Wizard Daily Report and Research - Thursday, 7 December 2023.
- Books worth reading Australia
Books worth reading - Australia
There have not been many books published that deal with the wagering side of Australian horse racing.
Some of them worth reading are listed below.
I would consider the books market with an * to be the most useful and some of them are, in fact, essential reading if you want to really understand the subject of horse race betting and selecting.
Author: Rem Plante
* Australian Horse Racing and Punters Guide (1969, 1974)
The publication of this book was an important event for those of us who were interested in the analytical and quantitative side of horse race betting in the 1970s. Even today it is well worth reading for its commonsense approach to horse race analysis.
Chapters:
1 Punting is a business
2 Classes and types of races
3 How to read Turfguide
4 Classes of horses
5 Grading horses
6 Grading races
7 Age and Sex
8 Traps on the way
9 Camera charts
10 Measuring margins
11 The rider
12 Racecourses
13 Barrier position
14 Trackwork and trials
15 Improvers & on decline
16 Club Handicapper
17 Weight and distance
18 Accelerating, decelerating
19 Weight handicapping
20 Weight rating
21 WFA races
22 Time-weight handicapping
23 Professional punting
24 not relevant
25 Bookmaker making book
26 Staking methods
27 About your horse
Author: Don Scott
Winning (1978)
*The Winning Way (1982)
*Winning More (1985)
Winning in the Nineties (1990)
Winning Made Easy (1993)
Don Scott should need no introduction to anyone who is serious about their wagering on Australian horse racing. His books, especially the second and third, are essential reading.
The Winning Way
Chapters:
1 The value revolution
2 Winning facts and fantasies
3 The greatest winner of them all
4 Winning Maxims and Methods
5 Off and Racing
6 The Land of Odds
7 The treasure chest of form
8 The magic of class and weight
9 What every punter should know about class
10 What every punter should know about weight
11 Yesterdays horses yesterdays race
12 Tomorrows horses tomorrows race
13 The wizard of odds
14 Figure wizards opinion wizards
15 To bet or not to bet
16 A winning day
17 Eagleform and the computer revolution
18 In the shadow of the post
Winning More
Chapters: (Basically an update of The Winning Way)
1 The value revolution
2 Winning facts and fantasies
3 Greatest winner of all
4 Winning maxims, methods
5 Off and racing
6 Treasure chest of form
7 Magic of class and weight
8 About class
9 About weight
10 Yesterdays horses, races
11 Tomorrows horses, races
12 Wizard of odds
13 Figure, opinion wizards
14 Bet or not to bet
15 Computer revolution
16 Win or place
17 The exotic
18 Odds and ends
19 Inside information
20 Shadow of the post
Author: Alan Aitken
*Hats in the Ring (1997)
Alan Aitken was a racing journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald before relocating to Hong Kong. An interesting read.
Chapters:
1 Starting from scratch
2 Value showing a profit
3 Race classes
4 The Formguide
5 Betting markets
6 The Tab
7 Bookmakers
8 Race Times
9 Jockeys
10 Trainers
11 Breeding
12 Wet tracks
13 Ratings
14 Sectional times
15 Videos
16 Barrier trials
17 Track bias
18 Race maps
Author: Roger Dedman
* Commonsense Punting: A Mathematical Approach (1987)
Chapters;
Sorry, my copy has gone missing in action.
However, this is an excellent reference for those interested in the mathematics of betting, especially its treatment of the exotics (quinella, trifecta, etc).
Betting to Win (1992)
The follow up to Commonsense Punting and not as useful.
Author: John Rothfield (Dr Turf)
*Dr Turfs Guide to Better Punting (1987)
A bit like its author, a little idiosyncratic, entertaining, and delivers good information and insights.
Chapters:
1 The class system
2 The weight system
3 Factors
- Weight
- Fitness
- Distance
- Jockeys
- Trainers
- Barriers
- Age
- Sex
- The horse
- Breeding
- Track conditions
- Movable rails
- Equipment
- Jumps
4 The punt
- Doing the form
- Framing a market, getting on
5 Theories of the punt
6 The race tracks
Author: Paul Segar
Horse Racing Theory and Practise (1989)
Chapters:
1 The formguide
2 Class and weights
3 Characteristics
4 Photos and videos
5 Wet track analysis
6 Speed handicapping
7 Selection methods
8 Betting methods
Author: Clif Cary
How Professionals Bet to Win
A 56 page booklet, but it does contain some interesting reading.
Quite a bit of the content would have been sourced from Clifs weekly magazine, Racing Review.
Author: Racetrack Magazine
How Smart Punters Win at Racing (1978)
A 72 page booklet. Useful overview of odds and ends.
Author: The Optimist (Turf Monthly publication)
*Always the Optimist (1991)
The Optimist was by profession an academic and that is reflected in the quality of his writing and the thought that went into his work. He was a mainstay of the Turf Monthly magazine for many years.
Chapters:
1 Patience
2 Money Management
5 The TM ratings
6 Lessons learnt
8 Trainers and their ways
10 Photos and videos
11 Condition, keen judges
12 Win percent expectations
13 Racetracks
16 Top rider / jockey
17 Stable rider / jockey
18 Prepost betting
19 Each-way betting
21 Place betting
22 Flat or progressive stakes
27 The AB trifecta
31 Odds on
32 Wet tracks
33 Systems, do they work?
34 Last start winners
35 The parlay
Author: Pat Craven
*Gallopers and Gamblers (1997)
This is not a book about betting on Australian horse racing, but it contains a lot of very interesting and useful information relevant to our wagering.
Chapters: (most relevant starts at Ch 8)
8 Develop. of thoroughbred
9 Breeders
10 Stud farms
11 Breeding methods
12 Badi cenetic concepts
13 Improve thru genetics
14 The breeding process
15 Behaviour of racehorse
16 Conformation, general
17 Conformation, detailed
18 Foot and farrier
19 Gaits of the horse
20 Colours and markings
21 Food and nutrition
22 Health and medicine
23 Life span
24 Pedigree registration
25 Racehorse registration
26 Owners and lessees
27 Viability of ownership
28 Buying and selling
29 Soundness for racing
30 Trainers
31 Viability of training
32 Training
33 Fitness
34 Ability
35 Sex in racing
36 Age in racing
Warren - Wiz-Ed
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