The Bottom Line
Pros
- Very in-depth statistical analysis of the Breeders' Cup World Championships
- Honest narrative of their successes and failures in the rain at Monmouth in 2007
- Useful information on 4th-time host Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California
Cons
- We couldn't find any. This is an excellent publication for any Breeders' Cup bettor.
Description
- The first chapter describes last year's Cup, listing in detail their bets, how they came up with them, wins and losses.
- Unlike other publications, they don't just brag about their successes and not admit their failures.
- Examines Santa Anita Park's biases at Cup distances in great detail, useful both on Cup day and the rest of the year.
- Each of the eight original Breeders' Cup World Championship races is featured in its own chapter.
- Some races feature more winning favorites, some favor late ralliers, while others may 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 intrarace exotics players.
- With increasing foreign participation even on the dirt races, Euro-shipper angles are prominently featured.
- Each chapter ends with the DRF past performance charts of past winners of the subject race, so that trends can be seen.
- Mazur and Mallett have done their homework, drawn from seventeen years of Breeders' Cup experience. A job well done.
Guide Review - Crushing the Cup 2008
The Breeders' Cup moving to a different track each year presents problems when trying to come up with a winning bet. Thankfully, with the Championships returning to Oak Tree at Santa Anita for the fourth time, there is some past history from which to draw some angles. Mazur and Mallett spend an entire chapter on the host track itself, discussing what the facility looks like and the track's biases. However, the installation of the synthetic Pro-Ride surface may reduce the effectiveness of those statistics for main track races.
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. With record betting handles every year, this book gives you an extra weapon in the parimutuel wars to take home a bigger piece of the pie.
