At the end of the 19^th Century, Col. Edward Riley Bradley — a self-proclaimed gambler, bookmaker, and owner/manager of several casinos — was informed by his doctor that a more outdoor lifestyle might be beneficial to his health.

Something as simple as taking walks or hikes might have done the trick, but this was much too slow-paced for Bradley. In his mind, the most sensible thing to do was start a racing stable, where he could benefit from outdoor living while simultaneously building an empire in a sport deeply intertwined with gambling. What a picture-perfect scenario!

Born on Dec. 12, 1859, Colonel Bradley wasn’t really a colonel. Although he partook in many different enterprises and activities during his younger days, military life was not among them. The “colonel” part of his name was actually an honorary title; he was a classic “Kentucky Colonel.” Thanks to his achievements in horse racing, he soon became a Kentucky legend.

Having made the decision to delve into horse racing, Bradley — like many other successful sportsmen of the time — wasted little time buying up talented horses, hundreds of acres of land, and some quality broodmares to establish a racing stable and breeding farm. Forty years later, he had irrevocably changed the sport of horse racing for the better, and the legacy of his breeding farm extends to this day.

 Under the name of Idle Hour Stock Farm, Bradley bred more than 125 stakes winners from 1906 through 1946, but it was the quality of these horses — and the quality of one broodmare in particular — that had a lasting impact on the sport.

The Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes, run annually at The Fairgrounds, was named in his honor.

But to horseplayers, Bradley was also known as one of the cleverest handicappers in the game and he established many winning handicapping angles and ‘truisms’ that stand until this day. 

While to most he is known as the gambler who cashed tons of wagers on horses who ran final fractions of :24/5ths of a second or faster, he established many other winning precedents, many included in his very rare publication (1944) titled You Can Beat The Races.  The only reason we have a copy is because a great granddaughter of the Colonel contacted us to see if we could use any of the material she found stored in her attic, and the book was among that trove.  Most of the other items were simple keepsakes, racing programs and trinkets, but we latched onto the book.

While much of the book covered getting a psychological edge over the crowd, he also presented several workable system-like theories he had employed over the years.

He admitted that his :24 final fraction angle stopped becoming profitable once racetracks hired professional clockers and the info became public.  Previously he had employed a private clocker who observed and timed the races and then reported on the runners who met that criteria to him.

But the other material was fascinating, and Len was able to take a ton of this information and break it down into four critical categories, weighting each and then combining them into a software program.