Horse Handicapping Books?

[Bob S.]

I'm not sure if this belongs in the sports betting forum or not but since I'm pretty sure David has some interest in this subject I thought I would post it here. I've recently starting going to the local dog track with friends here and there as a night out for fun. I've quickly learned that betting on the dogs seems near impossible because of their unpredictability so we often bet the horses from other tracks. Even though it's just for fun it's still gambling and I'd like to become more knowledgable about it all.I'm not trying to become a winning handicapper or anything but was wondering what/if there are any good books to look for specifically since I wouldn't know what is good or bad. Also David, have you given any consideration to writing a book on the subject?

Bob S.

[UMTerp]

Obviously be familiar with all of Andy Beyer's stuff, but since that's so widely used now, I'm not sure it would give you any sort of edge. But it's still worthwhile to know where all the numbers (speed figures, etc.) come from IMO.

There's also a book called "Betting Thoroughbreds" by Steve Davidowitz that was recommended to me a while ago, when I used to live by a racetrack and just wanted enough knowledge to be able to kill some time there and break even. Now I never even made it through the entire book, but it appeared to be good. The methods were just way more work than I was willing to put in, and it was also a very difficult text to navigate (in comparison to, say, most poker books).

I'm definitely no expert in the field, but I would think those would be some good starting points.