Customer Reviews

Pedigree Handicapping

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a big pedigree fan and I bought this book 4 mo's before it was released. The price is right and I appreciate the paperback format (unlike most new horse-racing books). I was initially disappointed that Lauren dove right in with random example races before building a base on information to arm the reader. If you are not already a pedigree player, you'd have been lost. But then, she lays out every new sire with their predicted success (i.e. 2yo races! Turf!). This is the reason you want this book and should keep it handy. It's simply an adjunct to your already acquired handicapping knowledge. The info should easily pay for the cost of the book in no time.

Lauren Stich, Pedigree Handicapping (DRF Press, 2004)

I hate to say this. I really do. I have found Lauren Stich's posts on @derby and her column in the Daily Racing Form very, very valuable over the years, and I admire her handicapping prowess to no end. But this book just doesn't work on so many levels.

The main problem with the book is it lacks explanation. It's packed with examples, which is always a good thing, but the reasoning behind those examples is rarely, if ever, made clear. Instead, the book has two very long lists, one of sires whose offspring do well on certain surfaces, and another of freshman sires for 2004-05. While Stich contends that the freshman sires list is timeless, and it's certainly the case that offspring of a horse who was a freshman sire in 2004 should perform the same way as those offspring in later years, what's missing is an explanation of how she comes to the conclusion that sire X's offspring will perform better at distance Y or on surface Z. It's easy to figure out if you've followed discussions on pedigree handicapping over the last twelve years, as I have, but I can't imagine most of this book's prospective readers would fall into this category.

Also, Stich's examples fall into the "selective examples" trap-- every example fits perfectly. Which is okay for illustrative purposes, but tends to bias the reader's perceptions a great deal. (This is why most modern handicapping authors will go through a full day or two-- or in the memorable case if William Scott, a full week-- to show the places where their handicapping failed as well, or races that simply couldn't be handicapped with the methods presented. (One may argue that Stich's handicapping, which lends itself to maiden and two-year-old races, would get very boring as you watched race after race pass. I'd answer that people advancing this argument have never seen a weekday card at a bush-class track in autumn, where bottom-level maiden claimers are the rule, not the exception, and pedigree handicapping is often the only handicapping one can do.)

I hope there is a second edition of this book eventually, one with a great deal more explanation, more writing on the concepts behind pedigree handicapping and how they can be applied by the average player, etc. Until then, this will have to do, but it is only one small piece in the pedigree handicapping puzzle. **

Stich is a fantastic mind on pedigrees and analysis. However, this book doesn't quite live up to the potential that it should for a few reasons:

(1) Spending a chapter or two on a primer as to why certain lines (Bold Ruler, Northern Dancer) do better than others (Man O'War, etc.) would give the reader a real foundation for the information contained inside. The book becomes a list of "here's who's good for x, y, and z", without any history or exposition to back it up.

(2) There's a fair amount of material in the book (including an entire chapter) that's pure regurgitated material from her Racing Form columns. They're useful material, but nothing really new if you've followed racing at all.

(3) The chapter on pedigree in the Derby doesn't really work because she boldly declares which horses did or did not have the pedigree to win the Derby, with no explanation attached. Yes, this would've made for a longer book, but it would've been more informative than by simply putting together a laundry list of horses that did and did not make the grade. (She also admits herself that Derby pedigree analysis may be useless at this point, which makes one wonder what the entire point was.)

So yes, there's a lot of good info in the book, but it could've been much, much better. Color me disappointed.

You have to be a devout pedigree analyst or become one for this book to be effective in the daily war handicapping horse races. In that event the book is 5 stars but outside that
it is almost useless.

Gives clear examples of how to use pedigrees to select winners at the race track.

This is a rare book for immediate guidance on Pedigree Handicapping. This book is another tool to beat the masses at the betting window. Lauren Stich has done a thorough job in the pedigree field and has even listed numerous horses to watch for today's bettor. One down side of this book is the immediate usage for betting with her current horse listings (how long before they become out-of-date?). But that is the name of the game!
You will be seeing me at the track carrying this book (now becoming a dog-eared copy!) to assist in my handicapping.
I was told by one handicapper that I was a "closet pedigree handicapper." Now, I'm out of the closet thanks to this book.

OK, the author clearly knows her matreial, but I was really looking forward to reading this book as I am interested in horse pedigrees and their usefulness as a handicapping tool. Stich shares some good ideas, but nothing I hadn't read in other volumes on comprehensive handicapping. The ideas are solid, but the material will need constant updating to be effective. I really wish she had spent more time discussing why certain traits are passed from maternal and paternial ancestors instead of just offering a blanket statement that "speed and surface characteristics come from the sire, while racing class comes from the dam." I've heard it before, but nobody has been able to satisfactorily tell me why this may be the case or back it up with any evidence.

As a practical tool for handicapping, I really don't think it's that useful.

This interesting book has great merit as a handicapping tool. Written in clear concise language, the author shares her extensive knowledge of horse pedigrees with the reader. She explains the influence of the pedigree (especially the sire, the dam, and the dam's sire) on racing performance, including stamina, speed, and the secret of the "hidden turf" factor.

Whether you bet frequently, or only occasionally on popular races such as the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup, this book is a valuable resource and MUST READ for every horseplayer and aspiring horseplayer. Bravo to Ms. Stich for creating such a detailed reference guide! Her passion for racing is quite apparent and admirable.

Arlene Millman
author of "Boomerang - A Miracle Trilogy"