My $50,000 Year at the Races

by Andrew Beyer

A Harvard dropout’s memoir of playing the horses—a great read for handicappers or those who enjoyed Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House.

In 1977, before he was known as the creator of “The Beyer Speed Figure,” Andrew Beyer set out on a gambling odyssey, determined to prove himself as a horseplayer. He would marshal all his handicapping skills for assaults on four Gulfstream Park, Pimlico, Saratoga, and the Barrington Fair.
 
The then thirty-three-year-old Harvard dropout had the credentials for this two years earlier, his book Picking Winners had won a claim from bettors and critics alike. But the theory of handicapping and the practice of it are two very different things, and Beyer did all he could to prepare himself for this new challenge. He consulted with other professional horseplayers. He undertook detailed analyses of trainers and their methods. He refined his speed-handicapping techniques. He developed a revolutionary method for evaluating horses shipped from one track to another. He formulated a bold betting strategy. During the year, he experienced the dizzying thrill of winning more than $10,000 in an afternoon, and agonizing frustration that drove him to bash a hole in the wall of the Gulfstream Park press box. When it was over, Beyer had amassed a profit of $50,664.
 
His account of the year offers a rare, unromanticized look at the world of professional gambling. For horseplayers who have dreamed of beating the races, he proves that the dream is, sometimes, attainable. And he explains, in specific detail, how it can be done. There are no gimmicks in My $50,000 Year at the Races. Instead, there is a proven method of beating the races—and Andrew Beyer’s marvelously entertaining story of how he put it in practice.

Genres: Sports, Horse Racing

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Tom Stamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyer is a good writer and the track buddies he brings along also add flavor to the book. The chain-smoking kid that decides to make his living gambling and the old pro Charlie that is always around for sage advice and a different perspective. There is a story within a story here about how Pimlico favors horses running on the inside although the track people deny it. Beyer is not a big fan of Seattle Slew anyway and when Seattle draws an outside lane, Beyer writes his chances off completely. The horse wins Preakness despite this and from Beyer’s perspective they fixed the track variance for that day of racing. Some might say that Seattle Slew was good enough to overcome the handicap. I’ll give Beyer the benefit of doubt on this. He knew that track better than any other racing writer.

To win 50K in 1977 money at the horse races is some accomplishment. The methods Andy Beyer used to handicap horses has a lot of cross-over with the way Bill James handicapped baseball players. Find the hidden the value that the public can’t see by evaluating factors the public doesn’t consider. The specific lessons of Saratoga and Gulfstream and Pimlico are outdated. Speed ratings are even more sophisticated today. But the lessons of looking for that hidden factor haven’t changed. There is a good lesson here for all of life. The conventional wisdom will either be wrong or severely limited. Find the value they aren’t seeing. The difference between the two can bring a fortune if you see it first.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read for the first time since the 1980s when I read it over the course of one of my many afternoons spent at the Hialeah Racetrack. In those days Beyer's speed figures had not yet been included in the DRF but anyone serious about handicapping thoroughbreds knew about them or kept their own figures.

This book details Beyer's efforts to dedicate an entire year trying to beat the races, which he pretty much did. A $50K profit in the days before multi-race wagers like the Pick 6, Pick 5, Pick 4, Pick 3 and rolling daily doubles let alone exotic bets like trifectas and superfectas is extremely impressive. Even more so when you remember it was in 1977 dollars.

Having speed figures mostly to himself helped but where he really made his profits was by exploiting the track bias at the Pimlico meet with the aid of his figures. Such a pronounced and sustained track bias as what he encountered at Pimlico is extremely rare today although if you are really quick on the uptake you may be able to take advantage of a bias for a day or two. He fared less well at the Saratoga meet where there was no track bias and he had a nagging feeling that he was not really in tune to what was going on. He definitely didn't have an idea what was going on at the notorious Barrington Fair (since closed).

Anyone interested in the origin of the now ubiquitous Beyer Speed Figures should read Beyer's first book, "Picking Winners." He has two other good books on technical handicapping, "The Winning Horseplayer" and "Beyer on Speed." Just ignore his picks in the Triple Crown races, however, as he almost never has a clue.

[Peter McDermott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm somewhat obsessed with books about gambling and gamblers and read about as many as I can get my hands on. That said, the ones about people who bet on horse racing tend to be the dullest, and the books about the guys who study form tend to be the dullest of a very dull category.

I didn't hate this, but I did give up two thirds of the way through. The author needed more backstory besides his ability to pick winners.

[Daleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book many years ago, during a kick at the can of handicapping. I thought it was good then and I still do now. His writing is obviously very horse-racing inclined, but a horse-racing curious person (or just a casual reader) will find it interesting as well. While it is dated (it is about a year's handicapping in 1977) many things remain the same.

I found his description of long winning and long losing streaks to be of specific interest. I had a long "good streak" back in the 90s, followed by a long "bad streak" at the end of that time. Now I have been checking in every week or so, and find myself on another "good streak". Will it last? I don't know, but based on Andrew Beyer's history it will be quite interesting to find out.

[Jeff Gramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the publication of "Picking Winners" in 1975, Washington Post columnist Andrew Beyer became the country's most famous handicapping expert. His 'Beyer Speed Figure' revolutionalized horseracing and became an essential figure in Daily Racing Form data. Despite the proven success of his techniques, Beyer himself was still not a consistent winner at the track. His book "My $50,000 Year at the Races" is a wonderful memoir from 1977, a year he dedicated himself to finally turning a substantial profit at the track. This book is beautifully written and shows how hard it is to stay rational when you are gambling with real money. My favorite chapter covers his trip to Barrington Fair in the Berkshires. I encourage you to read it here for free:
http://www.drf.com/row/charts/FL-beye...

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title doesn't sound that impressive...until you realize he made this money in 1977! The book is entertaining and a good read, but it is NOT a how-to book on getting rich at the racetrack. Three and a half stars. Full review posted here:

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

[George Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read. Lots of interesting anecdotes, and strategies that can be employed away from the track.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable about Andrew Beyer's successful gambling odyssey in the mid 70's. Good insight into how to read the Daily Racing Form, and how he calculates his Beyer Speed Numbers. Which way to the track?