Exploring Pedigree Handicapping's Newest Frontier (Paperback)

by Mike Helm (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: City Miner Books (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933944160
• ISBN-13: 978-0933944169
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #637,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #39 in

  Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Gambling > Track Betting

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An indispensible tool for the serious handicapper., May 24, 1998

By	R. Perloff "shkspr" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Be clear on one point: this book is not for general consumption. Helm is writing for a particular audience, and that is thoroughbred horseracing handicappers and bettors. That said, I cannot recommend this volume highly enough. Witih the explosion in computer technology over the past several years, and the attendant availability of rafts of information, there are very few true "frontiers" left to the race handicapper. Pedigree -- a horse's bloodlines, and all that they suggest about his/her abilities -- are, in Helm's view, the last unexplored territory. He begins with a compelling examination of the current state of the thoroughbred breeding industry. But his truly original contribution to the ever-growing literature of handicapping follows, as he creates a cogent technology for applying pedigree information to the analysis and playing of specific types of races. In Helm's view, the real opportunities at the racetrack arise when one can, based on reliable data, project that a horse will be able to accomplish something that it has not yet attempted. So, a first-time starter may be backed with confidence...if the bloodlines suggest precocity. A sprinter may be backed in a distance race...if the pedigree suggests stamina. And so forth. Races that previously appeared to be unplayable become golden opportunities. Bottom line: this stuff works! Since this initial volume, Helm has published several updates, and puts out annual "Sire Ratings," so that those of us who use his essential technology can work with the most current information.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows how to use pedigree information to pick winners, September 17, 1998

By A Customer

With the publication of Exploring Pedugree horseplayers finally have available information(an a perspective of how to use it) that allows them to intelligently evaluate debut runners in maiden races, as well as young horses stretching out, switching to the turf or trying an off-track for the first time.

"A quantum leap in handicapping consciousness." The Cramer-Olmsted Report

"A major breakthrough in handicapping." Daily Racing Form