Heller's Go For The Green (Turf Racing Made Easy) One Of The Best Of '03

Bill Heller's Go For The Green (Turf Racing Made Easy) (150 pages, paperbound, $14.95) is designed for knowledgeable, patient horseplayers who prefer to specialize-in this case pointing to the obvious, grass races.

Few studies have been conducted on turf racing, while many great books devote but a chapter or section to the subject. That's why, with thoroughbred racing needing a good promotional boost to attract new players, I'm happy to see fresh material by a talented author reach the shelves of Gambler's Book Shop again.
Heller, the prolific author (he's written more than a dozen books (including Run, Baby Run, Turf Overlays, Exotic Overlays and Overlay, Overlay), says "The turf course is the final frontier of handicapping, the last place a well-schooled player can generate an edge...you can still locate and cash overlays on grass..."

His book tells you "how to attack the grass game" through past performance lines; looking for an improved performance; avoiding poor performing turf trainers and jockeys; watching young horses; noting first-time lasix use; and checking the dam of first-time turf performers.

There are key sections on dams which produce winners; the Tomlinson Ratings (developed by Art Kaufman, a former vice president of a Wall Street investment firm); handling first-time starters (and trainers who do well in that situation); which jockeys to watch for and their records since 1976 (the author focuses on Jerry Bailey whose win percentage on grass is outstanding); looking at the trainers and what they've done; trips; wet courses and how to evaluate a race; and finally, how the author hit a Perfect Six.

This is a reasonably priced book with fresh information, published in late 2003. Both the beginner with questions about turf racing, and the somewhat advanced player who hasn't put all the pieces together yet, will benefit from Heller's book. The work is packed with examples, advice on what to watch for and should be in any serious player's library.