An Irish immigrant, a collection agent for crime bosses, a professional boxer, and a prolific gambler, John Morrissey was -- if nothing else -- an unlikely candidate to become one of the most important figures in the history of Thoroughbred racing. As a young man, he worked as a political heavy in New York before going to San Francisco in search of a fortune at the height of the Gold Rush. After returning to the east coast, he was hired by Tammany Hall and was soon locked in a deadly rivalry with William Poole, better known as "Bill the Butcher." As time went on, Morrissey parlayed his youthful exploits into a remarkably successful career as a businessman and politician. After establishing a gambling house in Saratoga Springs, the hardnosed entrepreneur organized the first Thoroughbred race meet at what would become Saratoga Race Course in 1863. Morrissey went on to be elected to two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms in the New York State Senate. In The Notorious John Morrissey, James C. Nicholson explores the improbable life of the man who brought Thoroughbred racing back to prominence in the United States. Though few of his contemporaries did more to develop the commercialization of sports in America, Morrissey's colorful background has prevented him from getting the attention he deserves. This entertaining and long-overdue biography finally does justice to his astounding rags-to-riches story while exploring an intriguing chapter in the history of horse racing.

Remarkable Racecourses is a beautifully presented collection of the world's most striking racecourses. Lavish photographs and informative text show why each racecourse is unique, whether it's the oldest, longest, shortest, most southerly, most northerly, most beautiful or most extraordinary. Among the 70-plus racecourses included are Laytown in Ireland (the only race run on a beach under Turf Club rules), St. Moritz in Switzerland (which takes place on a frozen lake), Pukekohe Park in New Zealand (which is located in the centre of a motor racing circuit), Cartmel in Cumbria (where spectators enjoy the action from the centre of the circuit) and Epsom Downs in Surrey (which is a left-handed, open-ended, horseshoe-shaped course). The book travels across continents, from rural England to Outer Mongolia, to bring you the most astonishing racecourses on the planet. Remarkable Racecourses features more than 70 racecourses including Aintree, Ascot, Baghdad Equestrian Club, Beirut Hippodrome, Birdsville, Cartmel, Champ de Mars, Capannelle, Chantilly, Cheltenham, Chepstow, Chester, Ellerslie, Epsom Downs, Flemington, Goodwood, Hamilton Park, Happy Valley, Hialeah Park, Iffezheim, Kernic Bay, Laytown, Longchamp, Mahalaxmi, Maisons-Laffitte, Meydan, Moonee Valley, Newmarket, Pontefract, Pukekohe Park, Santa Anita, St. Moritz, Tokyo, Turffontein, Woodbine.

"Getting Down" is not a typical racetrack story. Seabiscuit, Swaps, Man o' War, John Henry, Secretariat, and Zenyatta may well be mentioned, but this story is about the people of racing, not the horses. It's about racetrack workers, on both the back and front sides of the track. It's about racetrack owners and managers. It's about those who own the horses and train them, and it's about the people who ride them. It's also about the people who pay to go to the races - the patrons, including the rich and famous, along with the not so rich and famous, all the way down the economic ladder to the out and out homeless.

The above categories include some of the strangest, meanest, most dangerous, most pathetic, most ruthless people on the face of this earth. Yet, my list of characters also includes some of the nicest, kindest, most generous, funniest, happiest people one could ever hope to meet. And since this book is also about me and my over fifty yeras working in this industry, I'm going to let you decide in which of the above categories you think I might best fit.

"Getting Down" is about "getting down." The term, getting down, is racetrack lingo having to do with the process of successfully putting one's wager on a given horse, in the right race, before getting "shut out." In other words, it's about successfully making one's bet before the race begins and betting for that race But the scope of this story is, as you will see, much broader than that. Indeed, it is a story about life, because in one way or another, ine one form or another, life itself is about getting down.