Purist Horse

Picking winners is one thing; backing them correctly is another — and in Australian horse racing, staking is where a good selector hands the year back. In April 1987, writing as Statsman, one Pract...

In Australian horse racing a wide barrier draw is worth almost nothing at one track and up to two lengths at another — the same number, a different meaning at every course. In June 1986, writing as...

At one Victorian horse racing track the home straight is 461m, and at another it is 200m. The punter who always backs the horse that gets over the top of them late is making the same bet on two cou...

In Australian horse racing the four Melbourne racecourses stand out for their complete difference to each other — and the barrier draw is worth something different at every one. Statsman takes thre...

Australian horse racing runs on so many racetracks, all of varying sizes and designs, that the track itself carries a form guide of its own. Statsman spent five years on winning patterns at Randwic...

Professional gamblers call it 'deep state' handicapping: the horse racing method Bill Benter and Alan Woods used to make millions on Hong Kong racing. The average punter has no idea of the penetrat...

Last month, I wrote about the life and career of R.W. 'Georgie' Wood, an English schoolteacher who created and published a string of top-selling books, booklets and systems in the 1940s through to...

When we talk about 'major' races in Australia, what are we really talking about? What are the 'major' races, and how does each race compare with the other? The only way to differentiate between t...

When we talk about 'major' races in Australia, what are we really talking about? What are the 'major' races, and how does each race compare with the other? The only way to differentiate between t...

When we talk about 'major' races in Australia, what are we really talking about? What are the 'major' races, and how does each race compare with the other? The only way to differentiate between t...