A Quote from Erik Hoffer

"In times of change....
learner's inherit the earth,
while the learned
find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

While this was aimed more at stockmarket type investing it applies also to horse racing.

Basically, I think, it is more important to know how to apply the past (performance history) to the future than it is to concoct ways which would have made money in the past, if only we had known about them beforehand.