Best Handicapping tools?

[Holland Hacker]

I'm rather new here but have been into horse racing since 1981 when I made my maiden trip to Monmouth Park for the Haskell. I have always used the DRF and swear by it. I tried the PPs in the track programs but do not like them due to the limited space. As a matter of fact when I go to the track I usually try and get the Pocket Programs, not to save $ but but as a matter of preference.

In perusing the selections area I couldn't help but notice that some of you handicappers are Outstanding and was wondering what tools you use. I do not have time to create my own speed figs and don't really care to. Between my commute and work I do not have much time to handicap on a regular basis and typically only buy the DRF on days when I go to the track or big racing days. I subscribe to the The Bloodhorse, not so much for the handicapping angle but to know what is going on in the "game". I have read several handicapping books including:

Ainslie's Complete Guide to Thoroughbred Racing, 3rd Edition, Betting Thoroughbreds; A Professionals Guide for the Horseplayer, Beyer on Speed, Exotic Betting.

Are there any other seminal books that I should read and or publications that I should be using.

I usually play NYRA tracks as I live in NJ and go to those tracks more than any other. I almost religiously watch the replay show and on weekends I'll check out TVG.

I apologize for the long post and thank you for your help.

Bill
ps

If you have a moment please check out my Horse photgraphs at www.billtheobaldphotgraphy.com

[2Hot4TV]

Luck, Luck, and more dumb luck.

[AeWingnut]

I use BRISnet. It takes a while to learn how to use the analysis.
What I like is you can get a detailed information with a summary at the end. The DRF is good but by the time you get through a large field you can forget about something you saw earlier. How many times have you figured out a race only to turn the page and find more horses.

What I hate about looking at the numbers is.. you sometimes forget other angles. I don't think BRISnet had more than 1 top selection winner (Dreaming of Anna) of the '06 BC races. However, I was able to use the info to find Street Sense, Thor's Echo, Round Pond and Invasor. or more importantly I was able to elminate horses (sadly I got 1st, 3rd and 4th in the sprint I mean what is terribly wrong with hitting the all button)

I got Pleasant Home (30-1) in the Distaff a couple years ago just by reading what Steve said about the connections. Ofcourse I left out Red Rocks because Steve said he was betting against the son of galileo
Doh!

[Thunder Gulch]

I've read 50 books over the last couple of years, not really looking for answers, but looking for different ways to ask questions. No book is going to open up a magic system for handicapping, but the point is that there are several ways to approach any given race. In my mind, if you can get one valuable concept from a book, no matter how subtle, then it is worth the time to read the book. I try to look for the most likely contenders, then think about what factors will drive the money at the windows and which factors will be overlooked.

If I was designing a program of written material to develop someone, Ainslie was the first place I'd start. That's a good place to start along with a couple of others for general concepts into "comprehensive handicapping."

Andy Beyer's books are a must as well as a good read. Read them in order starting with "Picking Winners." Even though it's well documented that those figs have no value in the betting pools, you really get a good understanding of how the speed figure revolution started and where it's value lies.

Steve Davidowitz's "Betting Thouroughbreds" is an excellent book to move on into key race, bias, and record keeping concepts. James Quinn's "Handicapper's Condition Book", and Tom Brohammer's "Modern Pace Handicapping" present some material that may be tough to understand at first, but explore class and pace like nothing else I've encountered. From there, Joe Cardello's "Speed to Spare" and Dave Litfin's "Expert Handicapping" provide excellent tools for looking for overlays in form cycles. The Cardello book is especially useful for weekend warriors with their use of Beyer patterns.

Now, after you have been through these, read the works of Mark Cramer starting with "Fast Track to Thoroughbred Profits." After getting through others, you think you know something, and Cramer spins it around and takes a contrarian approach to conventional handicapping wisdom. It really changes your entire mindset from selection based handicapping to wager value. "Kinky Handicapping" and "Thoroughbred Cycles" are both fantastic with the latter being an exceptional work on condition/form.

A couple of others I like. James Quinn's "Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping" is an excellent router to several methods. He takes the works of 20 handicappers and does an excellent job of paraphrasing the underlying concepts of each. Reading this is what sent me in the direction of several mentioned above. Barry Meadow has a good book on money management. From the DRF series, the aforrementioned book by Joe Cardello is good, as is the book by Dan Illman on maiden races. The others in that series are useless, IMO.

At the end of the day, you need to find what works for you in your own experiences, and that's something you can't get from a book.

[Thunder Gulch]

Originally Posted by AeWingnut

I use BRISnet. It takes a while to learn how to use the analysis.
What I like is you can get a detailed information with a summary at the end. The DRF is good but by the time you get through a large field you can forget about something you saw earlier. How many times have you figured out a race only to turn the page and find more horses.

What I hate about looking at the numbers is.. you sometimes forget other angles. I don't think BRISnet had more than 1 top selection winner (Dreaming of Anna) of the '06 BC races. However, I was able to use the info to find Street Sense, Thor's Echo, Round Pond and Invasor. or more importantly I was able to elminate horses (sadly I got 1st, 3rd and 4th in the sprint I mean what is terribly wrong with hitting the all button)

I got Pleasant Home (30-1) in the Distaff a couple years ago just by reading what Steve said about the connections. Ofcourse I left out Red Rocks because Steve said he was betting against the son of galileo
Doh!

I like Brisnet as well to speed things up as well. The variant adjusted pace figures are nice in shaping a race, while the stats on trainers, jockeys and breeding are also valuable tools. The race summary and track profile page really seperate Bris information from the others.

[Seattleallstar]

The Magic sheets, used along with a DRF is unstoppable

[AeWingnut]

What I didn't like about Ainslie was, besides being dated, it seemed to be all about when to bet the favorite.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by AeWingnut

What I didn't like about Ainslie was, besides being dated, it seemed to be all about when to bet the favorite.

It took me years to learn when to bet the favorite and this has helped me keep my gaming balance in the plus column.
I would consider myself a pace and physical (shape of the horse). The ability to see a favorite in much better physical shape than the rest of the feild is a sure sign to double your bet and take the 2/1 or 4/5.

[Antitrust32]

best handicapping tools:

Derby Trail

Colors (bet on the brown horse who has grey in the tail)

Names

Beer (may not make u a better handicapper but you will have more fun doing it)

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

Beer (may not make u a better handicapper but you will have more fun doing it)

Amen!

And TG sheets are a goldmine for certain races.