Information on the following

[kosti]

Hi, I was wondering if any of you have read any of these books on handicapping and what you thought of them. I'm trying to move myself up from the novice stage, but I have no intention or time to use different software etc, just handicapping PP's and such. I've read a few books, Beyer on Speed (helped me ten-fold, great book) and speed to spare (fairly useless for me). Here's the books I'm looking at

Bettering Thoroughbreds by Steven Davidowitz (1997 ed.)

Bet With The Best by multiple authors I believe

Any of the DRF books (betting maidens, go for the green etc)

Handicapping 101 by Brad Free

The Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping: Leading Ideas & Methods by James Quinn

......any other that may have changed your outlook on handicapping or may find it useful at my level? I'm not looking for an introductory book to handicapping because I've looked at those and feel I'm past the beginner phase...as I said Beyer on Speed, although over 15 years old changed my knowledge drastically.

Thanks!!

[Greyfox]

Betting Thoroughbreds by Steven Davidowitz (1997 ed.)

Excellent. Demonstrates that Horse Racing is not like panty hose.
"One size does not fit all." Key race concept worth noting.

[Richard]

Although it's out of print,WINNING THOROUGHBRED STRATEGIES by the late Dick Mitchell would be,IMHO,a must have book.Granted,it's part advertisement for the All In One program,but you do not need AIO to implement what the book has to offer.

[BillW]

The Four Quarters of Horse Investing - Steve Fierro

[GaryG]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

Betting Thoroughbreds by Steven Davidowitz (1997 ed.)

Excellent. Demonstrates that Horse Racing is not like panty hose.
"One size does not fit all." Key race concept worth noting.

I am in full agreement. Steve D is a conceptualist and not a numbers cruncher. His concept of the key race has long been integrated into the mainstream.

[andicap]

Wondering why Speed to Spare was useless. Do you NOT use the Beyer figures?

[kid4rilla]

I found Speed to Spare completely useless also. Anyone can take number patterns and give them a name. Here is the 1 on, 1 off pattern...not to be confused with the 1 on, 3 off, 2 on, 1 off pattern.

You're always going to analyze current form and project what the runner will run today, what's new about that?

Now Quinn's book on Condition....that's a good read.

[kosti]

Originally Posted by andicap

Wondering why Speed to Spare was useless. Do you NOT use the Beyer figures?

No I definately use beyer figures, just didn't find the info very useful, plus I had read Beyer on Speed a few days before reading reading Speed to Spare. Like kid4rilla said, the 1 on 1 off, 2 on 1 off etc. were just so confusing and how do you know when to use which?? The concept that this happens in racing, yes that was good info, but just didn't help me much...I lost more money because I kept looking for these patterns when I would been more successful not paying so much attention to them. I will have to read it again though because I was so impressed with beyer's book that maybe that changed my view of this one.

[socantra]

I would definitely give a look to James Quinn's "Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping". He gives a good quick survey of most of the handicapping styles and books available and you can look further into those areas that interest you.

[winbets]

Read Quinn's book. Everything in the book is worth knowing. Cheers

[acorn54]

it's my opinion that books that state ideas that are not backed up by extensive data validation are suspect.
one book where the author's ideas are supported in the book with data validation is nunemakers impact study book. you might want to check into it if you are into books
personally i don't look to books for any insight, i have a database and any ideas that come into my head that might prove worth investigating i run through data queries. most of the time what seems like a sound concept turns out not to be of any value
just my two cents
acorn

[Greyfox]

Originally Posted by acorn54

one book where the author's ideas are supported in the book with data validation is nunemakers impact study book. acorn

Yes. And don't be afraid to go cross-eyed reading it.

[phood]

Originally Posted by socantra

I would definitely give a look to James Quinn's "Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping". He gives a good quick survey of most of the handicapping styles and books available and you can look further into those areas that interest you.

I definitely agree and also found Quinn's "Recreational Handicapping" and "The Handicappers Condition Book" to be very informative.

[Overlay]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

Yes. And don't be afraid to go cross-eyed reading it.

I'm sure you were speaking in jest (at least partly), and I know that a collection of nothing but statistics and numbers isn't everybody's cup of tea, but for quantitatively-oriented folks (like me), Nunamaker's study was a major contribution to handicapping knowledge, along with (on my Top 3 list) William Quirin's Winning at the Races (of which Nunamaker's study was an update), and Dick Mitchell's Commonsense Betting (from the money management side of the game).

[dav4463]

I like Bet with the Best. You get a lot of different views all in one book by some good authors.