Book Reviews?

[Holland Hacker]

I have read a number of books going back to Tom Ainsle's almost 25 years ago.

Some Books I really liked:

Ruffian - Burning from the Start - Jane Schwartz

Exotic Betting - Steven Crist

Handicapping 101 - Brad Free

Man O'War - Dorothy Ours

and some not so much:

The Training Game - Karen Johnson, decent read will not help you handicapping much.

Secretariat the Horse that God Built - Rather dissapointing story about Big Red.

I know I'm personally waiting to get a copy of The Serling Way - A Real Horse Players Insights into the Game.

[pgiaco]

"A Wild Ride" by I think it's Anne Hagedorn was a great read. Tells the story of the rise and very hard fall of Calumet Farm.

[Thunder Gulch]

Originally Posted by pgiaco

"A Wild Ride" by I think it's Anne Hagedorn was a great read. Tells the story of the rise and very hard fall of Calumet Farm.

Agree. Couldn't put the book down even though we all know how it ends.

[Travis Stone]

Reading handicapping books is just like reading poker books... some thoughts/ideologies you'll agree with, while others you will not. But it's good to have perspective from all angles as you never know what little tidbit here or there will pan-out a being useful with how you approach and play the game.

That said, in my opinion, Andy Beyer has the most entertaining books with good info while Steve Davidowitz's Betting T-Breds is the single best book out there to kick-start one's handicapping endeavours.

[Thunder Gulch]

Originally Posted by cmfhb411

I liked Handicapping Magic by Pizzola.

didn't buy into the PBS numbers at all, because I used to handicap and
come up with pace and final figs using similar theories behind the PBS #s.
Otherwise excellent imo, especially Chapters 4, 6, and 7.

Bet With The Best 2 was good.

Six Secrets of Successful Bettors is a must for anyone considering getting
real serious about handicapping for profit, just to make some extra dough
outside your job ( if you still have one )...............
and I think borderline-mandatory if your crazy enough to take the plunge.

This read will let you know that interpretting PPs, result charts, and replays
better than everyone you know in your tiny circle of family and friends
simply won't be enough to make it as a true full-timer.

Pizzola's book was good and his theories are intriguing, though admittedly I don't follow his method. Most selection oriented writings point to early speed while this one points you to value oriented closers who can compete in certain pace scenarios.

I thought the "Bet with the Best" books were ok, but would strongly recommend Quinn's "Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping" over those. The idea of all 3 is to introduce ideas from other handicapping books, but Quinn does a better job of organizing the work as well as introducing some lesser known (and better) authors.