Newsgroups are essentially "bulletin boards" for messages. I post a note. You read it. You reply with a note and post it. Anywhere from just a few individuals to thousands of people do the same thing. You have a newsgroup. 

Newsgroups have multi-part names, separated by dots (periods). The first part of the name describes what general kind of group it is. These first parts include comp.(for computers), sci.(science), soc.(social), and several others. 

The ones that you'll be most concerned with for handicapping will usually be found with rec.(recreation), and alt. (alternative), but there are others that you'll have to use the handy "find" feature to find, such as uk.sport.horseracing (a very large group of articles about racing in the United Kingdom). 

Unfortunately, from a handicapping viewpoint, the information contained in most horseracing-oriented newsgroups is not of much value. This is probably because racetrack or racing website chat rooms and their archived messages (very much like a newsgroup) are more easily available on the web, and have taken over the function of newsgroups. You spend most of your time on the World-wide web, and don't have to crank up another program and learn how to use it to navigate to the newsgroups to read what's there. There are nuggets of information to be found, but you need a lot of patience. 

All of the newsgroups listed in the first (1996) edition of my book, Handicapping in Cyberspace, are still in operation and one new one has come along. If you've never or rarely visited them, it would still be worthwhile to check them out once or twice a year to see if anything has changed, on the chance that you might find that one nugget of information that may help you to spot a winner. 

Be aware that newgroups come and go according to the whims and workloads of their organizers. 

alt.gambling

alt.sport. horse-racing

alt.sport. horse-racing.systems

rec.gambling

rec.gambling.racing

rec.gambling.sports

rec.gambling.misc

uk.sports.horseracing (United Kingdom)

hk.rec.horse-racing (Hong Kong)

There's also a newsgroup named clari.sports.horse-racing. Newsgroups with "clari" as the first part of the name are part of ClariNet, a special batch of newsgroups that contain various categories of news. Because ClariNet charges for this collection of newsgroups, not all Internet Service Providers carry them. Ask your Internet service provider, or if you must sample everything on the net, surf to http://www.clari.net  for rates and personal subscription information. 

I'm not including a detailed description of any of the newsgroups listed here, because their names are rather self-explanatory. 

A few comments are in order, however: 

You may infer that there's some overlap. This is true, as it is all over the Internet. Consider it as a bonus, even though the repetition may seem unusual. 

 The redundancy can save time and grief when you're looking for specific information, because you'll usually find it faster if it 's available in more than  just one location on the entire Internet. 

I've got to explain something you'll encounter in all newsgroups you visit: the odd messages that have nothing whatsoever to do with the subject matter of the newsgroup! You see, it's possible to post a message to every newsgroup on the Internet without major effort. Some desperate types think this is a great way to market their products, so occasionally you'll find postings for baldness cures, the inside story of the great UFO coverup, get-rich-quick scams, and adults-only stuff scattered among the articles you're there to read. Don't get the idea that your fellow handicappers in cyberspace are loonier than you already have to be to play this game. Chances are, none of them posted this drivel to the newsgroup. It goes with the territory. 

ClariNet does not contain such spam-type listings because it regulates the information appearing in its groups' postings. 

The rec.gambling groups contain much useful information on wagering plans (definitely of interest to handicappers), especially in documents with "FAQ" in the heading. (FAQ stands for "Frequently Asked Questions.")  You can, of course, save this information, then edit and print it later, creating your own personalized reference volumes for future use. 

rec.gambling has postings that answer many questions for beginners and provide an excellent review of sports wagering ideas and systems for veteran players. When you visit, be sure to visit the general section--it's must reading. There's also a website with this information at http://www.conjelco.com/faq/welcome.html. 

You access newsgroup by using a news reader program. Some browsers have them built-in. Almost ALL ones I've seen are a little tricky to get the hang of, but a little fiddling and you'll learn without hours of grief! I recommend you go to http://www.forteinc.com/agent/freagent.htm and download Free Agent, probably the best available. It is indeed free and has a lot of documentation to help you along. 

Happy surfing!