Book Review: Crushing the Cup 2005

Pros

• Very in-depth statistical analysis of the BC
• Honest narrative of their success/failure in 2004
• Useful information on fourth-time host Belmont Park

Cons

• Couldn't find any. This is an excellent publication for any Breeders' Cup bettor.

Description

• The first chapter is a narrative of last year's BC, listing in detail their bets, wins and losses.
• Unlike other publications, they don't just brag about their successes and not admit their failures.
• Examines Belmont Park's biases in great detail, useful both on Cup day and the rest of the year.
• Each of the eight World Thoroughbred Championship races is featured in its own chapter.
• Some favor more winning favorites, some favor late ralliers, some favor a certain prep race.
• Each winning angle is accompanied by a chart showing which past winners satisfied the requirement.
• They also examine angles which point out horses most likely to finish 2nd, 3rd, or 4th for exotics.
• With increasing foreign participation even on dirt, Euro-shipper angles are prominently featured.
• Each chapter ends with the PP's of past winners of the subject race, so that trends can be seen.
• Mazur and Mallett have done their homework through fourteen years of experience. A job well done.

Guide Review - Book Review: Crushing the Cup 2005

For the last fourteen years, professional handicappers Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett have published Crushing The Cup, the flagship product of Progressive Handicapping, Inc. In it, they compile all sorts of statistics from past Breeders' Cups in order to come up with a winning profile for each of the eight World Thoroughbred Championship races. Factors such as track biases of the host track, prep races and running styles used by past winners, number of days since last start, and Beyer speed figures attained must all be considered when looking for a potential winner of a Cup race. If a horse going off at long odds satisfies several of the requirements, a Crush may be in order. Also included this year is access to downloadable info on their website, which includes the jockey and trainer stats that used to be in the book.

With the Championships returning to Belmont Park for the fourth time, there is plenty of past history from which to draw some angles, and New York's "Big Sandy" has some quirks which negate conventional handicapping wisdom. Mazur and Mallett demonstrate why this is the case and show how to use this new knowledge to an advantage at the windows when wagering on Belmont's races, Breeders' Cup or otherwise. The book is a real eye-opener for a casual bettor/fan since it gives such a participant so many different angles to work with to find that elusive "crush" on the big day, but would definitely be useful to horseplayers at all levels of betting.

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