Note: the FAQ keeper is James Robert Campbell jrcampbe@atmos.met.utah.edu Please report any corrections or additions to him. ******* NOTE!!! The Derby FAQ is under re-construction. This thing is ******* quit old and outdated. I'm getting to it slowly (I only became ******* faq keeper about two weeks ago), but it needs alot of work. Sorry ******* that it's so dusty....8^) Derby Faq Table of Contents 1. What is derby all about? -Admistrivia -Common racing abbreviations -Use of signatures -Replying to posts -What can/cannot be posted 2. Are any of the myths about "the track" true/false? 4. What are handicapping tools and how do I acquire them? 5. Daily Racing Form(DRF)? 6. What are the considerations of classic handicapping? 7. What is speed and what are speed figures? 8. Class / Conditions? 9. Pace? 10. What is form? 11. What is distance? 12. What is surface? 13. Breeding? 14. Trainer Patterns? 15. What are the "sheets"? How much? Where to get them? 16. Thoro-graph? How much? Where? 17. How does the pari-mutuel system work. 18. Repeaters? How often and in what cases? 19. How to evaluate shippers? 20. What was the ACRS? 21. What is the Dr. Z's method and does it make a profit? 22. What on-line services are available? 23. Software? 24. What are the best books. 25. Is there a glossary. 26. What is dosage and who are the chefs-de-race. 27. What is a morning line, what is a betting line. 28. Do I really need to know math to play the horses? 29. What is the Kelly criterion. 30. What's the different between a system, a method, and an angle. 31. Who are all those people at the track and what do they do. 32. I am a good handicapper, how come I lose money. 33. What is money management. 34. What's wrong with this picture (money management myths) 37. Net sources for gifs, jpegs, mpegs, quicktime, of TB's and races. 38. Whatever happened to ... Or how can I check the welfare of a horse I bet on six years ago. 39. Who'll book my bet. 40. What other related newsgroups and listservs are out there. 41. Out of date Info for some tracks. 42. Bibliography 43. Sources ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.) What is Derby all about? The Derby list is an electronic mailing list devoted to the discussion or Thoroughbred Horse Racing. The list contains over 1000 members including handicappers, trainers, owners, and those representing most every facet of the industry. Once added to Derby, you can receive the list in either of three modes: 1. Reflected mode - Messages posted to the list are automatically sent to your address. You will normally receive a post approximately 1-2 hours after it has been sent. 2. Digest mode - The day's messages combined into one bulk post. Depending on the time of the year, the Derby list can boast anywhere from 30-70 messages a day. Obviously, the bigger days fall near major events such as the Breeders Cup or the Kentucky Derby. While the lesser days fall during times of little activity (winter). While this list is dedicated to thoroughbreds, if your interests also include harness racing, a mailing list devoted to that sport can be joined by e-mailing -- Administrivia dealing with the list and getting the FAQ. The list is maintained by Steve McNatton in Lexington, KY. You can reach him at stevem@inslab.uky.edu These addresses are used for the following: derby@inslab.uky.edu -This is where you send messages to the list. derby-request@inslab.uky.edu -All subscribing, unsubscribing, switching from mail to digest or vice versa, mail problems and all other list related inquiries. jrcampbe@mines.utah.edu -To get FAQ using e-mail from faq keeper, or to make contributions to the faq. http://www.inslab.uky.edu/~stevem -To get faq using the World Wide Web. This address corresponds to the Derby List Archives. The derby faq is not longer available using anonymous FTP -- If you are fairly new to the sport of kings, here are some regularly used abbreviations that will help you while reading the faq. In horse racing, time is most often expressed to the nearest 1/5 sec. 1:10'3. 1 min 10-sec 6/10 of a second. 1:10.30 1 min 10 sec 3/10 of a second. m Mile, f Furlong. 220 yds or 660 feet or 1/8 of a mile. TC Triple crown. HOTY Horse of the year. NW2x Non winners of two races other than maiden, claiming, or starter. pp Past performance, the record of a horse published in track programs, Daily Racing Form, etc... DRF Daily Racing Form KLB Know Lukas Basher. A term applied to those on the list who tend to post anti-D. Wayne Lukas notes. If you see an abbreviation used on the list or in the faq, that needs to be added send it to the address listed above. -- Sigs or signatures are what mailers add (sometimes) automatically to the bottom of postings. It is generally accepted practice on the net that all mail should be signed. Your sig should include your name and E-mail address. Your sig should not exceed four lines. The first two are very important, as some mailers do not display complete header information, your sig may be the only way someone can reply to you directly. -- You are welcome to reply to any previous posting when writing to Derby. However, use of derogatory tone (flames) are strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated. When replying, if you choose to include the original message, please use relevent portions only. Informations such as headers and sigs are irrelevent. The list goes out in digest form to many people and an unedited reply can only add to the already large volume of information being sent out. -- What can/cannot be posted. Any and all questions, comments or information relative to thoroughbred racing are welcome on the Derby list. Only two rules need to be abided by: 1.) Material protected by copyright should not be posted. And, the list should not be used as a means to illegally exchange such information. For example, Daily Racing Form or Equibase Past Performance information downloaded from an on-line service are protected by copyright. This also applies to race charts, flash results, or any other reports produced and sold by these companies. Excerpts of an article or book, so long as proper attribution is given, are OK; and an extract of something produced by an on-line distributor, or publication is OK. Before posting any possibly copyrighted information, take the time to find and read any disclaimers posted by the authors. Most on-line services are very frank about what you can do with their material. If you are not positive about the legality of posting something, take the time to e-mail Steve McNatton (address above) and ask. 2.) As previously mentioned, personal attacks (flames) are frowned upon and severely punished. This list is for the discussion of horse racing, not for meta-discussions about the nature and character of previous postings or posters. Violators of this rule are ex-communicated. This is a hard and fast rule, and strictly enforced. If you feel that you have been attacked on-list, send a message the "reqest" address listed above and try to solve to problem off-list. Flames: just say no. 2.) Are any of the myths about "the track" true/false? There are quite of few myths about racing. Here are several that have been going around: (a) "Never bet on the grey horses or you'll go home broke" The Churchill Downs "How to be a better bettor guide" says that 5% of all thoroughbreds are grey, grey horses win 5% of the races. Go Figure. (b) "You can beat a race but you can't beat the races". Some hold the opposite as well. (c) "Horse racing is fixed!". Well, while there is certainly no hard evidence that some races are not indeed fixed, the industry goes to great lengths to protect the integrity of the game. Horses are tested after every race for the detection of illegal ability-enhancing drugs. And, races are watched quite carefully to insure that jockeys ride their mounts honestly. The industry relies heavily on the wagering done by the fans. It serves them no purpose to let allegations of race-fixing permeate through the stands. (d) Others? Post your questions to the list? 3.) What are handicapping tools and how do I acquire them? Handicapping tools are "methods" to arrange or acquire data about a race that helps in making a selection. Such tools can isolate the abilities of a particular horse which may stand out versus those of his competition. Unfortunately, there is currently no known tool which can isolate every winner of every race. However, combining different methods of handicapping can normally reduce a large field down to perhaps two or three main contenders. Here are some commonly used handicapping tools: -- Daily Racing Form(DRF) -- http://www.drf.com The Daily Racing Form is the only national paper that prints past performance and result charts for horse racing. It also contains workouts, charts, and stewards rulings. It is the "paper of record" for the thoroughbred racing industry. Learning to read the "Form" can be quite challenging. Most books on handicapping have a chapter that deals with this issue. But since the form has changed so much over the last couple of years these books will not cover the new features. However, in the front of every issue of DRF is an example and explanation of a horse's past performances. It's really not as hard as it first looks. DRF publishes many different daily additions to accomodate both region, and local simulcasting menus. I.e., folks in California receive pp's for their state's races exclusively, whereas a player in Maryland will receive as many as 5 tracks representing 5 different states. In addition, many areas are "treated" to AM and PM editions of the form to accomdate simulcasted racing programs throughout the day. For instance, in the Eastern Region an AM copy of DRF will normally possess a NY track, MD track, NJ track, Phliadelphia Park and Delaware Park. Whereas the PM edition showcases a KY track, CA track, TX track, FL track and Penn National which generally run later in the day. To find out what editions are produced for your area, either contact your local retailer or DRF-online. -- Equibase Past Performances -- http://www.brisnet.com Many tracks are starting to carry pp's in their programs. know about the form is that there are different editions. The East coast edition only covers the Eastern tracks. There are some differences in how the different editions represent data. Also there is an early edition, printed to be sold the day before the races in addition to one to be sold on the day of the races. Also, as competition has increased between track programs and the Form, both have added more features. What are the considerations of classic handicapping? Class, Form, Distance, Pace, Consistency, Speed, Weights, Rider, Mud, Turf, Post Position, and the Paddock and Post Parade. Weight is not currently in vogue as a handicapping tool, but that may be related to a tendency of trainers to pull their horses out of races if the weight is too high. Paddock inspection is on an upswing, as it gives track goers a big edge over the off-track crowd. What is speed and what are speed figures? Speed is how fast something is moving. It is usually expressed distance * time, as in miles per hour or feet per second. When handicappers talk speed, they are generally talking about a horses final time in a race. Many people have worked hard to answer questions about why the times vary, in the way they do. There are many reasons: surface, distance travelled (wide trip), the pace of the race, how far in back of the first teletimer the starting gate is placed, weight carried, bad trips (having to check, bumping, etc.) For many years, The DRF would publish in their past performances a speed figure and a daily variant. Their figure was derived from the track record at the distance and the belief that a length could translate to a fifth of a second. The winners speed figure would be 90 if he ran two seconds slower than the track record and every one behind him would be one point lower for each length behind. They would also publish a daily variant, reflecting how close any runner came to a record that day. These figures were widely criticized for good reason. Beyer Speed figures, and many others, try to establish a par times for each class of horse race. A par is the time you'd expect the winner to have to run to win the race. Then points are assigned based on how far above or below the par. Final adjustments are made when it's determined if the track was running slow or fast that day. This is gross oversimplification, but enough to follow someone who says the par for these at 6f is 1:10'5 but the tracks 2 ticks slow. It is important to remember Beyer Figures don't take many relevant facts into account. They are adjusted for distance and surface, only. They provide a good way to judge horse moving in class or shipping. Since the DRF now publishes Beyer Speed Figures, everyone now has access to reliable, accurate figures. This allows for more accurate analysis of the race. There are several patterns that occur. First a couple of terms need to be defined: Bounce - after a good effort a bad effort follows. Fires - a good race. When horses are young they tend to bounce off of good performances.There are good signs and bad signs. A good sign is when that horse follows the bounce race with a race that matches or exceeds the race that caused the bounce. The next race is usually better yet. While this pattern is good for 2YO & 3YO which are still developing,in older horses, 4YO>, they will usually bounce again. That is the bounce level. When a older horses reaches that figure you can count on it to bounce. Another pattern that is useful is the "02X" pattern. This where a horse fires an all time best, then in the next race has a figure that is 2-4 Beyer points lower in the next race, will follow that race with a terrible race. Again this is most pronounced in 2YO and 3YO. Another powerful pattern is the horse that has just matched his last two speed figures. My research of 300 occurrences has shown dramatic improvement in 60% and staying the same or improving in 80%. A Dramatic improvement was 8> Beyer speed points. Class / Conditions? Class if reflected by the conditions the horse can run under and the size of the purses the horse routinely competes for. Conditions are the requirements, based on a horses record, for entry into a race. Very few, run through their conditions rapidly, going from Maiden to NW1x to NW2x and up. Ones that break their maiden impressively, may go right on to stakes races very rapidly. For claimers class is reflected by the claiming price. Those horses that do run through conditions generally find a level where they can no longer compete. The stakes horses we come to know and admire are incredibly rare horses. Trainers try to run horses in conditions where they will be successful, at least sometimes. No triple crown winner could ever run in a race for non-winners of 3 other than, but some Derby winners could still meet those conditions after the triple crown was over. Races are written. The racing secretary at the track writes the races into the condition book. If you want one go the racing secretary's office at the track and ask. When you see odd conditions that fit only one horse at the track, it is said "The race was written for him". Meaning the racing secretary wrote the race as a favor to an influential trainer at the track so his horse could pick up a purse. There are two excellent books on class, "Class of the Field" and "Handicappers Condition Book" both by Jim Quinn. Pace? The pace of a race is all those fractions in between the start and finish and where the horses are running in relation to them. In its simplest form pace handicapping is deciding if a runner will get loose on the lead, or if there will be a speed duel that will set it up for a closer. In its more comprehensive form it involves detailed analysis of how the race will shape up.See Brohamer's book "Modern Pace Handicapping" if you prefer an explanation that makes sense. What is form? Form is judging the current fitness of the horse for competition. Horses can be plagued with a wide variety of health problems. Also horses may peak early or later in their careers. If a horse is going to earn its keep it has to race every two or three weeks, and at least hit the board. Extended vacations, especially during the summer months, are a sign that there was a major health problem. A horse who has neither raced nor worked-out in the last month is a sure loser. See Cramers book on form cycle. What is distance? Distance as a handicapping factor is judging the chances of a horse at a given distance of grounds. Different skills are needed to win at 6f and 1-1/4m. In addition to greater stamina needed for a greater distance, route races have two turns. (1m to 1-1/8m races at Belmont are 1 turn races, and complicate handicapping the horses that compete in them, treat those as long sprints). Generally sprinters are distance specialist, the same horses that handle 6f flawlessly have trouble at 7f and vice-versa. Route races depend more on tactical speed to get good position, the horses ability to be rated and the jockey's ability to judge the pace. What is surface? The surface is the surface of the track. Different tracks have radically different surfaces. In addition there is the difference between races run on the turf and on the dirt. On dirt the track can be off. Some horses can handle any surface; some can handle only one. If a horse has only won on soft-turf, don't play him on anything else. If a horse only won the slop, "romped in the gumbo" as they say; he is not a play on a fast track. Many times you have no way of knowing form the pp's what surfaces a horse can handle. Generally the best way of guessing is to check the breeding to see if the sire or dam was good on an off track. In the 1992 Saratoga Scorecard, Mark Cramer had an article to the effect that Saratoga mud was a unique surface and that there are horses who will only win on an off-track if the race is at Saratoga even though they seem to like fast tracks everywhere else. Also, keep tabs of jockeys who can ride on grass or off tracks; some can't. Breeding? Breeding is the art of matching dams and sires to produce successful offspring. Horses are very difficult to breed and most stud fees come with a live-foal guarantee. A booking with a top sire usually does not. A repeatedly successful match, say Alydar with any Buckpasser mare, is called a nick. A good sire is one who can fill his book. Both dam and sire are important, if sires seem to dominate statistical studies it is because a sire may have 1000 foals in his career at stud, while a dam with more than 10 is rare. Breeding effects the way horses run in general. Distance age and surface seem to be the most dominant breeding factors. Higher $ races are generally populated by horses that are worth more money, on both the sire and dam side. Again IMHO - the mare makes all the difference. If you have a good producer (think Weekend Surprise - Summer Squall and AP Indy, No Class - Regal Classic, Sky Classic, Grey Classic and Classy n Smart) you can breed to almost any comparable stallion and get a potentially great runner. With a mare that doesn't produce well - it doesn't seem to matter who you breed to. As an example, Golden Skate (Overskate - Golden Dust). This mare is an unraced half sister to Bet Twice and Golden ? who won the SA Oaks this year. Her production record? Southern Band (5 yr old) Dixieland Band - claimed in a cheap race, never won. Proud Secret (3 yr old filly) x Secretariat - raced twice - last both times. Happy Regent (2yr old filly) x Vice Regent - raced twice - last both times. So, pay attention to the production record on the female side and look for long shots who have siblings who are proven winners. The counter argument to this is that good sires are often available to mares with poor race records, while poor sires are *never* available to good mares. Of course the genetic material is a 50-50 split between the two sexes. Trainer Patterns? Trainers are completely responsible for the horse. If a drug test comes back positive, the trainer gets the rap, regardless. He works out the training schedule, names the jockey, decides what the horse eats, employs the grooms and hot-walkers. Some owners are known to interfere with their trainers, but the horse it the trainers responsibility. Trainer Patters is what some handicappers do now. The trainer is the most important person in a horse race, not the jockey. The best way to use this method is to have some sort of database and keep track of how the horse won, i.e. 1st race after a layoff, or a change of surface, etc... Some trainers excel in only one area, e.g. claiming or grass races. Never bet a Lucas horse in a claimer or a Pete Feriola horse on the turf. Also, some trainer/owner combinations try to get horse that will win early, while others - especially the old established owners, want horses that will win the big classic distance races and don't care about anything else. The DRF usually has a chart on each Trainers winning percentages and dollars earned at that track for that meet. This is a handy tool to use. The Trainer is important, just as a coach is to a football or basketball team. What are the "sheets"? How much? Where to get them? "Sheets" are usually one page tip sheets found at the track or stores near the track, such as convenience or liquor stores. These "sheets" will have the picks of each race as selected by the handicapper who wrote the sheet. Some are simply typed on a typewriter and photocopied, while others are professionally printed in color. The costs vary from $0.50 to $3.00 or more. Most are around $1.00. Some contain the picks of multiple handicappers. Some of the sheets are also available from 900 numbers or on-line services. The oldest established sheet is Clocker Lawton, another decent one is the Wiz. Sheets have to be reasonably good to last; they generally have a strong effect on the odds at the track. If theyUre any good, they will be printed up rapidly the morning of the race and take the weather and latest scratches into account. This gives them an up on the newspaper handicappers, who are usually good enough to hit between 1/3 and 1/4 of the time. If your curious about the quality of a sheet, there are usually tons of them littering the track after the races. Pick one up and see if the sheet was close. (Warning - an old sheet sellerUs trick is to print up a second edition after the days races have been run and use that one to show how good the selector was.) Thoro-graph? How much? Where? I confess, I have used these speed figures. They are really good but expensive, $25 per race day. Most major tracks have a location usually in the clubhouse to get these sheets. Each sheet covers the horses entire racing life. There are seminars on how to use the sheets. I have learned quite a bit on how to use speed figures with Thoro-graph. The principles will work with any good set of speed figures. Another high priced set of speed figures you can get are the Ragozin sheets, which have a big following in NY. Thoro-graph has a 900 number. How does the pari-mutuel system work. Most of the information on pool calculations comes from a handout given to candidate for New York States pari-mutuel examiner civil service test in 1987. Some of the information is dated. Given: a hypothetical three horse race with win betting as follows on the tote. (Totalizator for the absurdly technical) horse dollars odds 1 $2.00 5-1 2 $5.00 7-5 3 $8.00 1-2 The gross pool, total bet $15.00 dollars. The take is 2.55. This leaves a net pool of 12.45. The net pool contains the breaks, the wager, and the profit. Let's say the favorite won. The wager is $8. 12.45/8 = 1.55625. The next step is a gem called dime breakage. Truncate the result to the next lowest multiple of 10, leaving 1.50 to be returned for each dollar bet. The payoff is $3.00. If the second choice won the payoff would be 4.80 and if the long shot won 12.40. All pools except place and show are calculated the same way. NOTE: On triple, pick-6, and pick-3 wagers the take may be over 25%, with $0.50 breaks (payoff in even dollar amounts). The breaks generally add about 2% to the take; a little more in exotics and a little less in wagers on a single entry. In extreme cases, say you hit a triple at NY OTB. The statutory deductions - take and break - at the track remove about 28% from the pool, and then OTB will take a 5% surcharge off your winning wager. Your general expectation ( - 33%) is now worse than most Bingo games. Now lets assume there was place betting in the above race and the 2 and 1 placed. I will just do payout for the 2 horse. The net pool is still 12.45. The wagers are deducted from the pool leaving 5.45. 5.45 is the profit. The profit is divided by 2. and the halves divided by the wagers. (5.45/2)/5 = .50. The 2 paid $3 to place. The 1 paid 4.60 to place. If the top two choices both placed, the wagers ($13) subtracted from the net pool (12.45) would result in a profit of -$0.55. This is what is meant by a minus pool. The track would still pay 5 cents to the dollar and swallow a 65 cent total loss. PLACE AND SHOW PAYOFF CALCULATIONS: (I left the old description in as I've no reason to believe the new one is clearer. The new description was added mostly to include the technical terms for the pieces of the pool) To calculate place or show payoffs, take the total amount bet, subtract the amount bet on each of the horses, divide the pool evenly between the "winners" (i.e., divide by 2 for place and 3 for show), and then divide those numbers by the amount bet on them. Whew! Did you get that? Perhaps an example would be better: Total bet on race, to show: $2000 Amounts bets on the horses that showed: $400, $300, $100 (remember, in show betting, it doesn't matter what order the horses finished in, only that they came in either 1, 2, or 3). Also assume no track take, but remember you have to subtract this from the total amount bet. $2000 - $800 (sum of money bet on winners) = $1200 $1200 / 3 = $400 (3 = number of "winners" in show pool, would be 2 for place) Each winner would get $400 divided equally among them. Thus, the odds for a $1 bet is: for the $400 horse: $400/$400 = 1-to-1 = mutuel of $4.00 for the $300 horse: $400/$300 = 1.33-to-1 = mutuel of $4.60 for the $100 horse: $400/$100 = 4-to-1 = mutuel of $10 Remember that (at least in SoCal) the track also has what is called "dime breakage", which means that $1 bets are rounded DOWN to the nearest dime, which is why you only see payoffs of $2.20, $2.40, etc. When determining track take, this must also be taken into account. That's why the second horse pays only $4.60 instead of the $4.66 that it really should. Even if the real payoff should be $4.79, you'd only get $4.60. That's quite a big difference. PLACE AND SHOW vs. EXACTA WAGERING Much has been written about Dr. Z on this mailing list, so I won't go into much detail here. Basically, you look at the tote board, pick two horses that have about the same amount bet to win, and see if their show and place bets are proportional. If not, you may have located an overlay. Of course, if you handicap, take the horses that have about the same chance of winning and bet on the higher priced horse (this applies to all pools). How do you bet AGAINST an over bet favorite? Many people bet exacta combinations on some horses to take the money that is being bet on the favorite. This however, requires a lot of money, and, since there is no guarantee that you are correct, if the favorite wins, you lose your money. I find that making money in exacta wagering is difficult. In most combinations, the first and second favorite is almost always over bet (I don't have hard numbers to back this up, but I'm working on it). However, the kicker is that the first and second favorites often win their races. When you bet the favorites you're usually not compensated enough for your risk. With exacta wagering, you need to have enough money to hit those times when the non-favorites come in. When you do win, you win a lot, but you often have to sit through a lot of losing tickets to get there. Repeaters? How often and in what cases? Generally higher class horses repeat more often then cheaper/lower class horses. Repeating is generally a function of form. Some signs of a horse going off form are when the numbers start coming up lower and losing ground in the stretch. Be aware that horses, especially stakes horses are pointed to particular events and their trainers plan there campaign so they'll be in top form for those events. Many horses will favor a given track and repeat as long as they are racing there. How to evaluate shippers? 1. Class of track being shipped from. 2. Class of horse at track being shipped from. 3. Class of race the shipper is being entered in. It is important to know what the bottom level is at the track being shipped to. Saratoga runs nothing less that $20,000 claimers/ $35,000 on grass. Many of these horses would be placed at the bottom no matter where they ran, and are inviting targets to shippers from tracks with less generous purse structures. 4. Distance of race shipper being entered in. 5. Has the trainer been here before and how successful with shippers. Watch for short meets. Some trainers will target a short meet as there best shot for a decent purse, if the purses are higher than there home turf. 6. Times of races. I check for the fastest time of the last 3yrs. per distance at track being shipped from. Speed ratings(DRF and Beyer). Construct my own speed ratings for shippers. After a while I will know that a horse shipping from certain tracks will run x amount of time slower or faster here. Speed ratings can then be adjusted. 7. Jockey. Is the trainer bringing their own or is a local jockey riding and has the jockey been here before. What is the ARCS? A set of Grade I races for older(4YO>) horses that will help generate more interest in the sport. Now defunct as far as I know. What is the Dr. Z's method and does it make a profit? "Dr. Z Beats the races" this book shows how to make a profit by making place and show bets that take advantage of the public lack of support for horses in the place and show pools. What on-line services are available? Bloodstock Research Information Services in Lexington, Kentucky has a wide range of horse racing data available. They call it "The Handicapper's DataBase". They charge only for services - reports, results, and charts, as long as you pay the call. They do have a $10 charge for using their 800 number and a smaller charge for using tymnet. Call them (they are listed in the sources section of the FAQ) and they will send you literature, which will be more current. One thing worth knowing about BRIS, if you plan to write your own software or want to check that the program you bought is working, from their menu for downloading entries, if you enter a track code of FREE, you can get an old card to use to check out your software or the program your working on. Equine line is a resource designed for horse breeders. They don't provide information for handicapping, but they are great if you want to find out about the bloodlines of any runner. CSW computer sports world makes the Form's pp's available for downloads as well as result charts. Also, some newspapers are available on line. I don't know if any of them have race results, entries, etc. But some might? Software? There are two commercial programs available that look interesting and that I've had some feed back on: Morning Liner Plus III vers 4 and All-in-one. Plus III is given out free to BRIS subscribers, in an attempt to get them to use the service. It is a decent program. I did try it out a couple of years ago, in an earlier version, and it is a legitimate effort at handicapping software. You do need to build up its database to get it to work well. All-in-one does seem to have all the features that handicapping software should have, but at $700 the price is steep. It keeps records, calculates betting lines, ability times, par times, etc. One subscriber to the list had used an earlier version with some success. It is published by Cynthia publishing; I got my information on it from an add in the latest American Turf Monthly. If you don't like it you can return it, but they charge a restocking fee that will leave you out $140. All-in-one was reviewed, very favorably, in the DRF on October 11, 1993. What are the best books. There are maybe 6 or 7 people writing books on horse racing who really know something. I would suggest reading Ainslie, Beyer, Davidowitz, Cramer, and Mitchell. Ainslie's Complete guide to thoroughbred handicapping explains most of the details of racing as well as a lot about handicapping, so it's a good place to start. Beyer stands alone as a kind of public handicapping god. You should read Picking Winners and The Winning Horseplayer; they cover speed and trip handicapping respectively. Davidowitz wrote one book and is great at class, key races and track biases. It is a very good basic book on handicapping and a must if you play at small tracks with conditional claiming races. Cramers, The Odds On Your Side details how to make a betting line and is a must. All of the above authors have different styles and concerns. Ainslie, Beyer, and Davidowitz are sports writers who cover horse racing. (I'd add Steve Christ to the list, if he ever publishes a book on handicapping) I think that the best place to start is Ainslie's Encyclopedia of Thoroughbred Handicapping as it covers the sport and not just how to bet. Beyer is by far the best writer on horse race betting, but his books always reflect his current interests: speed, trip-handicapping, pace handicapping, etc. They can provide a good introduction and are certainly the best read. Is there a glossary. The DRF publishes lists of racing terms on a regular bases. A lot of terms are explained in Ainslie's book. A few years ago NYRA gave out a comic book that explained "Acey-Deucy" and "On the Bill Daly", presumably enquiring children wanted to know. There is no glossary in the faq, but I intend to add one, eventually. If you want to know the meaning of a term, just ask on the list. What is dosage and who are the chefs-de-race. Dosage evolved from the works of a Capt. Vullier and a Dr. Varola. The concept was refined by Steven Roman, who wrote it up in the DRF in 1981. There are two basic ideas behind it: A very few sires are so prepotent as to appear in the pedigrees, of almost all thoroughbred race horses. That is a few ancestors dominate the gene pool. The genetic make up of a horse, derived from those sires, will reflect the distances they will succeed at in a statistically significant fashion. The Sires are classified as Brilliant, Intermediate, Classic, Solid, and Professional based on the ability of their progeny to succeed at different distances. Brilliant being speed for sprints and Professional being lasting power at long routes. Classic is the magic mark for the classic distance 1-1/4m. The DP (dosage profile) is obtained by adding points for each chef in the four generation pedigree. If the sire is a chef and brilliant you add 16 points to the brilliant column. If the grand-sire was classic you add 8 points to the classic column. At the end you wind up with five numbers. Silver of Silvers dosage profile is 5-4-19-0-0. To get the DI (dosage index) and CD (center of distribution) do the following: divide the classic points by 2 giving 9.5. add the speed 5+4+9.5 and the distance 9.5+0+0. Divide the speed number by the distance number 18.5/9.5= 1.947. This is the DI. To get the CD. Add 2x the brilliant points (10) to the intermediate points (4) subtract the solid points (0) and 2x the professional points (0). Then divide by the total points(28). (2*5 + 4 - 0 - 2*0) /28 = 0.5. Dosage had predicted the derby since 1929 to Strike the Gold's win. In that time, no winner had a DI > 4.00 or a CD > 1.25. Only Damascus, Creme Fraiche, and Conquistador Cielo won the Belmont with DI's > 4. The chefs are : BRILLIANT Abernant, Apalachee, Baldski*, Black Toney*, Blushing Groom*, Bold Ruler*, British Empire, Bull Dog, Cicero, Court Martial, Double Jay, Fair Trial, Fairway, Gallant Man*, Grey Dawn II*, Grey Sovereign, Habitat, Halo*, Helipolis, Hoist the Flag*, Hyperion*, Icecapade*, In Reality*, Intentionally*, Key to the Mint*, King's Bishop*, Mr. Prospector*, My Babu, Nasrullah, Nearco*, Never Bend*, Noholme II*, Northern Dancer*, Olympia, Orby, Panorama, Peter Pan, Phalaris, Pompey, Raise A Native, Reviewer*, Roman*, Royal Charger, Seattle Slew*, Sharpen Up*, Sir Cosmo, Speak John*, Spy Song, Tudor Minstrel, Turn-to*, Ultimus, What a Pleasure INTERMEDIATE Ack Ack*, Baldski&, Bold Bidder, Ben Brush, Big Game, Black Toney*, Bold Ruler*, Broomstick, Caro*, Colorado, Congreve, Damascus*, Danzig*, Djebel, Eight Thirty, Equipoise*, Full Sail, Gallant Man*, Grey Dawn II*, Havresac II, Hoist the Flag*, Intentionally*, Khaled, King Salmon, King's Bishop*, Mahmoud*, Nashua*, Native Dancer*, Never Bend*, Petition, Pharos, Polynesian, Princequillo*, Riverman*, Roman*, Round Table*, Sir Gaylord, Sir Ivor, Speak John*, Star Kingdom*, Star Shoot, Sweep, The Tetratch, Tom Fool*, Traghetto, Turn-to*, T.V.Lark CLASSIC Ack Ack*, Alibhai, Alydar, Aureole, Bahram, Best Turn, Blandford, Blenheim II*, Blue Larkspur, Blushing Groom*, Bold Bidder, Brantome, Buckpasser, Bull Lea, Caerleon, Caro*, Clarissimus, Count Fleet, Damascus*, Danzig*, Equipoise*, Exclusive Native, Forli, Gainsborough, Graustark*, Gundomar, Hail to Reason, Halo*, Herbager*, High Top, His Majesty, Hyperion*, Icecapade*, In Reality*, Key to the Mint*, Luthier, Lyphard, Mahmoud*, Midstream, Mill Reef*, Mossborough, Mr. Prospector, Nashua*, Native Dancer*, Navarro, Nearco*, Never Say Die, Nijinsky II*, Noholme II*, Northern Dancer, Nureyev, Persian Gulf, Pilate, Prince Bio, Prince Chevalier, Prince John, Prince Rose, Reviewer*, Ribot*, Riverman*, Roberto, Rock Sand*, Seattle Slew*, Sharpen Up*, Sicambre, Sideral, Sir Gallahad III, Sir Gaylord*, Sir Ivor*, Star Kingdom*, Swynford, Ticino*, Tom Fool*, Tom Rolfe*, Tourbillion*, Tracery, Vaguely Noble*, Vieux Manoir SOLID Asterus, Bachelor's Double, Ballymoss, Blenheim II*, Bois Roussel, Chaucer, Discovery, Fair Play*, Graustark*, Herbager*, Man o' War, Mill Reef*, Nijinsky II*, Oleander, Princequillo*, Relko, Right Royan, Rock Sand*, Round Table*, Sea Bird, Stage Door Johnny, Sunstar, Tantieme, Teddy, Ticino*, Vatout, Worden PROFESSIONAL Admiral Drake, Alcantara II, Alizier, Alycidon, Bayardo, Bruleur, Chateau Bouscaut, Crepello, Dark Ronald, Donatello II, Fair Play*, Foxbridge, Hurry On, La Farina, Le Fabuleaux, Massine, Mieuxce, Ortello, Precipitation, Rabelais, Ribot*, Run the Gantlet, Sardanaple, Solario, Son-in-Law, Spearmint, Stage Door Johnny*, Sunny Boy, Tom Rolfe*, Tourbillon*, Vaguely Noble*, Vandale, Vatellor, Wild Risk What is a morning line, what is a betting line. In order to wager on horses successfully, you need to understand that odds are one form of expressing a probability. If you are offered 7-2 on a horse, do the following if you want to know if it's a good bet. 7-2 is the same as 3.5 - 1. Use a calculator with a reciprocal key (1/x). Add 1 to 3.5 and hit the reciprocal key. The odds suggest slightly more than a 22% chance of winning. A morning line was originally the prices you could get from a book maker when the betting on a race began. If one horse started to dominate he would draw a line through the old odds, on his slate and write new lower odds. If he did this numerous times, that horses line would be a row of chalk marks, resulting in the expression RchalkS. As there are no book makers (in the US), and even the illegal ones use track odds to get the high take, the morning line is meaningless for wagering. It will effect the final odds, as some people play the morning line favorite and some may even believe those are the odds they get. The payoffs are determined by the post time odds: the odds on the totalizator when the race goes off. If you convert those odds to percentages and add them up you will find they total something like 120% to 130% depending on track take and breakage. If there was no take or breakage they would total 100%. Years ago, when there were book-makers, if someone offered a line that added up to 100%, it was called a Dutch Book. The other book makers would bet all the horses and drive the incompetent out of business as no matter how much money he took, he was guaranteed to not make a profit. A betting line is an odds line a handicapper makes reflecting a fair price for each horse by estimating the entries probabilities of winning Playing the horses is the art of waiting for a situation where the odds are longer than the actual probability suggest. If you don't have a betting line you have no way of knowing if your getting a fair price or not. Actually, what you want is a better than fair price. While the ability to pick winners is helpful, it is not what the game of horse playing is about. Do I really need to know math to play the horses. Yes, but not a lot. Well actually none beyond how to fork your money over to a mutuel clerk - but some knowledge of math should make it more profitable. You should have some understand of what the expectation of bet, or its value, is. You should know that you only want to bet into a mathematically positive expectation. You should be aware that horse racing is a negative sum game. And that most of the logic for zero-sum two-person games apply: what's good for you, is bad for all other players, etc. You should know about Gambler's Ruin which says that against an infinitely wealthy opponent you can still go broke even if you only bet when the expectation is positive. It helps to know some statistics. If you like math (or computer programming) you can model the game in as elaborate fashion as you find enjoyable. As in other gambling games like poker or backgammon you should know the relevant math. As a great deal of sophisticated mathematical discussion does take place on the list, I will add a separate math FAQ by the end of 1994. I will be actively soliciting input from the list throughout the year. What is the Kelly criterion. Kelly wrote an article (see the bibliography) explaining how you can maximize your profit if playing against a bookie in a wire room, where you had access to results over a communication line so you could bet after the race was one. It's worth reading, but the following conditions make most of it irrelevant: -Your bet never affects the odds. This is not possible in a pari-mutuel environment. -The bookie never wises up. In a true non parimutuel setting, where your win is your bookies loss, your ability to wage would vanish. . -Kelly's bookie takes fractional bet amounts, so you could be $1.234534 if that was best for you. This is a small problem, it simply means that you have to find integer solutions and your optimal bets will return a little less that the fractional bets. -Nothing Kelly did involved handicapping. Kelly's math and that of some others does point out correct wagering strategy: You should only bet into a positive expectation and in proportion to the positiveness of that expectation. Kelly was using a comm line to past post. The only error was if the comm line failed and he took the error rate of the comm line as given. When your selection involves your own probability assignments it becomes more complicated. -Kelly's method never taps out because of the fractional bets. In reality, the Kelly bettor when losing, would gradually have fewer and fewer betting opportunities. He would probably still have money, but he wouldnUt be able to bet it - which as any horse player knows is worse than being broke -Kelly deals with betting to win on one race at a time. This may be perfectly rational but the average horse player may have the possibility of betting many races and or different propositions (exactas, pick-3,4,5,6,7, quinella, tri, etc) simultaneously. Thus applying Kelly to all of your bets can be difficult as you donUt know your bankroll unless you assume youUve lost all the outstanding bets. An oversimplification of the kelly principle : You figure a horse as fair at even money he goes off at 4-1. 4-1 translates to 20% chance, 1-1 is a 50% chance. Your advantage is 30% so bet 30% of your bankroll. Note that the expectation (what many players seem to call the edge is not 20%, it is 150% in this case) The actual formulas would say to bet 38%. The formulas (they are all the same formula) are: Let p be the horses actual chance of winning. Let t be the chance of winning suggested by the odds. Let O be the odds to the dollar. Three versions follow, note the only numeral in any of them is a one. The O is the letter oh.: [1] 1-(1-p)/(1-t). [2] (p-t)/(1-t). [3] (pO - (1-p))/O. This is the edge/odds version, where edge refers to the mathematical expectation. Dave Jones provide the following more enthusiastic account of Kelly: Q: What is the "Kelly criterion"? It is a formula for calculating how much to bet. It assumes that your objective is long term capital growth (getting rich). The handicapper's choice of money management strategy is similar to the stock market choice between growth stocks and income stocks. Growth stocks tend to be more volatile, but in the long term return more profit. That is because the profits from growth stocks are reinvested rather than skimmed off. Every reinvestment is a calculated risk. Therefore, income stocks tend to fluctuate in value less, but also return less profit in the long term. Kelly betting is for growth. It reinvests profits, and thus puts them at risk. If your objective is to make small but consistent profits,it may be too aggressive a money management scheme. Kelly betting may also be too aggressive for the new player whose objective is to make many bets, (each one a learning experience), but who does not want to risk significantly depleting his bankroll in only a few losing bets. In fact, the Kelly formula defines a limit for any long term money management strategy: It is maximally aggressive. Betting more than the Kelly amount is an undue risk. Doing it habitually will slow long term growth. Here's how it works: Let's suppose you have worked out an odds line, and one of the horses is overlayed -- that is to say, the parimutuel odds being displayed are higher than the odds you calculated as fair. Assuming that you think the odds will "hold up", (that you will actually receive the posted odds if the horse wins), you will make a bet. Next question: How much? Assume that the object of the game is to increase the size of your bankroll at the maximum rate possible. If you bet too little, you make too little profit. But if you bet too much and lose, your bankroll will be reduced to the point that recovery will be severely delayed even if you start picking winners very successfully. Your intuition probably tells you to bet more when you have a bigger advantage, and to bet less on longshots. In a technical paper about data transmission(!), titled "A New Interpretation of Information Rate", Dr. John L. Kelly of AT&T proved that your intuition is absolutely correct. (see the bilbliography) To make your bankroll grow at the maximum rate, you should always bet a fraction of your bankroll, calculated as follows: fraction to bet (Kelly) = Edge / Odds The "edge" you have is the average amount of money you expect to win per unit wagered. For example, suppose you figure a horse would be a fair bet at even money (1-1), but the odds offered are 4-1. (This will almost never happen.) For every two times a similar race is run, you expect to lose once and win once, losing 1 unit and winning 4, for a profit of 3 units -- 1.5 units per unit wagered. Thus your edge is 1.5 (150%). The odds are 4, so the Kelly criterion says, bet 1.5/4 = 37.5% of your bankroll.If that sounds scary, don't worry. In the real world Kelly bets are almost always much smaller. Here is a convenient way to calculate the edge from the odds displayed on the tote board. Suppose you figure the horse's chance to be Lt/Wt ("lose-true" to "win-true") and the parimutuel tote board shows odds of Lp/Wp ("lose-parimutuel" to "win-parimutuel"). Wt x Lp - Lt x Wp Edge = ------------------ x Wp (Lt + Wt) Odds = Lp/Wp (Wt x Lp - Lt x Wp) 1 Kelly = ------------------- x ------ (Wt + Lt) Lp (Of course, these numbers need not be integers. For example, you could figure a horse's fair odds at (0.78)/1. Or you could work out the exact parimutuel payoff from the totals on the tote board, figuring in the track take and breakage, and derive the parimutuel odds from that. We will use integers in the examples that follow.) Let's try another example. Suppose you figure the horse at 4/5, but the parimutuel is offering 7/5. "True" odds = 4/5, thus, Lt = 4, and Wt = 5 Parimutuel odds = 7/5, thus, Lp = 7, and Wp = 5 Substituting into the formula, we obtain, 5 x 7 - 4 x 5 Edge = --------------- = 15/45 = 1/3 (4 + 5) x 5 Odds = 7/5 Kelly = (1/3) x (5/7) = .238 In a situation like this, you should bet 23.8% of your bankroll. -- Or should you? These calculations at short odds are very critical. (Try experimenting with changing the numbers very slightly.) You are therefore vulnerable to last minute changes in the parimutuel odds. You are also vulnerable to making a small mistake. How confident are you in that 4/5 you figured? Some authors recommend that you never bet on such short priced horses, even when you figure they are standouts to win. In that case, just "pass" the race, they say. That may be good advice. A minimum acceptable price to some handicappers is 5/2. Many authors also recommend scaling back on the Kelly amount, generally recommending betting half the indicated amount. I take a middle course: I think it's a good idea to scale back the Kelly bet when betting into short odds. In the situation above, you might want to give yourself a some leaway on the "true" odds. Try readjusting it to even money. (We are still assuming that the parimutuel payoff is 7/5). 1x7 - 5x1 1 1 Kelly = ---------- x --- = --- = 14.3% (1+1)x1 7 7 If the "true" odds are downgraded even more, down to 6/5, the Kelly bet is only 1.3% of bankroll. In his book _Winning Thoroughbred Strategies_, Dick Mitchell quoted William Quirin as having said that the ability to consistently make a profit betting low odds horses is the mark of an expert handicapper. The volatility of the Kelly formula at low odds demonstrates very graphically why that is. What's the different between a system, a method, and an angle. A system is a mechanical method of play, in general you always use the same data as input (speed figs, money won, etc) to produce a rating for a runner. Some systems suggest waiting for a particular price, or are only playable in a few races. An angle is a spot play or a wager on a single factor that is usually positive. Two good angles are claiming race class drop w/ switch to a winning jockey. Allowance horse got clobbered in a stake last time out, now back where he was running before. Methods are the tools used to put together your own style of play. This faq covers quite a few. Who are all those people at the track and what do they do. Every horse needs: a trainer, a groom, an owner, and a hot- walker (as well as the services of vets, farriers, and tooth floaters on a less frequent basis). When he gets led out to the paddock, there is a paddock judge to make sure the right horse has come in. To lead them out to the track you need an out-rider mounted on a lead-pony. Each jockey: gets the silks from his valet. Gets weighed before and by the clerk of skills. Gets his mounts through his jockey-agent. At the starting gate the people who climb into the gate with the horses are the assistant starters. The starter is out there supervising. The racing secretary writes the conditions for the races. There are mutuel clerks to take your money. There is a grounds crew to water and harrow the track and move the starting gate around. I've missed many people; racing is a labor intensive sport. (I've ignored the stewards, camera crews, track announcer, and many more) If anyone has a list of them all send it a long. I am a good handicapper, how come I lose money. To gamble successfully you need a little luck and a lot of skill. It is not that hard to pick winners. The public is right about 1/3 of the time and newspapers 1/4. It is even easier to pick winners if you eliminate all the races where you don't spot anything; something the newspaper pickers aren't allowed to do. If you don't have a positive expectation when you bet you will lose money over time. The two most important principles, regardless of how you handicap are to make a betting line and keep records. If you don't have records you've no way of knowing if your a good handicapper or not. If you make a betting line you've no way of knowing if you did it right, but if it generally reflects the actual odds adjusted for the take out and if it forces you to skip between 1/2 and 1/3 of all the races you're getting close. In general the most profitable situations are a false favorite, one whose chances are no better than the other contenders and goes at a short price or a luke warm favorite who should be more heavily bet but isn't. What is money management. This is how you handle your money, how you gamble. In general for a money management system to be successful and mathematically correct it should only be concerned with three things: -The expectation of the bet. E = odds * P(w)-P(l). Your expectation is the odds time the probability of winning minus the probability of losing. If you make a horse (correctly, a big if) to be an even money shot and he goes off at 4-1. Your expectation is 4*.5-.5, or 1.5. You expect a return of $1.50 for every dollar bet making such wagers over time, even though half the time you'd expect to lose your wager. -What percentage of your bankroll to play. Some have asked whatUs wrong with flat betting. The problem with flat betting is that you are betting the same amount regardless of the likelihood of the event. If your reasonably guarded and play only when you have a positive expectation youUll still make money. If you are a flat better, to play every race is virtual suicide fiscally. -What your goal is. A Kelly bettor's goal is to maximize the growth rate of his bankroll. Other's might want to maximize their ROI (return on investment) or even the number of playable races. Some might want to minimize the probability of ruin (going belly up - losing all of one's potatoes). Many think you should pick an amount of money to make for the day and that's it. (which leads us into the realm of bad money management.) What's wrong with this picture (money management myths) Other money management systems you may here about: Due column wagering. In its obvious forms, this isn't a problem. There are some subtle forms. Ray Talbot talks about what he called professional betting. You figure out how much you want to win, bet the amount you need to get it on your selections, and call it a day when you succeed. This is the same as playing roulette and doubling your wager every time. It is very, very, bad. Bet more when you are winning, less when you are losing. In one sense this is correct since your bank roll will be getting smaller when you are losing. It also plays into the myth that winning and losing runs in streaks. But it ignores the expectation of the wager. Unless you believe your handicapping ability has vanished, you should go right on betting and ignore the streaks as something you should expect to happen from time to time anyway. If a fair coin comes up heads 5 times in a row, it is still a 1-1 shot the next toss. If you were losing due to bad luck, ignore it. If you lose because, your making handicapping mistakes or generating bad odds lines, STOP playing altogether until you correct it. One of the more famous variants is BB+SQ or base bet plus square root. This says you should bet a set amount plus the square root of the profit. It is a variant of the above, but nice in that it doesn't do a thing when you are losing. Where can I find the rules of racing for my track. There have been threads on the list of the form they canceled the show pool. I didn't think they could do that. They can do anything they like. While rules of racing vary from state to state, the rules are thought about and written down. There are laws legalizing racing and authorizing some commission to run it. I am including two sections of NY racing rules from 1987 (I know I should get a current copy) to clear up some confusion. Section 4009.1 Posting of rule. Such rules for pari-mutuel betting as may be specified from time to time by the commission shall be reproduced in legible type and permanently displayed in locations within all betting areas of the premises of racing associations. The daily racing program sold to the public by racing associations shall contain a statement indicating that such rules are posted in all betting areas. (I assume this must have changed as I couldn't find anything of the kind in the last NYRA program I looked at. But tracks do post the rules in their grandstands.) Section 4009.22 Pools dependent on entries. (Statutory authority: L.1973, Ch 346 as amd.) In all races except sweepstakes with five or more separate entries which start, racing associations shall provide win, place, and show pools; in all races with four separate entries which start, they shall provide win and place pools and at their option may conduct a show pool; in the races of three separate entries they shall provide a win pool and, at their option may conduct a place pool for two separate entries which start, they shall provide only a win pool; and pari-mutuel tickets shall be sold accordingly; provided, however, that in sweepstakes with less than four separate entries which start; racing associations may, at their option, provide that there shall be no betting; and in such cases an additional race with betting shall be added to the program if feasible. (I included this for those wondering what the rules were for canceling a pool or wagering on a race. These we the rules in NY in 1987) Why do so many horses break down. -The track surfaces are too hard and don't have enough cushion, causing unnatural stress on the bones of the horses. -The use of drugs has enabled unhealthy horses to stay competitive where before the trainers had no way to patch them together. -Year round racing denies horses needed rest time and is too great a strain in unnatural climates and seasons. - Instead of improving the breed the opposite is happening with horses being bred to be fast sprinting two year olds, ignoring the demands of a career beyond the early years. Net sources for gifs, jpegs, mpegs, quicktime, of TB's and races. Try slow.inslab.uky.edu in the directory /pub/Derby Whatever happened to ... Or how can I check the welfare of a horse I bet on six years ago. Who'll book my bet. Connecticut OTB, NYRA, and Beulah Park will take bets from any US resident. For NYRA call 1-800-THE-NYRA, and you need to keep a $450 minimum to use your account from NY or a neighboring state $100 from any other state. NYRA take the bets offered at NYRA tracks only and you get the NY prices when the pools aren't comingled. For Conn. call (203) 667-9376. $25 min to start with no min to play - keep betting till it's all gone. They take bets from all over - I think it's there own pools, but I'm not sure. In OH, Beulah Park take wagers on Beulah Park and Thistledowns. Your minimum deposit is $10, to get started, but they have a $0.50 cent service charge on each call. Call (614) 871-9600. Pennsylvania and Kentucky tracks offer services to residents in there own states, only. What other related newsgroups and listservs are out there. rec.gambling, rec.equestrian and EQUINE-L. The first deals with gambling the last two are about the care, riding, admiration, and daily habits of horses. The first two are newgroups and the latter is a listserv. It is possible to have rec.equestrian mailed to you but it is doubtful that you'd really want to do to volume. Out of date Info for some tracks. (I was going to just delete this as Racing Action as more thorough coverage of most, but not all, of the same information. Send your opinions to Derby-faq. This section should be deleted or revised. It is left in for historical interest. Bay Meadows =========== Location: San Mateo, CA Racing Dates: End of August - End of January Post Times:1:00pm except Fridays which are 5pm. General Information: One mile main oval which favors speed. The turf track favors come off the pace or closers. California Fair Circuit ======================= Location: Various county/state fairs changing locations every two weeks. Racing Dates: End of June - End of September Post Time: Varies General Information: Mostly cheap horses that usually do not fair well on California's two major circuits. Charles Town ============ Location: Charlestown, WV Racing Dates: January 1 - December 30 Post Times: 7:15 p.m. Post, 1:30 p.m. Matinees Wednesday and Sunday General Information: Golden Gate Fields ================== Location: Albany, CA near Berkeley. Racing Dates: End of January - End of June Post Times: 12:30 pm. General Information: One mile main oval favors front end speed. The turf course runs fair, no bias. Greenwood ========= Location: Located at the corner of Queen Street and Woodbine Road in downtown east end Toronto. Lake Ontario is literally across the street. Racing Dates: The TB season opens at Greenwood in the first week of March and closes in the first week of December. Post Times: ??????? General Information: The track bias changes from season to season depending on weather mostly, but it usually favors speed. Smaller horses tend to do better in the tight turns. There are early and late season Stakes races each weekend. Woodbine ======== Racing Dates:Beginning of April to ?????? Post Times: ?????? General Information: Woodbine has 3 track surfaces - 1 mile on dirt, the inner turf (a mile) and the Marshall Turf which runs on the outside of the inner turf down a long straight away (the back of the main track) around and across the dirt track and onto the inner turf to finish. As to track bias etc - early in the year it was favoring speed on the inside, but now there doesn't seem to be a definite bias. There are plenty of windows, both inside and out in the paddock. The tote is clear and easy to read, people tend to be polite and friendly. There isn't much in the way of food for the Clubhouse regular fan, but there are several lounges and one dining room (reservations needed for the dining room). Many jockeys that you have all heard of make Woodbine their regular summer stop - Sandy Hawley, Robin Platts, Don Seymour (all have won Sovereign Awards). Pat Day shows up regularly to ride the big races for Sam-Son and this year Craig Perret is up on Alydeed. Other notables include: Mickey Walls, Francine Villeneuve, Dave Penna, Jack Lauzon, Jim McAlaney, Richard Dos Ramos, Daniel David, Larry Attard, Sid Fenech, Lloyd Duffy and Todd Kabel. As well as Jim Day and Roger Attfield top trainers include Phil and Debbie England (Phil is training Steve Stavro's Knob Hill horses this year, Debbie is a public trainer - she got Morriston Belle started last year), Sid Attard, John Ross, Lou Cavalaris, Bob Tiller and Mike Doyle. The jocks and trainers stats are in the program every day for the meet and compared to last year.  Bibliography This is a bibliography for parimutuel bettors and those interested in thoroughbred (standardbred - pacers and trotters, quarter horse, and arabian racing titles will be added) horse races. I've separated the entries for each book with a few "=". I've separated the entries from the comments, with a few dashes. I've included entries for the following reasons: They were in the previous book faq. I own them or would like to, so I know their value. The comments after the entries, could be anybodies, not only the FAQ maintainers. All participants in the list are welcome to send comments, and selections. The books involve authors or methods talked about on the list. I have mixed feeling about including material I regard as no good, but have left in some references so at least you hopefully won't get suckered into buying them. The list is in alphabetical order, by what would be the main entry - if you went to library school. Or in English, by author except when it makes more sense to use the title. I've also put in the prices, when I could find them, mostly from Gambler's Book Club. Comments are by the person that made them and not attributed. Anyone can have comments included if theyUre patient and send them to derby-faq. If more than one person expressed an opinion ===== Ainslie, Tom pseud. Ainslie's complete guide to thoroughbred racing. 3rd ed. New York: Simon and Schuster; 1986. 349p. ISBN: 0-671-62414-8. $11.95 ----- Highly Recommended. A classic. It covers how to read the Racing Form,pace, speed, class, jockeys, weight, trainer, etc. A good, solid introduction to the basics. Probably the best book to start with; it tells you a lot about the sport in general as well as handicapping.Josh. ===== Ainslie, Tom pseud.; Ledbetter, Bonnie. The Body Language of Horses. New York: William Morrow and Company; 1980. 208p. ISBN: 0-688-03620-1. $20.00 ----- One of the first books on paddock inspection / post parade handicapping ===== Ainslie, Tom pseud. Ainslie's encyclopedia of thoroughbred handicapping. $14.95 ===== The American produce records [cd-rom]. Lexington, KY; Bloodstock Research, 1993. $500.00 ----- Tons of stats on every sire and broodmare from 1922 to 1992. Talk to them before you buy to make sure you're machine can deal with your cd-rom. ===== The American Racing Manual. The Daily Racing Form. (1992 ed $49.95) ----- This annual compilation has statistics on just about every trainer, horse, and jockey worth knowing about. Also chart of major stakes and lots of generally useful information. In one form or another it's been published since the last century. ===== Asch, Peter; Quandt, Richard E. Racetrack betting: The professors' guide to strategies Auburn House. 195p. ISBN 0-86569-147-9. $12.95 paper. ----- A treatise on finding place and show overlays, Dr. Z, etc. ===== Allinson, N. M. ; Merritt D. Successful prediction of horse racing results using a neural network. Dept. of Electronics, University of York. York Y01 5DD U.K. ----- The response I got, when I asked a poster on comp-ai "who had sucessfully predicted horse races with a neural net?" If you get your hands on this one, let me know! - josh ========= Beyer, Andrew. Beyer on Speed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. 22.95 ----- "Beyer on Speed", Andy's latest, is both informative and entertaining. He gives a summary of his figures as usual, then relates them to pace. He emphasizes that even though profits have mostly disappeared from win betting with figs, exotics can still yield bonanzas. His description of his own wins are mouth-watering. Also discusses Sartin/Brohamer, the Sheets, turf racing (*final* quarter may be most important). IMO Beyer is the best, and this is one of his better efforts. ===== Beyer, Andrew. Picking winners. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1975. 224p. ISBN: 0-395-39379-5. $9.95 ----- My highest recommendation. This is the first book I read on handicapping. Get it. ===== Beyer, Andrew. The winning horseplayer. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983. 192p. ISBN: 0-395-39932-5, 0-395-377617-7(pbk). $9.95 ----- My highest recommendation. This is the second book I read on handicapping. Updates Picking Winners, lots of stuff on pace, trips, handicapping head games. Get it. ===== Beyer, Andrew. My $50,000 Year at the Races. New York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich; 1978 163p. ISBN: 0-15-163693-7. ----- A mixture of handicapping with autobiography. The chapter on playing the old Barrington Fair meet in Massachusetts alone makes this book worthwhile reading. ===== Beyers, Henry. Betting on trainers to win. Lynbrook, NY: Star Sports Corp. 1990. 21p. $40.00 ----- Overpriced system: bet trainer who start less than 200 horses, win 15% of their starts, and go off at odds of 8-1 or more. Author extracts info from the American Racing Manual. You can paying someone else to read the American Racing Manual for you. ===== Brohamer, Tom. Modern pace handicapping. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1991. 351p. ISBN 0-688-80782-5. $22.95. ----- A leading follower of the Sartin Methodology. Dr. Sartin treated compulsive horse players without abstention. The player was only allowed to bet after checking objective evidence. Horses PACE is measured in feet per second, and each horse has a pace profile. Track profiles are kept as well. The bettor must also track their performance. ===== Cramer, Mark. Thoroughbred cycles. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1990. 345p. ISBN:0-688-08450-8. $23.00. ===== Cramer, Mark. Fast track to thoroughbred profits. Hollywood, CA: Gambling Times, Inc. 1984. 183p. ISBN: 0-89746-025- 1. $8.95. ===== Cramer, Mark. The odds on your side: the logic of racetrack investing. Studio City, CA: Cynthia Publishing Company, 1987. 250p. ISBN 0-9614168-4-X. $24.95 pbk. ----- -Excellent book on constructing your own odds line, based on the type of race (legitimate favorite, etc.) Very readable - it is NOT highly mathematical. - John Wilkes -I'm a fan of Cramer's. Technically, he makes up his odds lines by emphasizing factors which are less widely used, and deemphasizing factors that are more widely used. At the end he has a betting line, which is not 100% accurate, but one designed to point out overlays; be they longshots or chalk. ===== Crist, Steven. It's an exotic game. The thorougbred record. 223(9) 1989 September. 965-968. ---- Crist writes almost exclusively in periodicals, but I thought I'd include at least one of his many worth while articles in here. Unfortunately, other than libraries, used book dealers, or great luck in a garage sale there is now way to get a hold of this one. ===== Crist, Steven. The horse traders. 282p. $16.95 ----- I included this because it is the only book by Steve Crist. - josh ===== Davidowitz, Steven Betting thoroughbreds: a professional's guide for the horseplayer. New York: E.P. Dutton, Inc. 1983. 232p. ISBN: 0-525-48046-3. ----- My personal favorite. Davidowitz is generally credited with devising the key race method. The book also has a lot on track biases and handicapping in general - josh ===== Davis, Frederick. Thoroughbred racing: percentages and probabilities. 54p. $35.00 paper. ----- Often cited statistical study. ===== Dowst, Robert Saunders. Winners and how to select them. New York: The Cosmic Press; 1935. 121p. $2.00 paper. ----- Dowst was for years the dean of American handicapping. For those interested in knowing if we've really come a long way. - josh ===== Epstein, Richard A. The theory of gambling and statistical logic. New York: Academic Press, 1977 ----- This book is a guide to the math in gambling. Only three chapters have anything to do with horse racing, but it is a must if you want to check out the math for money management - josh. ===== Fogel, David B. The mathematics of horse racing. Deerfield Beach, Florida: Liberty Publishing Company, Inc.; 1990; 133p. ISBN: 0-89709-173-6. $9.95 --------- Fogel's comments on the book are included below. It was a response to a reference to this title that appeared in comp.ai.genetic. It has been heavily edited to keep down the length but I think I left in the important stuff. ... That book is the result of a senior project I did when I was an undergraduate student at USCB in 1985. I was doing simple chi- square test to see if various factors are asscociated with winning or losing. I did come up with a method that was successful at predicting winners and others have told me that I discovered a few associations that they didn't realize. I suspect you can do much better with non-linear models. ===== Goodwan, Katcha pseud. (I hope it's a pseud.) Thinking man II: the golden guide to handicapping. 350p. $14.95 pbk ===== Hambleton, Tom. Pace makes the race: an introduction to the Sartin methodology. 374p. $29.95 ===== Heyburn, Bob. Fast and fit horses. 158p. ISBN: 0-89709-168-X. $9.95 pbk. ===== Illich, Al. How to pick winners. 202p. $11.95. ----- -The worst book on handicapping I have ever seen. Do not buy this book. -Just an irrelevant book targeted at beginners. Nothing to recommend it, but not a total rip off. DonUt buy it, but the claim of worst book is overstating the case. ====== Holloway, L.G. Full Time Gambler New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc. 1970. ===== Kelly, John L. A new interpretation of information rate. Bell System Technical J. 35(4):917-926; 1956 July. ----- If you ever get sick of hearing about the "Kelly Criterion" in conversation on money management and want to get back to the source, this is it. ===== Kuck, Henry. Winners file. 256p. $27.00. ===== Plus III [computer program]. PC compatibles DOS. available from Bloodstock Research. ----- This program is given to users of BRIS and seems to be legit. ===== The body language of the race horse [video recording]. Ledbetter, Bonnie; McCarron, Chris. LaJolla California: Lawlor Enterprises. tape cassette; VHS. ==== Mitchell, Dick. Commensense handicapping. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1989. 335p. ISBN: 0-688-07913-X. $22.95 hard. ===== Mitchell, Dick. A winning turf strategy. Studio City, California. Cynthia Publishing Co. 40p. ------ This "book" shows what can be wrong as well as right with publishing books on horse racing. It's 8-1/2 by 11 stapled together format scream cheap. It was way overpriced for a forty page pamphlet. Yet the basic idea of customizing a strategy for a given class of events is very, very sound and the material is good. Would've been better if he used it as a chapter of a real book. ===== Mitchell, Dick. Winning thoroughbred strategies. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1989. 335p. ISBN: 0-688-07913-X. $22.95 hard. ------ Covers the psychology of winning, the odds-line approach to betting, and money management. Especially good for those looking for a probabilistic approach (engineers, etc.). - John Wilkes ===== Norman, Bert. Quick figure handicapping Irvine, CA: Bertness Co./Media Plan. ====== Parker, Trillis. Horses talk: it pays to listen. Las Vegas: Parker Productions, Inc. 1989. 195p. ISBN: 0-915700-07-7. $19.95 paper. ---- Profusely illustrated and very useful information about bits, shoes, bridles, and what to look for in the paddock - josh ==== Saratoga Scorecard. Angelo, John ed. Saratoga Scorecard, P.O. Box 1482, Manchester, N.H. 03105. through 1992. Now available from the Daily Racing Form. ----- Highly Recommended. A lot of statistical information about Saratoga only, with some great anecdotal stuff.- John Wilkes This is a yearly publication, it cost $16.95 in '91 and $19.95 in '92. It's been published since '89. In '92 it was 125 8x11 pages spiral bound and included a lot of contributions from many people. -josh ==== Scott, William L. pseud. Investing at the race track. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981. 287p. ISBN: 0-671-43152-8. $12.00 paper. ===== Scott, William L. pseud. How will your horse run today? Baltimore: Amicus Press, 1986. 210p. ISBN: 0-89709-147-7. $9.95 paper. ===== Scott, William L. pseud. Total victory at the track: the promise and the performance. Baltimore: Amicus Press, 1988. 288p. ISBN: 0-89709-183-3. $12.95 paper. ---- Culmination of Scott's home-grown approach. Based on laying out an information line summarizing the handicapping factors for each entrant. ==== Quinn, James. The abc's of thoroughbred handicapping. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1988. 528p. ISBN: 0-688-06550-3. $22.95 hard. ---- This book contains tests to see if you've mastered the information in all the other books on this list. Unfortunately, he expects you to get the other books if you want a detailed explanation of the answers - Josh. ===== Quinn, James. The best of thoroughbred handicapping. New York: Casino Press, 1983. 236p. ISBN: 87019-028-8. $22.00 hard. ----- "One that I have gotten a lot out of is "The Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping" by James Quinn, published by Morrow. It has brief three or four page descriptions of more than 25 systems, including Ability Times, Dr. Z's System, Sartin Methodology, and so on." - John Wilkes ===== Quinn, James. The class of the field: new performance ratings for thoroughbreds. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1987. 144p. ISBN: 87019-028-8. $10.00 paper. ---- Puts numbers to the concepts of "The Handicappers Condition Book" ===== Quinn, James. Figure handicapping. 314p. $25.00. ===== Quinn, James. The handicappers condition book: an advanced treatment of class. revised and updated edition. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1986. 315p. ISBN: 0-688-05931-7. $22.95 hard. ----- Supposedly, the classic on class handicapping. - John Wilkes ==== Quinn, James. High-Tech handicapping in the information age. 400p. $22.00 hard. ===== Quinn, James. The new expert handicappers. A winner's circle book. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. 272p. ISBN: 0-688-07511-8. $22.95 hardbound. ----- Short account of the methods and personality of some (successful?) handicappers, that I found instructive. - Josh. ===== Quinn, James. Recreational handicapping. 456p. ISBN: 0-688-08964-X. $22.95. ----- One of the best books about overall handicapping. This book puts together a "method" to help the recreational handicapper organize data to make good betting decisions at the track. It introduces Quinn's PDQ pace figures. This book is a must have. - John Wilkes ===== Quirin, William. Handicapping by example. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1986. 350p. ISBN: 0-688-05929-5. $23.00 hard ===== Quirin, William. Thoroughbred handicapping: state of the art. 329p. ISBN: 0-688-03064-5. $12.50 paper. ----- "I also like "Thoroughbred Handicapping - State of the Art" by William Quirin. In his discussion of pace he introduces the concept of race"shapes" based on pace and speed ratings. He defines nine shapes from fast, medium, and slow pace and speed. For example, a Fast-Slow is race with an above average pace and slow speed (final time). He says, "Not a bad performance if won in front, but exceptionally weak if the winner ran late."- John Wilkes. ===== Quirin, William. Winning at the races: computer discoveries in handicapping. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1979. 306p. ISBN: 0-688-03400-4. (Quirin) ----- Landmark book on computer handicapping. This is the one where Quirin gathers a large database of examples and shows that the game can be beaten. I also think this is the Database of examples that the Morning Liner software was run against, claiming a 27%ROI. See BRIS literature for more examples. ===== Varola, Franco. Typology of the racehorse. 242p $39.95 from Russell Meerdink Company ltd. ===== Varola, Franco. The functional development of the thoroughbred. 346p $39.95 from Russell Meerdink Company ltd. ----- The Typology of the Racehorse is one of the first books to develop the theory of dosage. If your curiosity in this area goes beyond beating classic races, I can't think of a better place to start. ===== Ziemba, William; Hausch, Donald. Betting at the race track. 140p. $24.95 ===== Ziemba, William; Hausch, Donald. Dr. Z's Beat the Race Track. 425p. ISBN:0-688-07221-6. $24.95p. ----- Sources Steve McNatton set up an anonymous FTP site with Derby, racing, and horse stuff in it. ftp:slow.inslab.uky.edu or 128.163.129.205. look in /pub/Derby Mosiac or WWW server. guinness.inslab.uky.edu to contribute follow these instructions: Incoming FTP has been enabled on slow.inslab.uky.edu it's on the top level of the ftp site (not down in /pub/Derby). If you put anything there, drop me a note telling me what it is... -- Steve stevem@ms.uky.edu stevem@inslab.uky.edu A list of sources of books and materials related to horse racing. It contains the addresses of magazine publishers, online services, book stores and some notes about TV-shows. If the books in the bibliography aren't at your local bookstore, you should be able to order most of them from the bookstores. Listed below. American Turf Monthly Star Sports Corp 306 Broadway Lynbrook, NY 11563 1-800-645-2240 or 1-800-666-9488 (NY & Canada) Best Bet Books P.O. Box 2948 Fayetteville, AR 72702 1-800-782-3884 The Blood Horse P.O. Box 3026 Southeastern, PA 19398-3026 1-800-582-5604 Bloodstock Research, Inc PO Box 4097 Lexington, KY 40544 (606) 223-4444 (800) 354-9206 (606) 223-7024 fax The Bookstable 5326 Tomahawk Trail Fort Wayne, Indiana 46804 1-800-274-2665 (mostly for people who ride horses, but they also have some books on horse racing, as well as a magazine subscription service for equine oriented magazines) Computer Sports World Another source of the info in the DRF for computer handicappers (no address at the moment) 1-800-321-5562 Daily Racing Form, Inc. 10 Lake Dr. P.O. Box 1015 Hightstown, N.J. (609) 448-9100 Eclipse Books and Videos 216-01 Palmer Drive Breezy Point, NY 11697 1-800-365-2019 or 1-718-474-5175 Equine Line Jockey Club Information Systems, Inc 821 Corporate Drive Lexington, KY 40503 (800) 333-1778 or (606) 224-2800 Gambler's Book Club Box 4115 Las Vegas, Nevada 89127 1-800-634-6243 (This is my favorite mail order place - they specialize in anything that has to do with gambling. They even carry most works of fiction that feature gambling themes.) Harris Books 5901 Montrose Road Suite N-1209 Rockville, MD 20852 1-800-835-2246 ext 711 LASIX BBS (818)892-5477 computer bbs - which has offered free charts on the list from time to time. Pegasos Press 535 Cordova Rd. #163, PO Box 30001 Santa Fe, NM 87502 1-800-537-8558 Philips Racing Newletter E.O. Phillips Co. Box 5817 Auburn, CA 95604-5817 (A must for systems collectors, of passing interest otherwise. ) Racing Action Sports Eye, Inc. 18 Industrial Park Drive Port Washington, NY 11050 (516) 484-3300 (800) 367-2400 (RA's Racing Wire feature gives tons of info on all the active tracks in the US and Canada, but unfortunately they folded in August 1993. This means sooner or later I've got to get this info into the Derby faq.) The Russell Meerdink Company, Ltd. 62 Racine Street PO Box 458 Menasha, WI 54952 (800) 635-6499 (414) 725-0955 (414_ 73904322 fax Books on training and breeding. Also a source of classic lawn jockeys. The Thoroughbred Times Thoroubred Publications, Inc. Lexington, KY 40533 1-800-648-4637 TV shows: Check your local listings, racing is on the low end of the nielsen ratings so shows covering it are among the first to get moved and preempted. Racing Action lists TV stations that cover race replays. These are the only two general (not coverage from one track or filler on a dark day) shows I know of. Post Time on the Sports Channel (Don't know if this one's still going). ESPN's Thoroughbred digest.