Which authors molded your handicapping?

[dnlgfnk]

Beyer, through his purported contacts, helped me understand that horses aren't as good, or as bad as they look on paper, and that the public (and even "teams'") obsession with the finish of races would guarantee at least opportunity.

[ReplayRandall]

Burton Fabricand / Mark Cramer

[classhandicapper]

There are quite a few very good books out there. So there's inevitably going to be some overlap between what I do and what's in some of those books, but I typically learn on my own.

I'd say the first time I read Steve Davidowitz's book and he talked about identifying weak and strong fields using Key Races opened my eyes a bit. But these days you need techniques to identify them BEFORE horses start coming back. James Quinn touches on some of that in his Class Handicapping book. IMO once horses start coming back it's too late. The value vanishes.

I'd say the putting more emphasis on closing times on turf came to my attention from James Quinn.

If I'm going to be honest, I think I've picked up more things on Paceadvantage from my discussions and debates here than I have from books. Sometimes it's not even some special insight. It can be a simple comment that makes me think about something in a new way.

[paulbenny]

I failed to mention that the Handicapping Expo 93 Tapes I still have plus a similar series on DVD many years later while not actual books, but similar in terms of content with handouts have had some influence on my handicapping and there was an overlap with actual writers such as Mark Hopkins who worked with Andy Beyer and was the lead on one seminar. William L. Scott also supported his book ideas in another seminar. Lastly, another respondent mentioned Mark Cramer who I failed to mention since I have his paperback Value Handicapping which was also helpful and did overlap with Handicapping Expo 93 tapes which were from Las Vegas seminars.

[Ted Craven]

Sartin/Brohamer
Bradshaw
Scott
Taulbot
Cramer
Mitchell (for Betting)
Ziemba (for Betting)
Schwartz

[formula_2002]

without question, Burton Fabricand.
he presents a system for determining a favorable betting situation, in a very clear manner..

simple as it may seem, you cannot be a long-term winner without it.

[myohmyjustify]

Malcolm Gladwell

Frank Cotolo

Mark Cramer

John Templeton

[Nitro]

George E. Smith, aka Pittsburgh Phil - Racing Maxims/Methods (Parts 1&2)
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/racing-max...h-phil-part-1/
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/racing-max...h-phil-part-2/

Joe Takach - Physicality Handicapping
http://www.icapper.com/TakachArticle13.html
http://www.icapper.com/index.html (Library Articles 1 to 46)

Bill Benter - The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code
Computer-Based Horse Race Handicapping and Wagering Systems
https://gwern.net/doc/statistics/dec...994-benter.pdf (A Report)
https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Base.../dp/B088VTZ1PT

[steveb]

nobody comes within cooee of beyer, as far as starting somebody(me) on their lifes journey.

beyer, i read it, and then thought about all the possibilities to go further.
only book that ever resonated with me.
a completely different life if i had never read.

sartin, i read it, and can't think of anything i took from it off hand.
ditto all the others that i have read.

my copy of modern pace handicapping is like new.
my copy of the winning horsplayer is a mess.

[therussmeister]

The following have influenced my evolution of handicapping, money management and wagering strategy, and my day-to-day approach to optimum performance practices.

William Scott
Lao-tzu
Marcus Aurelius
Thomas Bayes
Alan Watts
Nassim Taleb
Simon Sinek
Andrew Huberman


One of these fellows I would never recommend to anyone else, but felt the need to include him as his works, at one time, influenced me.

[rastajenk]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

I'd say the first time I read Steve Davidowitz's book and he talked about identifying weak and strong fields using Key Races opened my eyes a bit.

Me too. And that was concurrent with Beyer's Picking Winners. Those two are my contributions to this thread.

[shooterz]

Jim Lehane
Les Conklin
Henry Kuck
William Ziemba

[xtb]

Randy Giles

Burton Fabricand has been mentioned a few times. This thread was interesting, especially GameTheory and Dave Schwartz' posts.

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=13715

[SBD400]

Originally Posted by cj

Quirin (Pace)
Beyer (Speed)
Quinn (Turf)
Mordin (Europe)

But overall, the one I learned the most from was Henry Kuck. His Winner's File book is as good as any out there and a lot of it holds up to this day, though you have to use common sense with how often horses run (don't run!) these days.

I really miss Kuck's numbers. To this day can't look at anyone elses as his numbers were great.

[xtb]

Originally Posted by SBD400

I really miss Kuck's numbers. To this day can't look at anyone elses as his numbers were great.

Have you looked into TimeformUS?