Horse racing can be difficult to start for beginners learning about form, track conditions, and which rider is doing well at the moment. For those of you looking to get a head start, here is a list of ten of the best books to help you improve your knowledge of horse racing. This list is totally subjective and the opinion of the best books will be different. I invite you to publish any other book that you consider beneficial to the other members.
1. Handicapping 101: A Horse Racing Primer, Brad Free (2007)
Winning in races doesn’t mean you need an advanced IQ, just that you have a basic understanding of racing mechanics; this book teaches you. The basics of the downsides of Free are easy to understand for a beginner, as well as being a refresher for the veteran rider. This book explains how the individual characteristics of a horse, such as health, habits and skill level, come into play when deciding whether or not to bet on that horse. A rider who learns to recognize and use the characteristics of the horse can realize that the winning bets are in his future. This manual offers practical ways to choose winners and avoid losers.
2. Betting on horse racing, Richard Eng (2005)
Do you want to be able to go to the racetrack with a group of friends and feel like you know what you are doing? Want to be able to place smarter bets that increase your chances of coming home with dollars in your pocket? Reading this book answers those questions. With over 20 years of experience in the horse racing industry, Eng focused this book on learning how to bet and how to increase your chances of winning. Doesn’t delve too deeply into handicap skills. This book teaches you how to read the race forms, which serious bettors use to increase their chances of winning. There is a great glossary at the end where the author explains all 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 rider and the experienced handicapper. It’s been said to be a must read for anyone serious about placing more winning bets than losing bets. James Quinn has more than 40 years of experience in the horse racing industry and has established the most important basic handicap skills that he has learned throughout those years, as well as the new ideas that he has learned in this 21st century from thoroughbred racing, all in this book.
4. How To Turn Any Racetrack Into Your Own Money Machine (And Be One Of The 2% Who Make It), Greg Boomer Wry (2005)
The world of horse racing can be very exciting, and this book will help you find out. It is designed to teach you everything there is to know about handicap horse racing, from learning sound betting strategies to successfully managing your money so you have a better chance of succeeding. Through it, you will learn skills that will last you a lifetime. This inclusive book uses very understandable terms that are defined and explained, sometimes giving examples. You will learn how to analyze a race by reading and understanding The Daily Racing Form and rating each horse to determine whether or not to bet on the race.
5. Bet with the Best: Expert Strategies from America’s Top Handicappers, DFR Press (2001)
At the time of its publication, it was the most comprehensive book on thoroughbred horse racing with obstacles that had been published in more than a decade, for both beginners and expert 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, this book will be a good place to start learning about each of them.
6. Betting Thoroughbreds for the 21st Century: A Professional Guide for Riders, Steven Davidowitz (2009)
This book is the third revised and updated edition of the author’s classic “Betting Thoroughbreds”, first published more than three decades ago. The book is so popular and has such a dedicated following with both new racing fans and veteran players, that it has been the horse racing industry standard for handicaps for decades’, betting syndicates, software programs computer and more. Have you ever looked at a horse’s past performance and wondered what it was doing in today’s race? This book will answer that question, as well as many others. Various topics, such as trainer intent tracking bias, are among those discussed. This industry standard handicap book will become a favorite read for beginning riders, as well as a welcome refresher for experienced riders.
7. Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping: Handicapping Tips, James Quinn (1987).
Quinn’s book contains 48 essays by some of the most knowledgeable thoroughbred handicappers, including Tom Ainslie, Andrew Beyer, William Quirin, and himself. The individual essays explain the author’s system and give examples of how each works. Some of the systems are too complex to condense into one chapter and the essays are difficult to follow. But generally, the essays whet the rider’s appetite for reading the original books that are listed in an annotated bibliography. Topics ranging from betting strategy to pace handicap and visual analysis of horses in the paddock make this extensive collection of writings useful for all types of handicappers. If you are looking for a comprehensive book on handicap methodologies, this may be the one.
8. Exotic Betting: How to Bet on Multiple Horses, Multiple Races and Win the Biggest Profits from Racing, Steve Crist (2006)
“Handicapping a race is only half the battle, betting is the other.” Crist’s strategy teaches the rider to win the most money by betting on numerous exotic bets, including daily double, exact, trifecta, quinella, superfecta, pick 3, 4 and 6. Crist says this book is not about choosing winners on the track, but it teaches that how you bet is just as important as who you like it, especially in the 21st century world of horse racing where new ways of betting, such as superfecta and pick four, have outpaced the stakes win-place-show routines of yesteryear. . Both serious and casual riders will benefit from understanding the strategies and mechanics to place these exotic bets.
9. Modern rhythm handicap, Tom Brohamer (2000).
“Rhythm makes the race” is one of the oldest sayings you’ll hear on a race track, and this book is the go-to book on the rhythm handicap. For beginners, reading up on the racing style will give you an idea of how the race will be run and which horses will benefit from the likely pace scenario. For experts, the Sartin Methodology chapter establishes a new method for analyzing the pace of a race. The author used the Sartin Methodology to develop his own technique for handicap horse racing. He looked at race styles, turn times, track variants, power distribution, and torque times to predict race strategy and outcome. The Daily Racing Form charts are found throughout the book.
10. Ainslie’s Complete Thoroughbred Racing Guide, Tom Ainslie (1988)
This third edition is known as the “most comprehensive, comprehensive and reliable guide to handicapping and understanding thoroughbred racing.” Even though some of his ideas may seem outdated by today’s racing standards, countless generations of people were trained in the basic handicapping skills that Ainslie teaches – skills needed to help you become ‘expert handicappers’ and to be able to constantly picking winners on the track. . Some of the basics the author covers are class, distance, form, speed, track conditions, riders and trainers, and breeding.
After taking the time to read this article on these amazing books on how to learn to bet and develop your handicapping skills, remember to subscribe to the FREE horse betting tips service that http://bettingforwinners.com offers along with our free tips about horse racing.
