Guiding hand is offered over bets

Now he has published a book which will help enthusiasts or novice racegoers unravel the complexities of the sport, as well as understand better the ways in which a horse's ability can be assessed.

Unravelling Racing- A Guide is an appealing book with a glossy cover, well illustrated, a fascinating read, and which presents everything needed to determine the merit of a horse, using form and speed as measures, in a palatable form.

It shows how to analyse available data to improve the selection process. Above all it is written with humour and chapters are headed with some wonderful quotes, such as one by W C Fields- 'I went to the racetrack today; it was closed, so I shoved all my money through the letterbox'.

Lionel's love of horse racing was cemented as a schoolboy living in Barnsley, when his father took him to York races for the traditional Ebor meeting. He had grown up with racehorses living across the road at Steve Norton's yard and been fascinated by the breed since the age of three. He went on to own horses and his Astrac won the Wokingham Stakes ridden by Seb Sanders at Royal Ascot in 1995.

Lionel, who lives at Elsted Marsh, near Midhurst, said: " My friends persuaded me to write a book because they could never find one that explained the basic ins and out of racing.

"I've attempted, in simple language, to take the complexity out of racing by explaining the basic workings of horse racing on the flat- though the main principles also apply to National Hunt racing."

He added: "I have shown how to determine the merit of a horse using speed and form as measures, and to establish the likely influence of race variables such as pace, distance, going, weight and so on, on the final result."

There are examples from racecards, form summaries and private handicaps, as well as an analysis of race variables.

"No matter how good a horse is, if it cannot cope with one or two of the variables, such as weight or going, it has to be eliminated from calculations," he said.

The book gives valuable pointers to help do this.

Well worth reading, Unravelling Racing- A Guide costs 12.50, including postage and packing, and is available from Lionel Beecroft, Dearnley House, Elsted Marsh, Midhurst, GU29 OJT.