Tom Ainsley's book is great if your new to harness racing and want to learn how to handicap or if you're already into it and want to refine your skills. MUST READ!

Having read a lot of gambling books, it is good to see one that is statistically significant as to various issues. A handy little reference that would help increase your odds in the casino

Mark Cramer has written the most thought provoking tome I've read. There are many excellent books on the "SCIENCE" of handicapping. But this book brings home the the reality that races are won by flesh and blood animals prepared by mortals (trainers) who are fraught with their own strengths and weaknessses.Anyone who extrapolates figures from services or computer programs water down the past performance to a number. Predicting the future(handicapping the "ART"), is far more involved in "cycles". This book is a must read for all serious handicappers

One of the classic reference books on horse race handicapping. The book covers a wide range of techniques and tactics in picking winners at the track (from basics for the beginner, to more complex applications for the experienced race track enthusiast). Book is now out of print (in any published form) and is becoming quite a sought after item as it really should be part of any comprehensive personal handicapping reference library.

Maj Ragain, Twist the Axe: A Horseplayer's Story (Bottom Dog Press, 2001)

Twist the Axe is the best book I've read this year, a conglomeration of Ragain's writings on racehorses and the culture surrounding them culled from many years of work. This book collects previously published and unpublished work, poems, stories, journals, and the odd drawing or two, pairing them with newspaper clippings, result charts, family trees, and just about anything else one could think of. Ragain can lay claim to being one of the ten or twenty best poets working in America today; his distinctive poetic style, the storytelling diction Williams tried and failed to achieve time after time, meshes with the juxtaposed images of hopeless, cheap horses and the memories they raise. On one level, of course, it's all about the horses; on another level, it's about the rest of life.

Ragain never makes the reader dig too far; there are layers beneath, of course, for those who want to pursue them, but the average John Q. will certainly be able to understand the connections in 'Morning Line;'

Jim Henson, father beard of muppets,
died of bacterial pneumonia, May 17, 1990.
The next day at Thistledown, fifth race,
a mare named Big Time Bird went off,
unacknowledged, at odds of 134 to 1.
Big Time Bird ran the race of her life,
drenched in and driven by grief,
the hot lasix of tears.
She finished second, a half length short,
beaten by a horse named Woman in Love.
You will never figure out this one.

This is one of those books that, if anyone outside the world of poetry knew of its existence, might have the power to draw thousands back into the fold. It is understandable, perfectly written, accessible not only to the poetry junkie but to the average reader. For most people, it's a pleasurable new world; for the chosen few who have been lucky enough to have been reading Ragain's books for longer, it will be another rest stop on the way to Paradise. They are all too few (this is Ragain's fifth book, with the first published in 1979), and should be eagerly devoured, once found. *****

This believed to be out of print book, offers an exceptionally detailed review of Las vegas and what makes its people tic. filled with hundreds of pictures, inside stories, and information from the cities early days to such historical events as the MGM fire, the book concentrates however on the people that work in Las Vegas and make this such a special town. However the book is quickly dated as the town is ever changing, it does have a little story about steve Wynn, and the building of the Mirage, so the book is before the renaissance of the early 1990's. It offers lots of looks at many hotels that have vanished, a collectors must have. Peter Huender (Vegaspeter) e-Vegas

The authors give the reader a comprehensive understanding of how Video Poker machines are programmed and how they function. They also give three strategies for optimum play which are excellent guidelines for conservative players to those willing to take higher risks. Their advice on play is good common sense.

This is THE best guide that I have ever come across in regards to wagering on horses and greyhounds. It is a must have book for any novice gambler, explaining every type of wager, defining track terms, and providing a guide of tracks of North America.

While the book is a must have for beginners, even most veteran gamblers would find this book quite beneficial. Mr. Andersen begins his book with the most basic of wagering information and progresses into more exotic wagers which would provide much needeed insight to all but the most seasoned gamblers.

There is an entire section devoted to wagering tables. I have found this to be quite indispensible while at the track trying to calculate how much a particular exotic bet will cost. I never go out to the track without this "tool".

The only complaint that I had with this book initially, was that I thought it was a greyhound handicapping book. It covers horses as well as greyhounds and definately is NOT a handicapping book. With that stated, I was very pleasantly surprised at all the wonderful information contained in this book and am happy to have made this particular "mistake". I would definately recommend this book to wagerers at any level.

Educators are hearing and seeing evidence of problems with youth and gambling - this book addresses the issue very well.

If you have any interest in Native American lore, especially the "hand game" this is the book for you. Not only is there a lot of information on Native American lore, but it is a fascinating mystery story as well. Highly recommended.