TRB's computer network whilst developing computer programs for handicapping
and analysis. Roger remains an active punter like Marcel, and prefers to wager
daily via The Internet
In 1991 Dennis Walker joined Marcel and Roger at TRB and introduced additional rating techniques
based on the analysis of comparative times. Dennis is involved in the development and maintenance
of TRB's commercial computer products and, through racing seminars has assisted many average punters
to turn their hobby into a profitable and enjoyable experience. Dennis is a Member of the Queensland
Turf Club and gets to the track every Saturday.
In 2004 Daniel O'Sullivan, a serious form analyst and pro punter joined the TRB business.
Daniel introduces refreshing, new and unique ideas... usually with supporting evidence that
sometimes challenges public perception and shatters punting myths. Additionally, Daniel provides
The Pace Advantage Rating service for some Saturday and public holiday metropolitan meetings. This
service is quite unique in racing as it offers the product of a pro punter's pre-race assessment
at a low cost for the average punter.
1 Published by Arnold Publishing. Copyright © 1965 Rem Plante
2 Published by Horwitz Publications. Copyright © 1969 Rem Plante
National Library of Australia Registry Number AUS68-4051
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