Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You''re Not to Read 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part I: And They''re Off! Horse Racing and the Betting Scene 3 Part II: How the Players and Factors Impact the Race 4 Part III: Gaining and Keeping a Competitive Edge 4 Part IV: Risky Business: Tackling More Advanced Bets 4 Part V: Playing Different Ponies and Different Venues 4 Part VI: The Part of Tens 5 Appendix 5 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 6 Part I: And They''re Off! Horse Racing and the Betting Scene 7 Chapter 1: Playing the Ponies for Pleasure and Profit 9 Differentiating the Types of Horse Races 10 Before You Bet: Handicapping the Races 10 Eliminating losers and developing the race shape 11 Taking all factors into account 11 Playing the System: Parimutuel Wagering 12 Betting with Success 12 Starting off simply 13 Going for the score 13 Managing your money 14 Deciding Where to Bet 15 The racetrack 15 OTBs and Las Vegas 15 Home sweet home 16 Just for Fun: A Challenge Straight from the Horse''s Mouth 16 Chapter 2: All Horse Races Are Not Created Equal 19 Race Set-ups: The Long and the Short of It 20 Short races 20 Long races 21 Different Levels of Competition at the Racetrack 22 Maiden races: Where it all begins 23 Claiming races: Where every horse is for sale 24 Non-selling races: Another step up the ladder 28 Stakes and handicap races: The top of the pyramid 31 In a Class by Themselves: The Race for the Triple Crown and the Breeders'' Cup 32 The Triple Crown 32 The Breeders'' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships 33 Chapter 3: Getting a Handle on Parimutuel Wagering 35 Betting Against Other Bettors 35 Comparing parimutuel wagering to poker 36 Attracting a new gambling audience 38 Beating the Takeout 38 How the takeout rate works 39 Different takeout rates for different types of wagers 40 Show plungers 41 Understanding Breakage 44 When Uncle Sam Comes to Visit 45 Chapter 4: The Skinny on Betting 47 Starting Off with Straight Bets 47 Straight bets: Win, place, and show 48 Place and show pool payoffs 48 Dead heats and other sticky situations 49 Styles of wagering straight bets 50 Placing Your Bet 53 Options galore: Ways to make your bet 53 Rules to bet by 56 Proper procedure: How to call out a wager 57 Watching the Tote Board 58 More money bet to win than to place and show 58 Show plungers: A safe chance to make a score 59 Chapter 5: Visiting the Racetrack 61 Preparing for the Cost of Attending the Races 61 Parking 62 Admission 62 Food and beverage 63 Seating: You Get What You Pay For 63 Turf club 64 Luxury boxes 64 Clubhouse 64 Grandstand 65 Track apron 65 Infield 66 Accessing Information: The Program and Other Resources 67 Watching the Races From Start to Finish 68 Looking at the track 68 Viewing closed circuit television 69 Understanding the Layout of a Racetrack 69 Placement of the poles 70 Clubhouse and far turn 72 Paddock and walking ring 72 Winner''s circle 73 The backside 74 Rewarding Yourself and Your Family 75 Player reward programs 75 Breakfast programs 75 Playgrounds for the kids 76 Part II: How the Players and Factors Impact the Race 77 Chapter 6: Studying Horses in the Paddock and during Post Parade 79 Dissecting the Anatomy of a Horse 79 Examining Horses in the Paddock and Walking Ring 80 Positive traits to pick from 81 What isn''t worth your wager 82 Watching the Horses during the Post Parade and Warm-Up 83 Qualities to bet on 84 Attributes to avoid in a horse 84 Chapter 7: Riders Up: The Importance of a Jockey 87 Winning Jockeys Share Certain Traits 87 Fewer mistakes on the track 88 Timing 89 Low weight 90 Anticipation 91 Considering a Jockey''s Experience Level 91 Apprentice riders: Are rookie jockeys worth it? 91 Money riders: Why trainers seek them out 92 Betting by the Book: Statistics 93 Comparing Viewpoints 94 Chapter 8: Calling the Shots: Trainers and Owners 95 Taking the Trainer into Account 95 A winning team 96 A trainer''s trends and tells 97 Owners: There''s No Racing without Them 102 The expenses of horse ownership 103 The joys of owning 104 Chapter 9: Knowing the Track Surface and Conditions 105 Scratching the Surface: Rating the Main Dirt Track 106 Fast 107 Good 107 Muddy 108 Sloppy 109 Frozen 110 Giving a Little TLC: Main Track Maintenance 110 Crowning 110 Blading 112 Making the Grade: Turf Course Ratings 112 Tuning In to Track Biases 114 Main track biases 115 Turf biases 116 Chapter 10: Zoning In on Equipment Changes 117 Blinkers -- On or Off 118 Why and when blinkers are used 118 Different cups 120 Why and when blinkers come off 121 Bits of Helpful Information 121 That''s a Wrap: Bandages 122 Rear bandages 123 Front bandages 123 "Fixing" a Horse''s Chances 124 Lasix: Just Saying Yes to Drugs 125 Getting Good Footing on the Importance of Horseshoes 125 Part III: Gaining and Keeping a Competitive Edge 127 Chapter 11: Starting with the Right Tools: The Daily Racing Form and More 129 Reading the DRF''s Result Charts and Past Performances 130 Nuts and bolts: How all this information fits together 130 How I like to read the past performances 134 Separating the contenders from the pretenders 137 Seeking positive and negative trends 138 Knowing when horses will bounce 141 Moving up and down: Form curves 142 Beyond the DRF: Other Important Tools 143 The racetrack program 143 Handicapper''s selections in the local newspaper 145 Daily Racing Form Simulcast Weekly 146 Calling All Big Shots: Resources for Advanced Horseplayers 146 Brisnet 146 Equiform 146 Ragozin Sheets 147 Thoro Graph 147 Chapter 12: Trying Your Hand at Handicapping 149 What Is Handicapping Anyway? 150 Doing Your Prep Work 150 Buying the Daily Racing Form 151 Getting the morning line 153 Developing the Race Shape 154 Separating the running styles 155 Considering the track surface 157 Changing your strategy for scratches 160 Finding Value in the Odds 161 Looking for overlays 161 Knowing when to beat ''em and when to join ''em 163 The Importance of Post Positions 164 Post positions in sprints and routes 165 Post positions in turf racing 165 Weight Matters (or Does It?) 166 Trite, But True, Clichés 167 You can beat a race, but you can''t beat the races 167 The speed of the speed 167 Pace makes the race 168 Horses for courses 168 Chapter 13: Planning Your Wagers 169 A Winning Strategy: What''s the Big Deal? 169 Getting To and From the Betting Window with Your Game Plan Intact 170 Writing down your bets 171 Checking your tickets for mistakes 171 Developing a Winning Pattern of Wagering 172 Figuring out what kind of horseplayer you are 172 Keeping track of your bets 173 Allowing yourself to almost be right and still win money 174 Chapter 14: Making the Most of Your Bankroll 175 Knowing Your Own Personality and Temperament 175 Keeping Your Emotions in Check 176 Making Your First Bet of the Day a Winning One 177 Differentiating Your Bets: Action, Prime, and Going for the Score 178 Getting in on the action 178 Picking a prime bet 179 Going for the score 179 Wagering a Little to Win a Lot 180 Betting Favorites to Avoid Losing Streaks 182 Using Percentage Wagering over Same-Size Wagering 182 Chasing Your Losses: Don''t Do It 183 Staying Within Your Means: Scared Money Never Wins 184 Part IV: Risky Business: Tackling More Advanced Bets 185 Chapter 15: Betting Exotic Wagers 187 Getting Value from an Exotic Wager 187 Making Multiple-Horse Bets 188 Exacta 189 Quinella 190 Trifecta 190 Superfecta 191 Placing Wagers on Multiple Races 192 Daily double 193 Pick 3 194 Pick 4 195 Pick 5 196 Pick 6 197 Place pick all 198 Future bet 199 Betting Styles 200 Keying a horse 200 Saving money with part-wheels 201 Using the all button 202 Boxing 203 Chapter 16: Getting Into Sophisticated Handicapping 205 Taking a Scientific Approach: Advanced Handicapping Resources 206 Beyer Speed Figures 206 Formulator 4.0 207 Ragozin Sheets 208 Thoro-Graph 209 The Xtras on Equiform 210 Brisnet 210 Pace numbers 211 Sample pages 212 Considering Class Changes 216 Getting outclassed 216 Moving way down in class 217 Graduating from maiden races to facing winners 218 Dropping from maiden special weight to maiden.