The racetrack : a scientific approach

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dc.contributor.advisorStewart, Theodor Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKreel, Larryen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-29T12:02:01Z
dc.date.available2016-02-29T12:02:01Z
dc.date.issued1993en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractHorseracing and its associated activity of gambling invites academic research of a multidisciplinary nature. Economics, psychology, mathematics and statistics are all fields that have investigated the two topics. In 1976 economists discovered a new body of data on which they could test their theories. For many years psychologists have investigated human behaviour in gambling situations. Mathematicians have developed optimal betting strategies. Statisticians have assisted in all the investigations as well as utilised decision theory, probability theory and regression analysis, in their own right, within the discipline. Why do academics devote their time to this subject? The furthering of knowledge in general in the above fields is important. Also, because the possibility of making money with relatively little work exists, people from all walks of life will be drawn to the intellectual challenge of finding winners. Researchers know that in order to derive money making systems, research on an academic scale is necessary. The amount of data available is phenomenal and although much of it is utilized by the public, some of it is not and that which is, is not always used in a consistent manner. The research in this work concentrates on all four fields mentioned above. A general, overview of the work done in each section is as follows. In chapters two and three, the betting market is examined within the framework of the efficient markets hypothesis. Tests of the three well known forms of efficiency are performed. In chapter four, within the framework of the expected utility hypothesis, the behaviour of gamblers is analysed. The investigation concentrates on behaviour observed at the racetrack, but draws ideas from other gambling situations as well. In chapter five, an investigation is made into horseraces, considering a race to be a sports event. This will consider the competing horses as athletes and will try and identify which fundamental factors are most important in determining the victor of such a race. In chapter six, some statistical theory, which has simple applications in horseracing is examined. In chapter seven, the economics of racetrack management is investigated.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationKreel, L. (1993). <i>The racetrack : a scientific approach</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17342en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKreel, Larry. <i>"The racetrack : a scientific approach."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17342en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKreel, L. 1993. The racetrack : a scientific approach. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Kreel, Larry AB - Horseracing and its associated activity of gambling invites academic research of a multidisciplinary nature. Economics, psychology, mathematics and statistics are all fields that have investigated the two topics. In 1976 economists discovered a new body of data on which they could test their theories. For many years psychologists have investigated human behaviour in gambling situations. Mathematicians have developed optimal betting strategies. Statisticians have assisted in all the investigations as well as utilised decision theory, probability theory and regression analysis, in their own right, within the discipline. Why do academics devote their time to this subject? The furthering of knowledge in general in the above fields is important. Also, because the possibility of making money with relatively little work exists, people from all walks of life will be drawn to the intellectual challenge of finding winners. Researchers know that in order to derive money making systems, research on an academic scale is necessary. The amount of data available is phenomenal and although much of it is utilized by the public, some of it is not and that which is, is not always used in a consistent manner. The research in this work concentrates on all four fields mentioned above. A general, overview of the work done in each section is as follows. In chapters two and three, the betting market is examined within the framework of the efficient markets hypothesis. Tests of the three well known forms of efficiency are performed. In chapter four, within the framework of the expected utility hypothesis, the behaviour of gamblers is analysed. The investigation concentrates on behaviour observed at the racetrack, but draws ideas from other gambling situations as well. In chapter five, an investigation is made into horseraces, considering a race to be a sports event. This will consider the competing horses as athletes and will try and identify which fundamental factors are most important in determining the victor of such a race. In chapter six, some statistical theory, which has simple applications in horseracing is examined. In chapter seven, the economics of racetrack management is investigated. DA - 1993 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1993 T1 - The racetrack : a scientific approach TI - The racetrack : a scientific approach UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17342 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/17342
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKreel L. The racetrack : a scientific approach. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences, 1993 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17342en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Statistical Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherStatistical Sciencesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherdecision theoryen_ZA
dc.subject.otherprobability theoryen_ZA
dc.subject.otherregression analysisen_ZA
dc.titleThe racetrack : a scientific approachen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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