The Odds Must Be Crazy: Beating the Races with the Man Who Revolutionized Handicapping
Ragozin and his famed "sheets," which chart the race-by-race development of thoroughbreds, are legendary in horse-racing circles, so anyone who is at all serious about handicapping will want to read his book. Most will be disappointed. Ragozin explains how to use the sheets once they are purchased from him, but he won't explain how handicappers can compile their own numbers and make their own sheets using his methodology. It's Ragozin's prerogative to keep his trade secrets, of course, but why write a book if you aren't going to tell what you know? Here the answer seems all too obvious. The book is an advertisement for the sheets, apparently written to attract more customers. Still, Ragozin does provide some insights into what he calls "condition handicapping," which involves using patterns created by race-by-race speed figures to project future performances. Ragozin's reputation with horseplayers ensures significant demand for his book in cities with thoroughbred racetracks. Too bad it's not a better book.Dennis Dodge