1 comments about A Bettor Way: A Winner's Guide To Wagering On Thoroughbreds.

1. This book is a must read for anyone heading to the
   track. I have been a regular reader of Dean's columns
   at Horseplayer Magazine and TVG's online newsletter
   for almost five years. He shows you how to tackle
   time and money management, both of which are seldom
   dealt with in other racing books. Everyone can pick a
   couple winners each day, but hardly anyone wins money
   on that alone. This books helps you do the preparation
   for the day's events and how to do smart decision
   making right up to the start of each race. Daily and
   annual money management are also covered--again,
   realities of betting most authors don't deal with. The
   tools tactics and philosophy shared makes this book a
   definate for those that want a fresh perspective on
   betting!
   
   basis and overall management over the course of the
   year are critical to success as a handicapper.
   - Arnold emphasizes the importance of time management
   to a handicapper. This includes both preparation for
   the day's events and decision making right up to the
   start of each race.
   - Provide big picture statistics in racing that will
   lead to new and fresh perspectives.
   - Present handicapping tools, tactics and concepts
   that will alter how you look at races.
   - Show how all of these concepts are combined into a
   sensible strategy that can be tailored to satisfy any
   bettor's individual approach to handicapping.

2 comments about Comeback: My Race for the America's Cup (Comeback).

1. For America's cup enthusiasts, this is a fun book to read. It goes into the epic loss to Australia and how the cup was won back. The subject matter is very technical. However, it is still worth reading just to know about the behind-the-scenes action in the years before the 1983 and 1987 America's cup. If you don't know much about technical sailing terms(like me), you will miss out on a lot of excitement of the races. One also gets the impression that Dennis Connor colors history to show himself as the good guy. It seems from the book that everyone else was the bad guy !



2. Dennis Connor is an icon of sailing and this is his story of explaining the loss of The Cup in 1983 and what it took to win it back in 1987. It was certainly not a sure deal that the US or even DC would win. DC is surprisingly candid with his comments. It is certainly not all a blow by blow on the racecourse. He tells about all the smoke filled back room negotiations, fund-raising, the design of the boat, his crew, his strategy, and why he succeeded. Unlike some writing for a mass audience, he does not dumb down his explanations of sailing terms. He does give plenty of explanation of what happens, including how he recruited each crew member and what their job was. The book is well written and has diagrams of key race situations. I would think any one who is interested in sailboat racing would find it a classic.

5 comments about Polo.

1. This is an excellent book! The pictures are fabulous and the coverage of various polo playing countries, though not as concise as an encyclopedia, is beautiful. Very well written and composed.



2. Great pictures and that's it. I was disappointed to see no mention of the higest Polo ground in Pakistan. More aimed towards the glamour that surrounds Polo than the game.



3. The author of this book was more interested in glamourizing the sport rather than presenting a factual and historical narrative. This is the major problem with polo. This book claims to be a comprehensive book on polo yet there was no mention of the fact that polo originated from the Buzkashi sport which is played in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polo itself originated from the northern areas of Pakistan. In fact, the word 'polo' means 'ball' in Balti which is the language of the Baltistan region in north Pakistan. I wouldn't be surprized if the author doesn't even know this. The oldest surviving polo clubs in the world are that of Chitral and Gilgit (both in Pakistan ) who to this very day play annually at the magnificient Shandur Polo Ground at the Shandur Pass in Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountains - the highest polo ground in the world. Had these facts been incorporated in the text of the book, I would have had more respect for it. Yet it joins the ranks of tens of recent books on polo, such as 'Polo' by Penina Meisels and Michael Cronan which have only sought to present the glamourous "Palm Beach and Ralph Lauren" side of this dangerous and spectacular game, without going into its real essence, spirit and history. The difference between Pakistan and Palm Beach is that in the former, we play the game for passion not for glamour. The land of Pakistan - a country which invented the game and sustains it - deserves a mention in any book on polo.



4. One of the best polo coffee table books around. I received this a few years ago as a wedding gift from my friend Matias in Argentina. The pictures are beautiful and as an enthusiast, this is certainly one book to have. The author's untimely death makes this book a collection not to be given a miss.



5. This book is one of a kind. If you enjoy playing polo, this is a book that MUST be in your home. If you love horses, you will find brilliant scenes captured by Mrs. Barrantes. She captured, on film, her life in polo. This is not just a picture book of the sport, it is a real inside view of the real polo life. If there are any books still available, buy it. You will not be disappointed.

1 comments about Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders.

1. In Legacies Of The Turf: A Century Of Great Thoroughbred Breeders (Vol. 1), racing historian and expert Edward L. Bown presents the stories of some of the greatest Thoroughbred race horses in history and the often charismatic, powerful, or quirky individuals who supported them. Capitalists, philanthropists, and women working with the bloodlines of champion steeds soon learned that the stellar a few sires and dams dominated racing circuit, and true rivalries between both humans and horses, on and off the race field permeate this fascinating, nicely illustrated, and highly recommended horse racing chronicle.

No comments about A Kingdom for the Horse : The Legacy of R.A. Alexander and Woodburn Farms.

No comments about Saratoga: The Ultimate Racing Experience.

No comments about Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding: The Story of the Sport and Background of the Horse Industry.

1 comments about Racing Art and Memorabilia: A Celebration of the Turf.

1. This is a beautiful book for anyone who is a racing fan. It has color photos of artwork and memorabilia surrounding racing. Would make a great gift for a horseracing person. Very informative and well written.

5 comments about Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son.

1. ...shouldn't blame the author. This is a phenomenal book. Blood Horses is partly an experiment in narrative technique. Like most literary experiments, it has its less-than successful moments. There are places where the author's allusions to and quotations from other texts get overwhelming. But the book also contains some of the most amazing pages of flat-out writing I've come across in a long time--about horses, about pain, and about beauty. Given its ambitious scope the structure holds together surprisingly well, and pieces of it are wickedly funny. If you come to it looking for Seabiscuit II, you might find it frustrating and a little disjointed. I came to it looking for a new writer who was trying something different, and I was blown away. This book is destined to become a classic and Sullivan an author to follow. I say discover him before everyone else does.



2. Sullivan's work is lyrically written - at times laugh-out-loud funny and at others profoundly poignant. His description of Secretariat's win in the Derby is one of the most sublime passages I have read in any book. In his musings that run from horses to fathers, he gives us a glimpse of the nature of beauty. A moving work. Sullivan is one to watch.



3. I first came across the article gleaned from the pages of this book (or in preperation of...) in a 2003 Harper's Magazine, October, I think. Mr.Sullivan's walk through the bizarre intricacies of the horse racing world from all sides, including his most personal, were raw genius. He nonchalantly drew connections between more humble pedigrees (his own, for example - nothing remarkable except that it, too, is now published) and those of these rarified creatures (thoroughbreds) in a way I didn't even notice until half way through. What a respctful tribute to his father. It seemed to me a sort of a come from behind type of writing style that crystalized into a fine read somewhere in the middle, and then just got better. All the way to the very last sentance.



4. I read voraciously, and bought this one expecting a story about thorobred horse racing. Instead, I got a lot of whining from an obviously very insecure author. Except for 6-7 pages about Secretariat that were good, the rest of the book is a waste. My reaction to this author was: grow up and get a life. Tossed it into the garbage when I was done it was so bad I wouldn't even bother to pass it on to friends.



5. This magnificent book is a subtle tribute to the author's father. Apparently, subtlety is lost on some of the philistines who posted reviews below - so let me help. If you want a book all about horsies - this is not it. If you want a series of reflections written in the "new journalism" style of Tom Wolfe and arranged around a journalist's coverage of the Kentucky Derby, "Blood Horses" will draw you in and astonish you time and time again. Sullivan is a genius, his elegiac and moving work will last, and we will hear more from him.

1 comments about Betting Cheap Claimers.

1. I haven't finished this book but I already found a key piece of information I wasn't aware of and it is very helpful. This advise has sense showed up in another book which is good.