Must have books?

[Hank]

I'm from New orleans so my handicapping library was wiped out,I had all the major tomes,so as I began considering replaceing some or all off them,I had to ask my self what books MUST be replaced.I came up with four.1.Betting Thoroughbreds 2.The Handicapper's Condition Book. 3.Money Secrets at the racetrack. 4 Winning Thoroughbred Strategies.So the question is, if you had to cull your collection down to three or four books what would they be??????

[kitts]

Wow! Only four books. A tough choice indeed although I think you have the right four in that I would hate to be without these.

[douglasw32]

WILLIAM SCOTT ;) All of them!

[NEhandicapper]

Hmmm three or four books, well here is my top 4 list (Not in any particular order).



Handicappers Condition Book; James Quinn.

-The selection criteria in the appendix are great starting points for contender selections. Applied with good pace numbers and a deeper form analysis, I’ve done very well.



Thoroughbred Form Cycles; Mark Cramer

-I read and re-read this book many times taking ample notes. In fact, I probably studied this book and created more pages of notes then I did from any of my engineering textbooks. Oddly, you could make a case that the theories in this book are the complete antithesis of Quinn’s condition book. I have found that applying the methodologies from both books can conspire to pop out great prices. As an example, many $4000 claimers fielded at Philly park will not meet Quinn’s criteria –some races will have none. But, some times in theses crap races, a horse will fit one of the profiles in Cramer’s book – a not so obvious to the public choice that wires the field at 35-1.



How Will Your Horse Run Today: William Scott

-A great book on form analysis. The basis of the book is great for jump-starting your own form analysis methodology. Some of the criteria in Scott’s book are a bit outdated, so running numbers for your regular track/circuit is necessary to successfully win with Scott’s methods.



The Power of Early Speed; Steve Klein
- The content may be obvious, but all the statistical data in the book have been very good to me, especially when handicapping a track I am not very familiar with.

[Overlay]

While I would have absolutely nothing critical to say about any of the ones named so far, mine would be:

Thoroughbred Racing: Percentages and Probabilities (Davis)
Commonsense Betting (Mitchell)
Modern Impact Values (Nunamaker)
Winning at the Races (Quirin)

[bettheoverlay]

I don't have a whole lot of regard for book learning when it comes to gambling on horse races, but I couldn't do without The Odds Must Be Crazy and My $50,000 Year At The Races because they provide me with, for want of a better word, inspiration.

[GaryG]

Thoroughbred Cycles by Mark Cramer
Modern Pace Handicapping by Tom Brohamer
Handicappers Condition Book by James Quinn

[Wickel]

Handicapping Magic--Pizzolla
Modern Pace Handicapping--Brohamer
Picking Winners--Beyer

[46zilzal]

if you want inspiration and a gritty look at the realities of racing and the crowd associated, read Laughing in the Hills