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Handicapping Books

The Basics of Winning Horseracing  
by Whitney L. Cobb

A quick guide for beginning handicappers.  Chapters include: How to Play; How to Win; Money Management, and more.

 

 


Beat the Track by Ada Kulleck

"The authors share a point system they devised using the Daily Racing Form. Covers the basics of handicapping. Great for beginners who really don't know where to start with the DRF, but would like to do their own handicapping. Their system was developed around west coast tracks, a nice bonus for those of us tired of the 'East Coast Bias.'  Useful information for beginners and intermediate players and written in a clear and easy to read style. (From an Amazon.com review)


A Beginner's Guide to Short-Term Trading
by Toni Turner

A great introduction to technical analysis and chart-reading.  Handy for "chart handicapping" with The Capper.

 

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Betting Thoroughbreds by Steven Davidowitz

This totally revised and  updated edition of Betting Thoroughbreds is greatly expanded from the original, which introduced thousands of horseplayers to the importance of trainer patterns, key races, and track bias.  It now features ground-breaking chapters on pace analysis; innovative approaches to handicapping claiming and allowance races, new ways to use workouts and breeding information and successful exotic betting strategies.


Bet With the Best by Andrew Beyer (Editor), Editors of Daily Racing Form

"Nine well-know handicappers each contribute a chapter based on their specialty or current area of interest. The book contains useful information, but serious handicappers have probably read it before -- and probably from these same handicappers... If this is your first exposure to these handicappers, however, it is an excellent primer, and Andrew Beyer remains the best horse racing writer in America." (From an Amazon.com review.)


Beyer on Speed by Andrew Beyer

No one writes about betting the horses with Andrew Beyer's authority and verve.  Now, in Beyer on Speed, a legendary figure in American horse racing reveals and explains the most effective handicapping methods in the game today.  Beyer shows how to make speed figures the focal point of an effective strategy for racetrack betting, and explains how to relate the numbers to the other important factors of handicapping.


The Complete Idiot's Guide to Betting on Horses 
by Sharon Smith

You're no idiot, of course.  But when it comes to horse racing, you'd rather stay at home than risk your money betting on this mystifying game.  Don't give up!  This book helps you build the skills you need to understand horse racing.  Feel confident about examining the horses, studying the past performances, and placing your bets.  Friendly and knowledgeable advice in an easy-to-understand format.


Efficiency of Racetrack Betting Markets by Donald B. Hausch (Editor), William T. Ziemba (Editor)

"A must-read.  After reading and researching statistical techniques applied to horse racing this book is by far the most important and complete book I have read. The techniques are proven using complex math and statistical calculations and if repeated can earn a consistent and reasonable profit." (From an Amazon.com review)


Exacta Expose by Douglas Railey

An excellent book on the secrets of exotic wagering and the realities of racing fraud by a Louisiana race fraud investigator who had access to the track's raw mutuel data.

 

 


Exotic Overlays by Bill Heller

How to get big payoffs from the Pick Six, the Pick Three, exactas, triples, doubles and superfectas.




 


Fate, Coincidence and the Outcome of Horse Races
by Armando Benitez

This book is not so much about horse races as it is about the superstitions that plague the horse-racing fan. The author shows a rare type of humor, explaining with wry wit why the horse-racing fan should observe certain superstitions: never eat peanuts at a race track; do not keep losing mutuel tickets in your pocket; keep your eyes and ears peeled for the occurrence of coincidences, etc. Armando Benitez affirms that there is a power that arranges the occurrence of every incident on earth, and that sometimes that power is too lazy to scramble its results.  (From an Amazon.com review by Jonathon Espeche)


Fooled By Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This book is about luck.  Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill -- the world of trading -- this is a captivating insight into one of the least understood factors in all our lives.  It's set in the world of business and history, but its lessons transfer well to the racetrack.

 


The Handicapper's Condition Book by James Quinn

In these pages, handicappers will find an in-depth study of racing's eligibility conditions and the past performances -- the most probing, practical treatment of the topic available.  The Handicapper's Condition Book relates eligibility conditions to past performances of well-established horses, and for younger, developing horses.  If you want to know which horses fit today's race, this is the book.


Handicapping Magic by Michael Pizzola

"This book presents, in a logical, step-by-step fashion, how one of the great players in horse race betting thinks and works.  Handicapping Magic presents a new set of ideas and tactics, where horse selection, value of odds, and betting strategy are so well integrated that they form a single, all-inclusive approach to horse racing."  Charles Carroll, author of Handicapping Speed.

 


Horse Racing Logic by Glendon Jones

Finally!  A book about overlays -- how to find them and how to bet them -- written by a veteran and expert handicapper.  The book is loaded with many new and important ideas and techniques.

 

 


How to Win at Horse Racing by Robert V. Rowe

"Very useful statistical data relative to betting horses -- I'm familiar with Bob Rowe's work from American Turf, Racing Star Weekly and other publications. He's a good writer and knows racing as evinced by his latest and best book."  (From an Amazon.com review)

 


How to Win at the Races: Education of a Horseplayer
by Sam Lewin

"The original title of this book says it best: the education of a horseplayer. Simply put, the more educated a handicapper you are, the better your chances at winning at the track. Learn the racing game from one of the legends of the sport: Sam 'The Genius' Lewin, and walk away from the track with a fatter wallet too!" (From an Amazon.com review)



How to Win at Thoroughbred Racing
by Robert V. Rowe

A winning approach that defines the author's personal method of play: Supported by a statistical survey covering many thousands of race results, and the writer's 58 years of participation; as both player and widely recognized racing authority. (From the Amazon.com synopsis)

 


Modern Pace Handicapping by Tom Brohamer

"This book fills a fundamental gap in the contemporary literature of thoroughbred handicapping.  Among the modern good books, glaringly missing has been a definitive treatment of pace.  Now, at last, comes Modern Pace Handicapping, and with its publication a convincing resolution of even the thorniest problems of pace analysis.  I predict without hesitation the book will stand for decades as the final authority on effective pace handicapping."  James Quinn.


The Odds Must Be Crazy by Len Ragozin

Having honed his charts to a high art over the last twenty years, Len Ragozin, creator of "The Sheets," now explains the system that has made him a legendary figure, detailing the nuts and bolts of handicapping and successful betting, along with his own life story.  (From the Amazon.com synopsis)

 


Overlay, Overlay by Bill Heller

Heller scans the past performances for overlays, and in the process covers class, speed, fitness, turf angles, trip handicapping and more.

 



 


Picking Winners by Andrew Beyer

Widely acclaimed a classic in its field, Picking Winners now features a new foreword in which the author discusses the changes that have swept the sport of horseplaying since his book's celebrated first publication. "Irresistible, even to people who are not likely to go around the bend about thoroughbred racing."--Sports Illustrated.  (From the Amazon.com synopsis)



The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Betting on Horses 
by Sharon B. Smith

"Packed with facts and authoritative guidance to betting on the nags, this work summarizes in a compressed modern pellet that large gaseous cloud of legend and folklore that surrounds the sport of kings. So if you don't know the difference between a thoroughbred and a quarter horse, if you can't tell exactly how an exacta differs from a quinella, if you think eight furlongs is longer than a mile, then this is the book for you." (From an Amazon.com review)


Seabiscuit : An American Legend
by Laura Hillenbrand

coverThe true story of how three men and a great racehorse captivated the world.

 

 

 


Smart Handicapping Made Easy by William Bauman

A worthwhile read on the subject of trainer intention.

 

 

 


 The Winning Horseplayer by Andrew Beyer

Speed figure guru Beyer expands his handicapping approach to include trip handicapping (whose advocates make their judgments of horses by watching them run) and a bold approach to exploiting exotic wagering.  Written in his entertaining yet authoritative style, this book is a handicapping classic.


 


Winning Horseracing Handicapping 
by Chuck Badone

Secrets of a successful handicapper.  Chuck Badone, the Fan Education Manager at Lone Star Park, imparts his strategies.

 

 


Wire 'Em and Win by Denny L. Border

Wire 'Em and Win offers a complete methodology for finding key horses, coupling them with other contenders in the races and wagering intelligently to consistently come out winners at the track.  The Revised Handicapping Edition not only contains the solid wagering strategies and money management programs of the original book, but also a powerful section on how to handicap a race to find the stand-out wagers that can keep your bankroll in the black.


Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda 
by Dave Feldman and Frank Sugano

"The best introduction to horse racing ever written."  The Thoroughbred Times.  Includes a new section full of handicapping tips.

 

 

 

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