Strictly horse or horse-racing books?

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mrussell

At the Start
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Hi,

If there's another thread on 'books about horses or horse-racing only', I'm sorry, I missed it!

Any recommendations in this category -- and any comments -- would be welcome.

Some of the racing books are really not what i want -- "Sea Biscuit" might be a nice read, but it's not what I'm looking for. Timeform's are too factual & cover too many horses.

On the racing side, I'd like to see some factual explanations of, for example:

  1. what is 'compressing the handicap' and how is it used to advantage?
  2. what opportunities are presented by entering runners in claimers & how do trainers take advantage of them?
  3. why do some horses perform better at certain times of the year?
  4. what matters about the pace in a race? is it an indispensible aspect?
On the more non-racing side:

  1. what makes a good trainer? what kind of regimes do they use & how do they benefit horses of differing types
  2. why do some horses 'train on'
  3. does an early birth-date show as an advantage for some types
  4. how much do the front legs contribute to forward motion
  5. why do horses 'change legs' & can some jockeys bring it about, if so, why
  6. (I won't bother with 'weight' :) )
  7. why do some horses prefer 'cover', some to lead
  8. do horses enjoy racing ~ ditto, hurdling, jumping -- how do we tell & how do we tell when/if they don't
  9. some horses do not seem to want to pass others (Little John? or maybe that PB mentioned recently ;) ) -- a matter of 'class'?
  10. how is it that turf vs dirt seems to make such a difference that form doesn't(?) translate
  11. do the Americans breed the best flat horses
  12. where is the next stream of thoroughbred coming from (i.e. no Northern Dancer/Nearco in the line)

Gosh, I know so little it's difficult to even frame the questions!
 
To generate as many replies to the thread as possible, mrussell, I humbly suggest you add the following question:

13. What does 'value' mean?
 
btw, I have 'Horsetrader' (the Sangster story) & just taken delivery of 'Northern Dancer' by Muriel Lennox & waiting for "The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse" & "A History of the Thoroughbred"
 
Hi Michael

This is a reply about books (honest), but as one who taught herself from scratch I thought a few suggestions might be of help to you:

It will probably help you to pick up the basics at first and then concentrate on one specific area as there is so much racing at present and so much information available.

Just picking up snippets here and there, rather than trying to digest great tomes is a help, so if a trainer, owner or jockey makes a comment that interests you about a specific horse, course or race, make a note - I know a few people will scoff at this idea, but when everything is new to you it helps to make a mental impression.

Watch racing, live and on the box. If you hear an expression or term that you don't understand, identify the horse they are talking about and watch it closely until you can see for yourself when such expressions as "swinging on the steel", "running green" or "dogged it" are applied. The terminology can be daunting, like the jargon of any sport or profession, but once you understand the basic terms and know when and whythey are used, your confidence will grow - along with your judgement.

Now to your original question:

My new boss is, like you, is a newcomer to racing and keen to learn all that he can. He has found Nick Mordin's books "The Winning Look", "Mordin on Time" and "Betting For A Living" helpful as information on various topics is given in digestible chunks. Nick's regular columns in the "Weekender" are also worth a read as he always explains the thinking behind his systems, often backed up with some interesting and informative research.

Jack Waterman's "The Punter's Pal" is a good basic guide to racing and betting and is currently on the boss's office bookshelf amongst various books on orthopaedic surgery!

For basic (although slightly outdated) information on racecourse layouts and topograpy, Stewart Simpson's "Winners Back Winners". Another good source for this is in the Racecourse Notes section of a Superform form book, which also gives the type of horse that is generally suited to particular tracks.

Another book that I found useful when starting out was by Peter Braddock. I think it was called "Braddock's Guide To The Turf" but I gave it to someone like you who had a fledgling interest and needed some basic information.

Racing is a vast area and no-one could ever know it all. When you read each Member's contribution you will see that we all have our own specific areas of interest. Some are involved in the game on the training or riding side, others on the "industry" side such as racecourses or bookmakers, some on the Flat, others over Jumps. Some of the Members on here make my knowledge of handicapping feel quite negligible, but I take their knowledge on board and weigh that against my own ability to judge form and a horse's well-being in the paddock and tell myself that my Festival record speaks for itself.

So, just remember the next time you feel overawed by the talk on here, we were all like you at one stage and, the great thing is, everyone here is happy to share their knowledge and will never mock you for being new and asking questions. We're more than happy to see a new face actually interested in the racing rather than lapping up the corporate entertainment!

Most importantly though - ENJOY IT!!
 
Have to 'third' this - really good post Redhead, informative and friendly.

mrussell - I'm self taught too, and know I will always be learning. Lots of different opinions enter into healthy debates on all of the subject mentioned. Some of the old books are really good to tell you the basics, you can pick them up on ebay or from Browzers.

As said, ask questions when puzzled. I felt silly doing this but actually trainers and stable staff are always willing to explain things and I think they enjoy sharing their knowledge and opinions too.

I like your question 11. Quite a minefield there I think and I wonder what made you ask this? I'm not sure what I think at the moment, I prefer Irish racehorses, There does seem to be a lot of unsound American horses, but perhaps that is the surface they run on rather than their genes.
 
redhead said:
For basic (although slightly outdated) information on racecourse layouts and topograpy, Stewart Simpson's "Winners Back Winners".
Click to expand...

Good one. The first proper punting book I read, taught me loads. Alan Potts wrote a couple of good ones as well.
 
People could do worse than to read Horse of a Different Colour (the More Nachos story).

Bought the Native Dancer book a year or so back but not got round to reading it :(
 
Thanks, Redhead

I think your post is really generous: thank you very much for such an unstinting reply. :)

I will particularly take up your idea of chasing down those phrases & interesting pieces of information: when I find 'the answers', perhaps I'll post them up here.

One thing that is a little daunting, and at the same time attractive, is the evident extensive knowledge that members have, in a kind of day-to-day that's-what-I-do-for-a-living way.

Maybe we could have a sticky 'Quick Questions' thread: just that, with no extensive discussions, just brief answers? Purely factual, without preferences or opinions being expressed.

Thanks again, Redhead.
 
Definitely mrussell, start one up if you like. Beware though, the answers to many questions in this sport cannot by definition be purely factual. What you need to find instead are the opinions of people who are right!
 
I've just finished 'Horsetrader' by 2 Robinsons: it's a biog of Rober Sangster's racing life. It's ok as a read, but one is left with the feeling that what we read is peripheral to the real story. As it's essentially about the founding of Coolmore by RS, John Magnier & Vincent O'Brien, with plenty of text devoted to RS and quite a bit on VO'B, there's surprisingly little on JM. I suspect the author perhaps didn't have either full access to JM's views or perhaps even to JM ... just a guess, though.
Anyone wanting a a good synopsis (at least, of the contents of this book) would find the Times obit of RS quite enough:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1057478.ece

One of the more interesting observations made in the book is that the author thinks Coolmore succeeded because of the talents of JM & VO'B with regard to blood-lines & breeding: they say this is precisely where the boys in blue (Sheikh Mo. at al) have come up short.
 
Hi Michael

Glad to be of help.

Another pointer that might of help to you would be the UK branch of Amazon - if you go into the book search section and type in "horse racing" (is there any other kind?) there is an extensive list available. The Braddock book that I mentioned is in there and a lot of others that might be of help too. The great thing also is that many can be bought cheaply as "used".
 
WHta was that book called that Tony Morris and John Randall brought out a few years ago where they ranked all the 20th Century Horses and Secretariat was top?
 
mrussell said:
Maybe: JOHN RANDALL; TONY MORRIS Horse Racing The Records
1985, Guinness World Records First Edition?
Click to expand...

Nah, it was like Century of Champions or something similar. I`m basically trying to find out if it produced Timeform ratings for pre-war horses.
 
It`s not on Wiki. Anyway, all I wanted to know ultimately was what retrospective rating they gave Man o`war if they did at all?
 
That`s the one Gareth. Someone on here must have it, and if they do can they answer my question from the previous page?
 
That fecker only ever shows his face when the big meetings occur. He`s like some fair weather footie fan who only ever goes on when Liverpool or Arsenal visit. That, or he`s actually got some sort of life I suppose.
 
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