Best handicapping books

[GreenPlant]

I am new to horse racing. What are the best handicapping books to read.

[fmolf]

Ainslies" complete guide to thoroughbred" racing latest revisition is a must read for beginners everyone has read it i am sure.......Brad Free california capper for the drf has a book "handicapping 101"....Dave Litfin's book is very good also for beginners...the name of it escapes me at the moment

[dav4463]

Read www.turfpedia.com

[Saratoga_Mike]

"Beyer on Speed"

[CBedo]

1) Modern Pace Handicapping - Brohamer
2) Winning at the Races - Quirin
3) Picking Winners - Beyer
4) Commonsense Betting - Mitchell

[maxwell]

I just finished reading 'Picking Winners', which I found to be very similiar to 'Beyer On Speed'. Beyer's energy and love for the game saved the day,however. It's one of those weird books where you know you got something out of it but you can't put your finger on exactly what.

Beyer points out something in this edition that makes sense: synthetic tracks across North America would probably render speed figures useless. Final times will rule the roost.

Good reads.

[thelyingthief]

the speed figures are ALREADY useless.

tlt-

[Dave Schwartz]

I'd begin with CBedo's list and add, just for fun, My $50,000 year At The Races by Andy Beyer.

IMHO, that is the most pleasurable read of any racing book ever.


Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[46zilzal]

I'd begin with CBedo's list and add, just for fun, My $50,000 year At The Races by Andy Beyer.

IMHO, that is the most pleasurable read of any racing book ever.


Regards,
Dave Schwartz
A good one but another along those same lines is Laughing in the Hills by Barich is a great work to understand what the nuts and bolts of the game are all about.

[CBedo]

I'd also add that you should read at least one of Mark Cramer's books (like Kinky Handicapping). His writing style and creativity are fun reads and great jumping off points for you to think about other "out of the box" considerations.

[PaceAdvantage]

the speed figures are ALREADY useless.

tlt-You forgot to add "to me" to the end of your sentence.

[reckless]

Thoroughbred Cycles by Mark Cramer is the best handicapping book I ever read. You'll get a much different perspective on the game than you would trying to win $50,000 in a year.

Laughing In the Hills by Bill Barich is another that isn't a handicapping book, but a horse racing book that will give you a greater understanding of the sport.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell isn't about handicapping or horse racing but about how the slightest alteration of a situation can change that situation greatly. And isn't handicapping a horse race just an effort to make a final successful decision based on a multitude of factors?

I have given numerous seminars at race tracks over the years and all too often I am asked these simple questions: "What must I know to win at the races? What is the secret to successful handicapping?

I always try to answer them the same way I found my secrets to handicapping success:

1--Think independently but you must think correctly.

2--Be a contrarian but understand that the crowd isn't wrong all the time. Be greedy when others are fearful; be fearful when others are greedy.

3--It isn't what you don't know about handicapping that hurts you, it is what you think you know as right but is actually wrong that gets you in trouble.

4--Develop your own style and method and stick with it. Today, there are hundreds of races available daily at dozens of racetracks. You can cherry pick to the situations that work best for you.

[CBedo]

Thoroughbred Cycles by Mark Cramer is the best handicapping book I ever read. You'll get a much different perspective on the game than you would trying to win $50,000 in a year.

Laughing In the Hills by Bill Barich is another that isn't a handicapping book, but a horse racing book that will give you a greater understanding of the sport.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell isn't about handicapping or horse racing but about how the slightest alteration of a situation can change that situation greatly. And isn't handicapping a horse race just an effort to make a final successful decision based on a multitude of factors?Thoroughbred Cycles is a great book. The Tipping Point as a concept is an important one, but I didn't really think the book was that well done (I'm not a fan of Gladwell, and I admit my bias).

Fooled By Randomness by Taleeb (he also wrote the Black Swan) is a great non-horseracing book as well. It's all about luck, how we perceive it, and how we deal with it.

[scoots63]

GreenPlant
The adivse Reckless gave in post #12 is pricless. Especially # 4..
Best book I have on Handicapping is Thoroughbred Horse Racing "Playing For Profit " By Ray Taulbot..Long out of print , but you should be able to find a copy on one of the used book sites..All the other books mentioned here a very good also..
Good Luck!

[reckless]

GreenPlant
The adivse Reckless gave in post #12 is pricless. Especially # 4..
Best book I have on Handicapping is Thoroughbred Horse Racing "Playing For Profit " By Ray Taulbot..Long out of print , but you should be able to find a copy on one of the used book sites..All the other books mentioned here a very good also..
Good Luck!

hello Scoots63:

Thanks for nice words.

I also considered naming the Ray Taulbot book, which I have a copy of but haven't read in many years. The reason why I didn't name it is because in these threads I find it that I am dating myself all too often lately. <s>

Ray Taulbot may have been the seed that germinated the fertile mind of Howard Sartin. Some of the 1980s-era Sartinistas that log onto PA may have a better handle on this, but I do recall Howard saying something about Taulbot, and later, by extension, to Huey Mahl, about the Methodology.

Good luck.

[Cadillakin]

hello Scoots63:

Thanks for nice words.

I also considered naming the Ray Taulbot book, which I have a copy of but haven't read in many years. The reason why I didn't name it is because in these threads I find it that I am dating myself all too often lately. <s>

Ray Taulbot may have been the seed that germinated the fertile mind of Howard Sartin. Some of the 1980s-era Sartinistas that log onto PA may have a better handle on this, but I do recall Howard saying something about Taulbot, and later, by extension, to Huey Mahl, about the Methodology.

Good luck.
Taulbot was my only teacher insofar as handicapping books are concerned. He provided me the basic foundation that every handicapper needs to enter the trenches..I've always been proud to credit that oldtimer...

Everything I've learned since fits right in with what he taught me...

[FantasticDan]

Anyone ever read this one?

http://horseracing.about.com/od/bookreviews/gr/aagr041005.htm

http://www.drf.com/about/pr040105.html

I picked it up as a horse betting newbie a couple yrs ago, and most of it went right over my head.

[nalley0710]

I read the book when it came out. It was pretty good. The really interesting parts were that they included a poker player and a baseball sports bettor if I remember right and that there were a big mix of people credible and uncredible. I like any interview with ernie dahlman because I always think that it is a personal challenge for me to make more money than he does.

[shoelessjoe]

Even though Taulbot wrote about the match up back in the 50's most of the Sartin people wont give him credit for it,they like to believe that Sartin thought up this idea on his own.

[Lefty]

Joe, I don't think that's true. Sartin himself, always gave Taulbot credit. why would the students say otherwise?

[shoelessjoe]

Lefty,Your right Sartin did give him credit but others now dont seem to want to acknowledge it.

[Jake]

Instead of reading books, I would suggest you watch race replays online. Get some good past performance data, watch the races, then go back and check the data for the winner and second place horse. You will get up to speed in short time about what works and what doesn't at different tracks and type of races. Then read the recommend books. It will make a huge difference in your reading experience.


Jake

[strapper]

Betting On Horse Racing for Dummies by Richard Eng is very helpful to newcomers.