Betting in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges and Opportunities for the Modern Punter

Tremendous book, with so much insightful and new thinking. If you haven't read anything on Betting in the last 10/20 years you NEED this book, if you want to stay ahead of the crowd and to understand the true concept of VALUE. The amount of change and speed of change in racing over the last two decades especially has been huge and Ricky Taylor really nails that. there are a lot of angles and indeed betting systems that are very innovative, but readers will need to bear in mind that although some are not very time -consuming others require time and effort, so if you are inherently a bit lazy don't expect them all to be a 'cake-walk'. Also, and this is probably key, no-one including the Author can just sit on any method or approach too long, because the sport is ever evolving. Bookmakers in recent years have developed some sharp, and some would say potentially illegal, tactics to minimise punters opportunities to profit, or of course just ban successful punters. Betfair is a shining light of course and at least with this book you have improved opportunities to fight back. One tiny issue is that the proof - reading wasn't 100 % but you can still understand what the Author 's meaning is! Enjoy!

I have bought several books on horse racing betting strategies over the years and this is one of the best. It is aimed at readers who have a good basic knowledge of horse racing and betting rather novices. The author is clearly extremely knowledgeable on the subject and presents a lot of his own personally researched data to back up his theories. Some of the maths become a little tricky in parts but the author gives lots of useful suggestions and strategies particularly about all weather racing with their different surfaces. The book was well worth the purchase price.

All in all 300 pages packed full of useful stats and information which will assist even the most experienced punter. A really good read recommended.

There is some really well-researched and thought provoking stuff in this book, that even the seasoned punter will appreciate.It misses out on a five star review simply due to the occasional spelling error, the layout, particularly of tabulated information, which extends over several pages in some instances and a couple of glaring factual errors (e.g. Pasternak winning The Cesarewitch) which grated like fingernails down a blackboard..

Buyer beware: this book is about betting on horse racing in the UK and Ireland. If you want to find out about betting on football or other sports, look elsewhere. The scope is fine for me because I’ve been betting on horse racing for over thirty years and I rarely bet on anything else.I bought this book for two reasons. First, in recent years I’ve found that Clive Holt’s Fineform system from the 1980s is no longer delivering for me. Second, I have several books on horse racing by Clive Holt and Braddock but they’re in my storage unit and I can’t find them. I was hoping to dig them out and come up with a new system but instead I bought this book, and I’m glad I did. Taylor explains how much horse racing has changed in the last twenty years, and although I follow the turf, much of what he said has passed me by.The author’s approach can be condensed into two points: you need to do masses of data analysis to produce a profitable system; and you need to update or abandon your system frequently to keep ahead of the game. This could explain why Fineform doesn’t seem to work anymore.I’m sure the author is referring to Fineform when he says that many years ago he bought a system that was based on awarding points for each horse’s last two runs, with five points for a win etc. In fact that is not a fair summary of Clive Holt’s system. He also awarded extra points for course and distance winners, which makes sense. He also said that his points system should ideally be used only to find the three or four most likely contenders. In his books he then goes into massive detail about how to assess form, which kinds of races to bet on and how much to bet. It all made sense when it was first produced, and when I followed his system I could get reasonable results. However, now when I use the bare ratings I rarely get in the frame. In fact, Taylor cites statistics suggesting that a horse that came second last time out is more likely to win next time than a horse that one last time. Food for thought.I have to say, that if you are looking for one winning system, you won’t find it here. As Taylor frequently points out, any system will only work for a short period, until other punters hook onto the insights that you used to develop it. As soon as your results begin to deteriorate, you need to move on. The point is that it isn’t just about picking winners. You have to find winners at the right prices if you want to remain profitable. So, what you get from Taylor is the bare bones of some potentially profitable systems. It is then up to you to do the research, tweak the rules and get an edge over other punters.One fact that Taylor cites that really struck me is how much the available “pot” of money bet on horses is declining as punters turn to football, poker and other betting opportunities. He believes that one remedy for this is to give punters more data, and the two data sets he thinks we really need are sectional speed times (how fast a horse was travelling at various points in a race, not just at the end) and horses’ weight before they race. This kind of data has been available in the US for years, but not in the UK, although some courses are equipped to record sectional times.A couple of further points. Taylor refers to Betfair and he does give some ideas for using Betfair to hedge your bets as a backer and a layer, but if you want to explore Betfair in depth, you’ll need to check out the many books specifically about Betfair. Another point is that Taylor – like Clive Holt – does not recommend using accumulators. Unlike Holt he does see limited potential in each way betting e.g. for eight horse races, but like most professionals he seems to steer clear of win doubles, tri-casts etc. They clearly work for the bookies, not for the punter.I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for profitable betting systems for horse racing and who has the patience to develop them.

Ricky Taylor has put together a thought provoking and insightful book for the 21st century punter. Lots of interesting angles regarding pace, course form, handicapping etc. Taylor is a systems man but even if systems are not your thing the thinking punter will find plenty to appeal in this book. A word of warning though - this is not for complete novices or people requiring a general introduction to betting or the sport of horse racing as it assumes a certain level of knowledge in the reader. Recommended.

Good book for a gift to the modern day horse racing fan. Non complicated easy read. Some good info for anyone interested. Worth investing in for yourself

The topics covered are interesting however the sheer number of errors in the text make it a difficult, and frustrating, book to read.