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Betting on Horse Racing For Dummies
How to enjoy a day at the races-and bet to win!
The last two years have seen a record number of Americans tune in for climatic Triple Crown races featuring Smarty Jones and Funny Cide; in 2004, television viewership jumped a whopping 61 percent over the record set in 2003, and the Belmont Stakes race itself drew a record crowd of more than 120,000!
This easy-to-understand guide shows first-time visitors to the track how to enjoy the sport of horse racing-and make smart bets. It
Complete with coverage of off-track and online betting, it's just what anyone needs to play the ponies-and win!
Richard Eng (Las Vegas, NV) is a racing writer and handicapper for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a columnist for the Daily Racing Form, and the host of a horseracing radio program in Las Vegas. He was formerly a part of the ABC Sports team that covered the Triple Crown.
The last two years have seen a record number of Americans tune in for climatic Triple Crown races featuring Smarty Jones and Funny Cide; in 2004, television viewership jumped a whopping 61 percent over the record set in 2003, and the Belmont Stakes race itself drew a record crowd of more than 120,000!
This easy-to-understand guide shows first-time visitors to the track how to enjoy the sport of horse racing-and make smart bets. It
Complete with coverage of off-track and online betting, it's just what anyone needs to play the ponies-and win!
Richard Eng (Las Vegas, NV) is a racing writer and handicapper for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a columnist for the Daily Racing Form, and the host of a horseracing radio program in Las Vegas. He was formerly a part of the ABC Sports team that covered the Triple Crown.
- GenresSportsNonfictionHorses
492 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2005
56 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 18, 2023
Feel like I can bet every race now
March 10, 2022
Okay so this was a book that if somebody told me I would buy in my life I would have laughed and said pfft no. Well never say never people!
When I started as a race horse groom I ended up getting into a little betting with co workers. I am not a big better but with this book I was actually able to turn my small bets into profit. Its well written and easy to read. Flew through it in a couple days. if you bet even once a year this book is worth you really do need to understand betting is a SCIENCE. Going to the track and picking a horse because you like the color or name is well....dumb. If your going to bet even 2 dollars (like I do I am a 2 buck bettor) you NEED to do it with proper strategy as you need to think you wanna bet "a little but win a lot". This book definitely helped me change how I bet and how I look at it. I now see it as a science. I used to laugh at the guys in the study rooms at the track looking over the DRF. Well guess what, with toonies in toe I'm their at my desk with notes, paper and highlighter mapping out my days bets.
When I started as a race horse groom I ended up getting into a little betting with co workers. I am not a big better but with this book I was actually able to turn my small bets into profit. Its well written and easy to read. Flew through it in a couple days. if you bet even once a year this book is worth you really do need to understand betting is a SCIENCE. Going to the track and picking a horse because you like the color or name is well....dumb. If your going to bet even 2 dollars (like I do I am a 2 buck bettor) you NEED to do it with proper strategy as you need to think you wanna bet "a little but win a lot". This book definitely helped me change how I bet and how I look at it. I now see it as a science. I used to laugh at the guys in the study rooms at the track looking over the DRF. Well guess what, with toonies in toe I'm their at my desk with notes, paper and highlighter mapping out my days bets.
October 29, 2018
Although I did not care for the forced analogies and tone at some points throughout the text, I do think that the book offers a solid introduction to the sport and overview of the parimutuel betting system, helpful intermediate-level tips, and cool insider stories. I suppose most of the bases are covered regarding what you would look for in a "for Dummies" text. I skipped the section on advanced handicapping techniques, and may return to it at a later date. Good luck at the track!
July 8, 2020
This is a terrific book that will prepare everyone to win bets. The book explains in detail the various rates and differences in the tracks for horses, the author teaches how to calculate odds, etc. There are a lot of topical topics. After this book, I'm now ready to take part in melbourne cup club. I think that I will make a lot of money on bets thanks to this book. I wish the author health, happiness and more money.
April 5, 2015
Good for beginners
Good read for the beginner.The author spends a little
Too much time touting vegas.Stupid rule about review length.Need to change.
Good read for the beginner.The author spends a little
Too much time touting vegas.Stupid rule about review length.Need to change.
June 11, 2022
There's an old joke among horseplayers: "I had a good day at the track. I broke even." The joke carries a certain bittersweet sting for those who've tried to make money on the nags. Laureate Poet of Skid Row Charles Bukowski—who used the track as a metaphor for the fickleness of the Muse—once pointed out that most bettors would actually make more money picking a random number and sticking with it for the whole card, than using their various systems and superstitions to try to make money at the track.
Professional horseplayers, those who consistently make money at the track, are a very rare breed. And yet it can be done. Not only that, but the odds are much better than outright longshots like the slots or the lottery, or even a lot of tabletop games played on the green baize.
Richard Eng's "Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies" will not make you rich, like the book of results Biff received from an older version of himself in "Back to the Future II," but it will save you years of heartache at the track, and help you build a foundation to be responsible with your bankroll, to gamble for both fun and profit, and not with the rent money.
Topics covered include correctly reading the racing form (which can be quite daunting for a first timer), exotic wagers, horseplayer slang, and basic pony morphology, i.e. where the fetlocks and withers are, what a "hand" is in measurement terms, and which horses still have their testicles and which have undergone the "ultimate change in equipment" to make them less unruly and more focused.
Eng knows whereof he speaks, having decades in the gaming industry and in the science of handicapping. That said, he manages to do a stellar job of making sure not to intimidate the layman by blindsiding them with massive amounts of undigestible information. It's all parceled out in easily manageable bits, with interesting sidebars about racing lore, history, and some of the scandals that have convulsed the industry from time to time, like the Catskill Haul, in which a computer programmer and some track insiders conspired to steal millions on a race with a fixed outcome. Highest recommendation, both for those coming to the sport for the first time and those in need of a refresher.
Professional horseplayers, those who consistently make money at the track, are a very rare breed. And yet it can be done. Not only that, but the odds are much better than outright longshots like the slots or the lottery, or even a lot of tabletop games played on the green baize.
Richard Eng's "Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies" will not make you rich, like the book of results Biff received from an older version of himself in "Back to the Future II," but it will save you years of heartache at the track, and help you build a foundation to be responsible with your bankroll, to gamble for both fun and profit, and not with the rent money.
Topics covered include correctly reading the racing form (which can be quite daunting for a first timer), exotic wagers, horseplayer slang, and basic pony morphology, i.e. where the fetlocks and withers are, what a "hand" is in measurement terms, and which horses still have their testicles and which have undergone the "ultimate change in equipment" to make them less unruly and more focused.
Eng knows whereof he speaks, having decades in the gaming industry and in the science of handicapping. That said, he manages to do a stellar job of making sure not to intimidate the layman by blindsiding them with massive amounts of undigestible information. It's all parceled out in easily manageable bits, with interesting sidebars about racing lore, history, and some of the scandals that have convulsed the industry from time to time, like the Catskill Haul, in which a computer programmer and some track insiders conspired to steal millions on a race with a fixed outcome. Highest recommendation, both for those coming to the sport for the first time and those in need of a refresher.
February 13, 2019
Somehow I thought this book would be VERY basic, as it's "for dummies." Well, I must be the dumbest of the dumb, because I found a lot of it hard to follow, even though I've been going to the racetrack and betting on horses for years. It could be just because all the math needed to understand the exotic wagers is over my head. But there were a lot of times in which a term was used that I didn't know, and it was not explained, nor was it in the glossary at the end of the book. I did learn a lot, and am glad I read it, but need a more basic book that really addresses people new to horse racing.
May 18, 2021
A great book for beginners who want to learn more, simple and easy to understand
August 17, 2023
It was super helpful. Make sure to read the updated version as lots has changed.
May 1, 2024
Changed my life
September 1, 2011
I learned some good stuff about the horse track game but the pictures of the Daily Racing Form were too small to read - and I'm not getting rich at the track!
September 2, 2013
Answers a lot of questions. I found it interesting.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews