Wanted Handicapping Book: See How They Run by Thomas Mccormick

[maddog42]

The full title is SEE HOW THEY RUN; A Guide to Financial Freedom at the Racetrack. The thread about Scott and his ability times got me to thinking about this book. I have coveted this book since Thaskalos put it in his top 3 handicapping books a couple years ago. It seems harder to find than i thought. I will pay $50 cash in addition to offering for trade(any 3) some of my handicapping books. Some books I have are:

Horse Racing Logic by Glendon Jones
Pace makes the Race by Dick Schmidt
All of the Beyer Books
Calibration Handicapping by Jim Lehane
Winning without thinking by Mordin
The Matchup by Jim Bradshaw
Precision :Statistical and mathematical methods in Horse Racing
Six Secrets of Successful Bettors
How will your Horse run Today?
Investing at the racetrack
The Handicappers Condition Book
The new Expert handicappers
Handicapping Speed
Expert Handicapping
Winning at the Races
Modern Pace Handicapping
Commonsense Betting
Blinkers Off by Fotias
The ABC's of Thoroughbred Handicapping
Typology of the Race Horse
The functional development of the Thoroughbred
Bet with the Best 2
The body Language of Horses by Ledbetter
PC tools for the Handicapper
Winning Thoroughbred Strategies by Mitchell
Thoroughbred Handicapping
Speed to Spare
Exotic Betting
The race for the Triple Crown
Class of the Field
Figure Handicapping by Quinn
Handicapping Magic

Some of these books are worth $50 or more. Including the $50 in cash, you could potentially get $200 or more in value. I want to be fair about this.

PM me any offers. I do not want to sell any of these books, only trade for the McCormick book. Thanks
PS I don't know the Pace Advantage rules about this so hopefully it will be ok.

[maddog42]

I'll run it up the flag pole one more time.

[whodoyoulike]

You've got a lot of books.

What year was that book published which you're seeking?

[maddog42]

Originally Posted by whodoyoulike

You've got a lot of books.

What year was that book published which you're seeking?

I don't know. Maybe Thaskalos will answer that. This is a partial list of books. Some are duplicates. Calibration Handicapping sells for over $100 on Amazon.

[banacek]

I've got (scarily) pretty well all the books listed and another few dozen probably. Haven't bought any for ages..because there haven't really been any - Barry Meadow is supposed to have one out this year.

I bought See How They Run..must be 20+ years ago. It isn't a book as such..it was in a white binder...at least that's what I remember. Quite extensive..must be 150+ pages I would think. I picked up a few ideas from it, but obviously missed what thaskalos saw!

[maddog42]

Originally Posted by banacek

I've got (scarily) pretty well all the books listed and another few dozen probably. Haven't bought any for ages..because there haven't really been any - Barry Meadow is supposed to have one out this year.

I bought See How They Run..must be 20+ years ago. It isn't a book as such..it was in a white binder...at least that's what I remember. Quite extensive..must be 150+ pages I would think. I picked up a few ideas from it, but obviously missed what thaskalos saw!

Thanks for the response Banacek. I keep getting more comments and PM's but still no book.

[whodoyoulike]

Originally Posted by maddog42

Thanks for the response Banacek. I keep getting more comments and PM's but still no book.

Have you tried the public library system in your city but, you'll probably need to provide them with more info?

[maddog42]

Originally Posted by whodoyoulike

Have you tried the public library system in your city but, you'll probably need to provide them with more info?

I tried inter-library loan online. I have used this sight and local library before.

[BMeadow]

I reviewed See How They Run: A Guide To Financial Freedom At The Racetrack in the Sept. 1997 issue of Meadow's Racing Monthly. The book is 130 pages plus charts in looseleaf format, so it wouldn't be in any public library. Here is part of the review:

McCormick has some useful handicapping points to make.

Basically, he believes every selection needs to qualify on three elements which he calls fitness, class, and controlling factors.

McCormick recommends using velocity ratings to analyze the performance of thoroughbreds, breaking down each segment of a race. He’s certainly not the first to advocate this--I first read of this method in a book with a 1934 copyright date, and it probably was in use long before that--but he does include easy-to-read charts for each distance that remove much of the drudgery from these calculations.

He breaks each performance into a Velocity Form Rating (overall number) and a Velocity Class Rating (a number which takes into account how far behind the horse is at the second call). He then lists a number of form angles that he suggests using after you’ve calculated each horse’s numbers. One of them, for instance, is slow-fast-slow, meaning the horse’s second race back was its best. These are explained in detail.

McCormick also includes adjustments for different distances, different tracks, and the Racing Form variant for the race.

He then describes various angles and rules, though he says his method is not a system. Some of these can get complex, or perhaps incomprehensible. For instance, from Class Aspect for 1/8 Physical Form Angle (exactly as written):

"All raising in class must have finished 1st or a very close 2nd in the last race and adhere to Win & No Best Number rules. Last race winners must fit both the 1/8 and the Win angle to be a play."

Or this suggested play:

"Combined with any of these Physical Form Angles: Up & Good, Win & best Number, Win & No Best Number, Short E and Short Delay (plus) the last race VFR is 1.50 fast to 1.40 slow over the next to last race and the last VFR is .90 fast to 2.00 slow over the 3rd race back."

McCormick does give many examples of his angle plays, which helps. However, all the examples are out of context--only the pp’s of the winner are given--so it’s difficult to evaluate the accuracy of the analyses. And since there are no long-term stats, simply listing winning patterns doesn’t tell you whether they’re profitable patterns or they merely win every so often.

Fortunately, just about the time that all these angles and rules are starting to blur into one big morass, McCormick conveniently summarizes his angles (both positive and negative) on a single page (123). And most of them actually make sense.

[BMeadow]

The book was priced at $46. The address I had for McCormick in 1997 was:

Thomas McCormick, 5811 N.W. 87 Way, Tamarac, FL 33321

[maddog42]

Originally Posted by BMeadow

The book was priced at $46. The address I had for McCormick in 1997 was:

Thomas McCormick, 5811 N.W. 87 Way, Tamarac, FL 33321

Thanks Barry

[maddog42]

Originally Posted by BMeadow

The book was priced at $46. The address I had for McCormick in 1997 was:

Thomas McCormick, 5811 N.W. 87 Way, Tamarac, FL 33321

Hey Barry. When is your new book coming out?

[BMeadow]

Working on it. Later this year, I hope...

[Drifter1]

maddog>> I PM'd you regarding your offer.

[maddog42]

I made a deal last night with a pa member regarding the Mccormick book.
This PA thread can be closed or what ever. Thanks to everyone who responded. PA people have been very nice to me.