Product Description

The third fully updated and revised edition of the book which explains how the author, a professional gambler, finds it more profitable to back the occasional long-priced outsider rather than a high percentage of short-priced favourites. He concentrates on the handicap and applies factors like pace and the draw. His unique methods are developed from American commentators and have produced handsome rewards. His belief is to move away from the old ways of analysing form - who has beaten who, weight carried, winning distances, trainers and jockeys - to look at, principally, draw, class and pace.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #526017 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

CHRIS COOK, RACING & FOOTBALL OUTLOOK, JULY 2, 2002
A THOUGHTFUL AND ENGAGINGLY ARGUMENTATIVE EXAMINATION OF HANDICAP RACES. THANKS ARE DUE TO WHOEVER PERSUADED GIBBY TO HAVE THIS PUBLISHED.

Steve Jones, Raceform Update, June, 2002
An enjoyable read that stirs the grey matter into action with some extremely interesting theories...Gibby's book is an invaluable tool.

Bob(Edinburgh) Sports Forum, Raceform Update May 2002
This is a considerable step up on anything I have previously read by any British writer on racing. And I mean without exception!

Customer Reviews

A most informative book which is a bargain at under £8.
Betting On Flat Handicaps will prove an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to make a success of their betting during 2002. The author presents a compelling argument against the traditional pounds per length method of unravelling handicap form that concentrates on who has beaten who and the distances and weights involved. It is his belief that all too often such theoretical calculations are rendered useless by the impact that the various biases he discusses in the book can have on a horse's performance. Rather than backing the traditional 'form horse' in a race at short odds Jon Gibby prefers to adopt a more aggressive approach and he seeks to highlight live outsiders by using bias to narrow a field of handicappers down to just a handful of contenders. He discusses in detail the subjects of class, pace and the draw and his arguments are supported by hard evidence in the shape of win ratios that enable you to measure the significant impact these biases have. I was particularly interested in the pace charts which show you which courses and distances favour horses that race prominently and which ones favour runners that are held up in mid-division and behind. I have not encountered anything similar to this information before and I anticipate being able to put it to good use! The easy to use draw charts also seem very useful as they give the win ratio of each stall and they take into account the effect the going and position of the stalls can have on the bias. I was, for example, intrigued to discover that the highest few stalls in big field sprint handicaps at Ripon win over three times more often than they ought to and on looking at the results of the last meeting there on 03.04.02 I discovered that the 10-1 winner Carrie Pooter was drawn in stall 23 out of 23. Unfortunately I did not have the book beforehand! In the chapter on class the author demonstrates how the class of a race can impact on a horse's chance of success. I was particularly interested in his argument that most exposed handicapper's have an identifiable class ceiling and that they struggle to win whenever they compete above it. Other biases such as a horse's sex, age and consistency are also fully explained.The easy part of the selection method espoused by the author is using the various biases that are highlighted to narrow a field of runners down to the contenders. The hard part seems to be how to decide between the contenders and we are told that if we can learn to do this we will make money. Several intriguing methods for choosing between them are explained; most noteably how the race entries made by a trainer can highlight when a horse is expected to produce its best form. Further useful clues to how Gibby operates in practice can be gleaned from the last chapter which details how he came to select some of the horse's he bet on during 2000. By his own admission Gibby draws quite heavily on the works of some of the better known American racing authors but what is interesting is how he puts all the various strands together to create a viable strategy that is suited to British racing. The one gripe I have is that there were several errors in the text which is unfortunate. Notwithstanding that I found the book most informative and it represents very good value...

You'll want to read this again and again
I read the first edition of Gibby's book four times whilst on holiday last year! It's fascinating stuff and I recommend it to anyone who shows an interest in racing. The draw figures have become an integral part of my betting - hence the need to buy the updated version - and from what I have seen so far the latest ones are better and more comprehensive. This book is a 'must have' in the battle against the bookies this season.

One of the best books produced by Raceform in recent years
This is a well written and reader friendly book. It is full of interesting ideas and it contains very useful tables on the draw and pace (a check on recent results suggests that they will prove a very useful aid to anyone seeking to make a profit this season). This is certainly one of the best books that has been produced by Raceform in recent years and I recommend it to others.