I've never bet on a horse race. I've actually only been to a track once in my life (we don't have a lot of it in this part of the country), and yet I still found this book tremendously useful. Why? Well, it was recommended to me as a guide to "Picking Winners," not just in the horse racing world but in the stock market as well. And, having now read the book I can say that it has proven a more effective lesson in choosing stocks than most of the investment books I've read.
Some of the areas Beyer explores which I think apply to the stock market as well (or to any investment situation as far as I can tell) are:
-the effect different track conditions can have on a horse's performance.
-considering the effects of trainers on a horse's ability to win, lose, progress, or decline in performance.
-spotting potential cases of insider information.
-When to bet on a consistent performer over an unproven newcomer and vice versa.
-detecting signs of physical malady or deterioration early before you lose money because of them.
-How to detect and hopefully stop a losing streak once one begins.
In short this book provides an incredible amount of insight into the ways of selecting the merits of one horse (ie stock) over another without discounting the influence of other factors (the trainer, ie management, for example) on the outcome. I highly recommend this book as a source of investing knowledge and insight and, were I to take up speed handicapping, would absolutely start here.