Getting started in horse racing can be difficult for beginners as they learn about form, track conditions and the jockey who is doing well at the moment. For those of you looking to get a head start, here is a list of the top ten books to boost your horse racing knowledge. This list is entirely subjective and opinions on the best books will vary. I invite you to publish other books that you feel will be beneficial to other members.
1. Handicap 101: A Horse Racing Primer, Brad Free (2007)
Winning at the races doesn’t mean you need an advanced IQ, just that you have a basic knowledge of racing mechanics – this book will teach you that. Free’s Basics of Handicap is easy to understand for both the novice and a refresher for the seasoned horseplayer . This book explains how a horse’s individual characteristics such as health, habits and performance come into play when deciding whether or not to back that horse. A horse gambler who learns to recognize and utilize the horse’s characteristics can then realize that winning bets lie in his or her future. This introduction provides practical ways to pick winners and avoid losers.
2. Horse Racing Betting, Richard Eng (2005)
Do you want to hit the track with a group of friends and feel like you know what you’re doing? Would you like to be able to place smarter bets that increase your chance of going home with dollars in your pocket? Reading this book will answer these questions for you. With more than 20 years experience in the horse racing industry, Eng focused this book on learning how to bet and how to increase your odds of winning. He doesn’t specifically address handicap skills. This book teaches you how to read the race forms that serious bettors use to increase their odds of winning. There is an excellent glossary at the end where the author explains all of the industry terminology so you can understand every word he uses to describe the horse racing experience.
3. The Complete Handicapper, James Quinn (2013)
This book can help both the beginning horse player and the experienced handicapper. It has been said to be required reading for anyone serious about winning more bets than they lose. James Quinn has over 40 years experience in the horse racing industry and has laid out in this one book the key fundamental handicap skills he has learned over those years as well as the new ideas he has learned in thoroughbred racing in the 21st century.
4. How To Turn Any Racetrack Into Your Own Money Machine (And Being Just One Of The 2% That Do), Greg Boomer Wry (2005)
The world of horse racing handicap can be very exciting and this book will help you open it. It’s designed to teach you everything you need to know about handicap horse racing, from learning sound betting strategies to how to successfully manage your money so you have a better chance of succeeding. This will teach you skills that will last a lifetime. This comprehensive book uses very easy-to-understand terms, some of which are defined and explained using examples. You will learn how to analyze a race by reading and understanding the daily race form and evaluating each horse to decide whether or not to bet on the race.
5. Bet with the Best: Expert Strategies from America’s Leading Handicappers, DFR Press (2001)
At the time of publication, it was the most comprehensive book on thoroughbred racing handicap to be published in over a decade. With nine different chapters written by nine different authors on nine different topics in the horseracing world, this book will appeal to novices as well as experienced handicappers. Example chapters are Beyer on Simulcasting, Quinn on Class, and Brohamar on Pace. If you don’t want to buy 9 separate books on these 9 separate topics, then this book is a good place to start learning about each of them.
6. Betting Thoroughbreds for the 21st Century: A Professional Guide For the Horseplayers, Steven Davidowitz (2009)
This book is the revised and updated third edition of the author’s classic, Betting Thoroughbreds, which was first published over three decades ago. The book is so popular and has such a devoted following among both new racing fans and veteran players alike that it has been the horse racing industry standard for handicap for decades. This newly revised edition explains the recent changes in the industry such as z’, betting syndicates, computer software programs and more. Have you ever looked at a horse’s past performance and wondered how it did in today’s race? This book will answer that question as well as countless others. Various topics such as Track Bias to Trainer Intent are among the topics covered. This industry standard handicap book will become popular reading for beginners and a welcome refresher for experienced horse players.
7. The Best of Thoroughbred Handicap: Advice on Handicap, James Quinn (1987).
Quinn’s book contains 48 essays by some of the most seasoned thoroughbred handicappers including Tom Ainslie, Andrew Beyer, William Quirin and himself. Individual essays explain the author’s system and give examples of how each works. Some of the systems are too complex to fit into one chapter and the essays are difficult to understand. But in general, the essays whet the horseplayer’s appetite to read the original books, listed in an annotated bibliography. Topics ranging from betting strategy to pace handicap to visual analysis of horses in the paddock make this comprehensive collection of fonts useful for every type of handicapper. If you’re looking for a well-rounded book on handicap methods, this might be it.
8. Exotic Betting: How to Make Multihorse and Multirace Betting and Win the Bigger Payouts of Racing, Steve Crist (2006)
“Holding up a race is only half the battle, betting is the other.” Crist’s strategy teaches the horse gambler how to make the most money by betting on numerous exotic bets, including the daily double, exacta, trifecta, quinella, superfecta, pick 3, 4, and 6. Crist says that’s not what this book is about goes to picking winners on the track, but teaches that betting is just as important as who you like – especially in the world of 21st century horse racing, where new bet types like Superfecta and Pick Four are routinely replacing win, place and show bets of days have surpassed. past. Both serious and casual horse gamblers will benefit from understanding the strategies and mechanics of these exotic bets.
9. Modern Pace Handicap, Tom Brohamer (2000).
“Speed makes the race” is one of the oldest sayings you will hear on a race track and this book is the best book on the subject of pace handicap. For beginners, reading about running style gives insight into how the race will be conducted and which horses will benefit from the likely pace scenario. For experts, the Sartin Methodology chapter introduces a new method for analyzing the pace of a race. The author used the Sartin methodology to develop his own horse racing handicap technique. He examined running styles, turning times, course variants, energy distribution and par times in predicting race strategy and outcome. Daily race form charts are placed throughout the book.
10. Ainslie’s Complete Guide to Thoroughbred Racing, Tom Ainslie (1988)
This third edition is billed as the “most complete, comprehensive and reliable guide to handicap and understanding thoroughbred racing”. While some of his ideas may sound outdated by today’s racing standards, countless generations of people have tried the essential handicap skills Ainslie teaches – skills necessary to help you become an “expert handicapper” and to be able to consistently track winners. Some of the basics covered by the author are class, distance, form, speed, track conditions, jockeys and trainers and breeding.
After taking the time to read this article about these amazing books on learning to bet and building your handicap skills, remember to subscribe to their FREE horse betting tips service, the http://bettingforwinners. com along with our free horse racing tips.
