Exotic Betting: How to Make the Multihorse, Multirace Bets that Win Racing's Biggest Payoffs [Hardcover]

Steven Crist (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In the last 30 years, horse-race betting has undergone a revolution from the musty days of win, place and show into a bazaar of high-risk, high-reward wagers that have transformed the game. Yet no book has explored this new bazaar of exotic new wagers that has transformed the game – until now.

Daily Racing Form publisher Steven Crist's long-awaited exploration of racing's newest and wildest wagers is the first comprehensive guide to the new world of pick-sixes, superfectas, carryovers and jackpots. Using the same common-sense approach and layman's terms that have made him a popular handicapping columnist for The New York Times and Daily Racing Form for over 25 years, Crist explains how these new wagers work, which ones are best for different types of serious or recreational players, and how the new bets have changed what it means to be a skilled and successful horseplayer.

Crist also provides excellent insight into wagering on America’s biggest racing dates such as the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup. The reader learns how to construct an exotic wagering ticket, betting line, the importance of being capitalized, and the pros and cons of playing ontrack, online or offshore.

Exotic Betting presents a blueprint for new betting strategies in the 21st century for both the sophisticated horseplayer and casual racegoer. The reader will not only learn how to wager successfully, but is sure to gain some new and exciting handicapping tidbits for his or her next trip to the track, simulcast center, or for that relaxing evening wagering in front of the computer screen.

From the Inside Flap

"This is not a book about how to pick winners at the racetrack," writes Steven Crist in the opening lines of this unique and long-awaited book about playing the races.

Exotic Betting instead argues that how to bet is as important as who you like, especially in the 21st-century world of horse racing, where a new menu of wagers such as the superfecta and pick four have overtaken the familiar win, place, and show betting of yesteryear.

Both serious and casual horseplayers will benefit from understanding the strategy and mechanics of making these complex wagers, a topic generally ignored in the literature of handicapping but now more important than ever. Crist explores each of racing’s so-called exotic wagers, including exactas, trifectas, superfectas, doubles, pick threes, pick fours, and pick sixes. Drawing on his personal experiences as a bettor and as a racing journalist and executive, Crist outlines both the common mistakes made by the betting public and some alternative approaches that can lead to more profitable returns and to greater enjoyment of an endlessly intricate and fascinating game.

Crist, known as the King of the Pick Six for his exploits in that jackpot wager, also explores a wide range of practical issues, including the advantages and pitfalls of betting on the sport’s biggest events, such as the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, and the unfairly onerous requirements imposed on exotic bettors by the Internal Revenue Service.

Whether you’re a two-dollar bettor considering his first exacta or a high roller regularly chasing seven-figure jackpots, Exotic Betting will forever change the way you look at and wager on horse racing.

Steven Crist has been playing the races and writing about them since a chance trip to Wonderland Greyhound Park in 1976 put a quick end to studying 18th-century English literature. He was the horse-racing columnist for The New York Times from 1981 through 1990; founding editor-in-chief of The Racing Times in 1991-92; a New York racetrack executive from 1994 to 1997; and in 1998 assembled an investment group that purchased Daily Racing Form, where he served as the chief executive until 2002 and remains as the chairman and publisher. Crist is the author of the books Offtrack, The Horse Traders, and Betting on Myself.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: DRF Press (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932910921
• ISBN-13: 978-1932910926
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #36,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #2 in	Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Gambling > Track Betting
  #15 in	Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Horses
  #7 in	Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Gambling > Racing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Important Horseplaying Book in 30 Years, June 21, 2006

By	Ernie Munick "Floppydog" (ny) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Exotic Betting: How to Make the Multihorse, Multirace Bets that Win Racing's Biggest Payoffs (Hardcover)

If you've ever picked nearly 37% winners over three months, or picked nine in a row, including a 15-1 shot, and still have gone home stooping for tickets in your Hanes, this book is for you.

Wise, relentlessly tested,"Exotic Betting" has an almost Buddhistic approach to thoroughbred wagering: Lose the ego, the King-of-the-Handicappers mentality, allow yourself to be wrong in the right spots and then bam, you're on your way.

Not since Andrew Beyer's "Picking Winners" 30 years ago has a book given horseplayers more hope. An obvious must.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crist's book is a must-read if you want to understand what the winners understand, July 28, 2006

By	David E. Schwartz (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Exotic Betting: How to Make the Multihorse, Multirace Bets that Win Racing's Biggest Payoffs (Hardcover)

I recently read this book. Even though nobody is going to read it and say, "Eureka! I can finally quit my job!" it still qualifies as a must-read.

His explanation of exotics will help a lot of people understand how exotics really work. (You probably think you already know that. <G>) I think more than a few people will see where they are going wrong and, perhaps, how to correct their approach.

I buy just about every horse racing book that comes along. The $20-30 is not important. It is what I may learn from a book versus the time it takes me to read and digest it. Most books I read are a total loss but admittedly I often check out by the third chapter. This is one I was glad I read.

Simply put, there aren't enough high quality books out there from a source such as Crist. Just order it.


Dave Schwartz

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for any horseplayer of the 21st century, August 5, 2006

By	Manuel Adum (San Diego, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Exotic Betting: How to Make the Multihorse, Multirace Bets that Win Racing's Biggest Payoffs (Hardcover)

This book elaborates on ticket-tailoring techniques, not on how to identify the contenders in a horse-racing program. Steve Crist does a great job explaining (with clear arithmetical arguments) when to opt for an intrarace exotic bet instead of playing to win/place, and when not to. "The master of the pick-6" also shares his ABC-X technique to build interrace bets.

In the last chapter of the book, Crist shares his experience betting the 2005 Breeder's Cup. How he allocates his bankroll first, tabulates the horses in his A B C and X categories, the ticket execution, the on-the-fly adjustments and hedge bets, the after-the-fact analysis with lessons learned.

It was a very enjoyable read too. Crist style is great.