The "definition" is a tough one to me. Cheaper tracks (PEN, CT, MNR, etc) seem to have the most powerful early speed numbers. But, we also know that in cheaper races, with cheaper horses, early speed will dominate the most. Soooo, I'm not sure how you dig into all of that, and separate it out, to know the "true speed"

$500 in 1973 buys a nice car...that's wild for a speed reading session!

1700?! That's insane! Holy cow! You just nailed something I think. I haven't really thought about it until know....but I can flow through ebooks MUCH faster I think. I think that might be a HUGE key to what happened. Actually, I'm almost sure it is! I can't really explain it scientifically...but the differences in how we read now (e-reading), I think has actually changed almost everything for me. I would be SO VERY intimidated by a large book in my younger days, or a humongous text piece, I avoided it like the plague! I don't really have those feelings on a Tablet or Smartphone. It's a different ballgame for me. That has to be a significant part of this whole deal for me....now that you have me thinking about how different it is, for me! ;)

I use to be very slow actually when I was young. It would take me weeks to read a book just a couple of hundred pages. I've even avoided books/text of length because of it for a long long time, whether it was/is some form of LD, I don't know. For whatever reason, I can go though books/text now at a pretty good clip as of late it seems, and I have no idea how that happened. So...I am on a "mission for information" as of late, whatever I can find easy and cheap, LOL. I will take one of those tests, I know there are some on the interwebs here, I'm going to Google that. I'd like to see what the improvement is myself....now that you mention it! ;)

Unfortunately no, we can only bet into the separate Pari-Mutual pools, which are run by Sky Racing World, at most all the major horse betting sites in America.

Thanks. No, there is no fixed odds available for horse racing in the US. New Jersey use to have Betfair, but they pulled out, didn't get enough action there to financially justify staying in operation there. Except for a couple events the sportsbooks are willing to put fixed outs out for, like the Kentucky Derby, Breeders Cup Classic, etc. But, I have figured out some things in watching the odds boards on Australia, it tells you more about who is live and who isn't, much more so than the para-mutual totes tell you. Not saying it can make you rich. But, it can allow you to have some fun and either break even, or scrounge out a small profit.

I've learned a lot about how the sportsbooks operate. How they all are not the same. If you are only playing at one two sportsbooks, you are doing it wrong. Reading the market and dissecting the square money from the sharp money is difficult. I need to learn how to be on the "sharp side" more. And I need to learn what the "sharp sides" really are. I thought both books were good. I still need suggestions from the "sharps" in here, on what to read next. I can go through a book quite fast, so the more the better :)