Equestrian Revelations: Author of Revolutionary Horse Racing Book Finally Breaks His Silence
Steve Sharp
December 06, 2008
SLQH Racing: Why´d you write a book about Quarter Horse racing?
"It´s my passion. I fell in love with the sport watching the races at Los Alamitos Race Course. And after doing a lot of research I discovered that—while there were plenty of books about famous racing stallions and breeders—very little literature existed for the racing fan and handicapper."
What´s so special about Quarter Horse racing?
"Speed, speed, speed."
How´d you get the idea for the book?
"I asked myself what I needed to be a smarter handicapper—to cash more winning tickets. The answer came from 'Beat the Dealer,' which I remember used research to guide betting strategies. So I designed a research project that analyzed real winning racehorses."
Some of your readers claim that you´ve created a 'new form of handicapping.' True?
"Well, I tried to put handicapping—and wagering—on a more scientific foundation. Using real, objective data describing actual winning racehorses to determine our betting choices doesn´t seem like a bad idea, right?"
Why?
"Well, this data can help us bet much more intelligently—and cash more winning tickets. For example, if you knew that 75% of all winning racehorses had last raced within 2-5 weeks, you might be very suspicious about betting an animal coming off a shorter or longer layoff. This kind of information can also help Quarter Horse breeders, Quarter Horse trainers, owners, jockeys, and agents make much smarter decisions about their racehorses."
Who can profit from using the information in your book?
"Anyone with a financial stake in the racing industry. This includes professional and recreational gamblers, horseplayers, handicappers of all levels, and competitive horsemen in the Quarter Horse industry—including Quarter Horse breeders, owners, jockeys, trainers, and agents."
Why do you describe your Quarter Horse racing book as "revolutionary"?
"Because I believe that 'Fast Horses, Fast Money' breaks new ground in handicapping literature. While I haven´t read every single piece of horse racing literature, I´m not aware of any other work that links comprehensive new research on real winning racehorses (286 winning Quarter Horses were analyzed) with practical, step-by-step betting strategies, horse racing systems, wagering methods, and handicapping techniques."
OK. What else does the book offer?
"How many bettors, horseplayers, Quarter Horse trainers, breeders, or owners can cite the actual win percentages of fillies against mares, maidens against winners, shippers, 3-year-olds against older horses, recently-claimed horses,…etc.? Don´t you think that if these Quarter Horse racing fans and insiders knew the real numbers—knew their actual winning chances—they´d win a lot more races? Knowledge is power."
"Anyone with a financial stake in the horse racing industry—including all Quarter Horse breeders, owners, jockeys, and agents—can profit from this comprehensive data."
Yeah, but lots of people in Quarter Horse racing don´t really trust statistics.
(Laughs). "Everyone has the right to be skeptical. No matter how much you know, you can´t win every race. Using a scientific approach doesn´t always work. But overall I´d rather base my wagers on authentic data than vague hunches, suspicious "insider" information, guesswork, intuition, or so-called "expert picks" that usually lead to low-priced favorites. Wouldn´t you?"
"And I´ve noticed that a lot of really smart Quarter Horse breeders and Quarter Horse owners suddenly become fervent believers in statistics—and objective data—when it comes to purchasing a racehorse or researching the records of stallions and mares!"