Horse racing in America dates back to the colonial era when street races were a common occurrence. The commercialization of horse racing produced a sport that would briefly surpass all others in popularity, with annual races such as the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes growing to rank among America's most celebrated sporting events. From the very onset, horse racing and gambling were intertwined. As the popularity of racing and betting grew, so, too, did the controversies and corruption. Yet, despite the best efforts of social reformers, bookmakers stubbornly plied their trade, adapting and evolving as horse racing gave way to team sports as the backbone of their business. In Sports Betting and Bookmaking: An American History, Arne K. Lang provides a sweeping overview of legal and illegal sports and race betting in the United States, from the first thoroughbred meet at Saratoga in 1863 through the modern day. The cultural war between bookmakers and their adversaries is a recurring theme, as bookmakers were often forced into the shadows during times of social reform, only to bloom anew when the time was ripe. While much of bookmaking's history takes place in New York, other locales such as Chicago, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City-not to mention Cyberspace-are also discussed in this volume. A comprehensive exploration of the evolution of bookmaking-including the legal developments and technological advancements that have taken place over the years-Sports Betting and Bookmaking is a fascinating read. This informative and engaging book will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about America's long history with gambling on horse racing and team sports.

Bill Hartack won the Kentucky Derby five times, and seemed to hate every moment of it. ""If only Bill could have gotten along with people the way he got along with horses,"" a trainer said. His tragic, impoverished upbringing didn't help: his mother was killed in an automobile accident; the family home burned down; his father was murdered by a girlfriend; and he was estranged from his sisters. Larry King, his friend, said it was just as well the termperamental Hartack never married, because it wouldn't have lasted. Hartack became one of racing's most accomplished jockeys. But he was inveterate grouch and worked at giving the press a hard time. At 26, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Whenever the media tried to bury him, he would win another Derby. At the end of his life, he was found alone in a solitary cabin in the Texas hinterlands. Drawn from dozens of interviews and conversations with family members, friends and enemies, this book provides a full account of Hartack's turbulent life.

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.

Belle Brezing made a major career move when she stepped off the streets of Lexington, Kentucky, and into Jennie Hill's bawdy house -- an upscale brothel run out of a former residence of Mary Todd Lincoln. At nineteen, Brezing was already infamous as a youth steeped in death, sex, drugs, and scandal. But it was in Miss Hill's "respectable" establishment that she began to acquire the skills, manners, and business contacts that allowed her to ascend to power and influence as an internationally known madam. In this revealing book, Maryjean Wall offers a tantalizing true story of vice and power in the Gilded Age South, as told through the life and times of the notorious Miss Belle. After years on the streets and working for Hill, Belle Brezing borrowed enough money to set up her own establishment -- her wealth and fame growing alongside the booming popularity of horse racing. Soon, her houses were known internationally, and powerful patrons from the industrial cities of the Northeast courted her in the lavish parlors of her gilt-and-mirror mansion. Secrecy was a moral code in the sequestered demimonde of prostitution in Victorian America, so little has been written about the Southern madam credited with inspiring the character Belle Watling in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. Following Brezing from her birth amid the ruins of the Civil War to the height of her scarlet fame and beyond, Wall uses her story to explore a wider world of sex, business, politics, and power. The result is a scintillating tale that is as enthralling as any fiction.

This is the second edition of the classic on the history of British horse racing. It provides a detailed and far-ranging social and economic analysis of the major changes in British flat racing, in particular in the period between 1830 and 1939. Four major themes are explored. Firstly, the changing character and structure of the sport. Secondly, the morality of racing, which was a corrupt sport par excellence for much of the nineteenth century. Thirdly, on four categories of participants in racing jockeys, trainers, owners and breeders. Here, the author assesses whether or not these could make money out of racing. Fourthly, the book examines gambling and its important symbiotic relationship with racing. The televised, sponsored, carefully governed sport today is a vastly different affair from that of the 18th century. Then racing was a free, social event, the highlight of the entertainment calendar for the bulk of the local community. By the late 19th century most race meetings were highly commercial enterprises, requiring payment from all spectators, many of whom had travelled some distance to attend. The excitement and historical interest of these meetings is well captured here."

A quarter of a million people braved miserable conditions at Epsom Downs on June 2, 1954, to see the 175th running of the prestigious Derby Stakes. Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Winston Churchill were in attendance, along with thousands of Britons who were all convinced of the unfailing superiority of English bloodstock and eager to see a British colt take the victory. They were shocked when a Kentucky-born chestnut named Never Say Die galloped to a two-length triumph at odds of 33--1, winning Britain's greatest race and beginning an important shift in the world of Thoroughbred racing. Never Say Die traces the history of this extraordinary colt, beginning with his foaling in Lexington, Kentucky, when a shot of bourbon whiskey revived him and earned him his name. Author James C. Nicholson also tells the stories of the influential individuals brought together by the horse and his victory -- from the heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune to the Aga Khan. Most fascinating is the tale of Mona Best of Liverpool, England, whose well-placed bet on the long-shot Derby contender allowed her to open the Casbah Coffee Club. There, her son met musicians John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison and later joined their band. Featuring a foreword by the original drummer for the Beatles, Pete Best, this remarkable book reveals how an underdog's surprise victory played a part in the formation of the most successful and influential rock band in history and made the Bluegrass region of Kentucky the center of the international Thoroughbred industry.

Every year, thousands of dollars are spent in the U.S. on horse training and riding lessons. Technique and training are important keys to a rewarding "ride," but a horse's physical, emotional and mental comfort are just as important, and often misunderstood or overlooked. "What we perceive to be 'bad behavior' is very often the result of ... any number of physiological conditions that our horses are unable to describe to us." Inspired by a true story, Sandi Bell examines symptoms and possible sources of pain or discomfort that cause resistant behavior so often mistaken for disobedience. Easy-to-understand text with correlating illustrations and photos allow a reader to have insight into the missed influences affecting our horses. "Thursday's cantering challenge was so clear to me. He wasn't trying to disobey the rider ... it was that he was hurting. His inability or refusal to pick up the canter was purely because he was in pain." Responsible horse handlers will benefit from this powerful information. Before The 'Crop' Comes Out offers a fresh perspective-steps we can take to support our horses instead of punishing them- a positive way to look at and approach horses with the respect they deserve. About the Author Sandi Bell is a horse owner, writer, consultant and instructor from the SF Bay Area. A passionate "horse advocate," she aspires to help other horse lovers understand and remedy behavioral issues not premeditated by the horse. Sandi's formal education began by attending clinics, symposiums and seminars from top horse professionals and she is currently working on a degree in Equine Science. Read her popular blog at www.heartandsoulequine.com.

The first Japanese American jockey, Kokomo Joe burst like a comet on the American horse-racing scene in the summer of 1941. As war with Japan loomed, Yoshio "Kokomo Joe" Kobuki won race after race, stirring passions far beyond merely the envy and antagonism of other jockeys. His is a story of the American dream catapulting headlong into the nightmare of a nation gripped by wartime hysteria and xenophobia. The story that unfolds in "Kokomo Joe" is at once inspiring, deeply sad, and richly ironic--and remarkably relevant in our own climate of nationalist fervor and racial profiling. Sent to Japan from Washington State after his mother and three siblings died of the Spanish flu, Kobuki continued to nurse his dream of the American good life. Because of his small stature, his ambition steered him to a future as a star jockey. John Christgau narrates Kobuki's rise from lowly stable boy to reigning star at California fairs and in the bush leagues. He describes how, at the height of the jockey's fame, even his flight into the Sonora Desert could not protect him from the government's espionage and sabotage dragnet. And finally he recounts how, after three years of internment, Kokomo Joe tried to reclaim his racing success, only to fall victim to still-rampant racism, a career-ending injury, and cancer.

Racing in Doncaster contains a fascinating selection of photographs, charting the ups and downs of this historic course. Famous races, horses, jockeys and trainers can all be found here, along with much detail about the St Leger, Doncaster's most celebrated and lucrative race of all. Peter Tuffrey has gathered together well over 200 images, many unpublished, to present a comprehensive photographic history of the course, the meetings, and the runners and rider who have graced Doncaster's turf. This is must-have for all racing enthusiasts.

In the December 30, 1967, edition of the weekly Thoroughbred trade publication, the Blood-Horse, was an announcement that took up one inch of space -- James E. "Ted" Bassett III had been named assistant to the president of the Keeneland Association. It was sandwiched between equally short news items about a handicapping seminar at an East Coast racetrack and a California vacation trip by a horse-owning couple. Bassett's new job, in his own words, "was not earthshaking news." More than four decades later, Ted Bassett is one of the most respected figures within the global Thoroughbred industry. He has served as Keeneland's president, chairman of the board, and trustee, playing a critical role in its ascendency as a premier Thoroughbred track and auction house. Bassett was also president of Breeders' Cup Limited during its greatest period of growth and has been a key architect in the development of the Sport of Kings as we know it today. Written in collaboration with two-time Eclipse Award--winning journalist Bill Mooney, Keeneland's Ted Bassett: My Life recounts Bassett's extraordinary journey, including his days at Kent School and Yale University, through his U.S. Marine Corps service in the Pacific theater during World War II, and as director of the Kentucky State Police during the turbulent 1960s. He helped found the College of Justice & Safety at Eastern Kentucky University, and his continuing service to the Marine Corps has gained him the highest honors accorded to a civilian. During his forty-plus years with Keeneland, Bassett has hobnobbed with hot walkers in the track kitchen, hosted the first visit by Queen Elizabeth II to a United States track, and participated in many of the most important events in the modern history of horse racing. With self-effacing humor, characteristic charm, and candor, Bassett describes his association with historic figures such as J. Edgar Hoover and Kentucky governors Albert B. "Happy" Chandler, Edward T. "Ned" Breathitt, and John Y. Brown; and his friendships with racing personalities D. Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito, Ron McAnally, Pat Day, and Joe Hirsch. Bassett shares details about difficult corporate decisions and great racing events that only he can supply, and about the formation of Equibase, the premier data collection agency within the Thoroughbred industry. He tells about his role as an international ambassador for racing, which has made him a highly influential figure on six continents. Bassett often describes his life as a fascinating blur. That "blur" and all its unique components are brought into sharp focus in a book that is as wide-ranging as it is personal, filled with a gold mine of firsthand stories and historical details. In addition to highlighting Keeneland's reputation as the jewel of the Thoroughbred industry, Bassett chronicles the business of racing and accomplishments of many prominent people in the horse world, and elsewhere, during the twentieth century.

Kent Hollingsworth captures the flavor and atmosphere of the Sport of Kings in the dramatic account of the development of the Thoroughbred in Kentucky. Ranging from frontier days, when racing was conducted in open fields as horse-to-horse challenges between proud owners, to the present, when a potential Triple Crown champion may sell for millions of dollars, The Kentucky Thoroughbred considers ten outstanding stallions that dominated the shape of racing in their time as representing the many eras of Kentucky Thoroughbred breeding. No less colorful are his accounts of the owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys associated with these Thoroughbreds, a group devoted to a sport filled with high adventure and great hazards. First published in 1976, this popular Kentucky classic has been expanded and brought up to date in this new edition.

The great myth of horse racing is that the game is the regal and royal Sport of Kings. It isn't. Not by a long shot.
Anyone who doubts this need look no further than Suffolk Downs, a once-proud racecourse graced in its glory years by boisterous throngs and champions such as Seabiscuit. Now the blue-collar East Boston track is one of many that have fallen on hard times. These days "Sufferin' Downs" is where grizzled Thoroughbreds come to end their careers, hopeful young jockeys aspire against daunting odds to begin them, and diehard fans cheer, curse and gamble on the entire fascinating spectacle. These bit players are not just cogs of a single, struggling horse track. They are the unseen supporting cast for a $15 billion betting industry.
In fifteen years as a racing reporter and press box personality, T.D. Thornton gained access to remote corners of racetrack life off limits to the general public. He got to know the raucously Runyonesque characters and the quirky personalities of the horses; he learned the tricks of the trade from trainers, owners, and jockeys; he witnessed the tragedies and small triumphs of racing lives lived below the radar. One recent season, he finally decided to write it all down.
"Not by a Long Shot" is a deeply textured portrait of an industry where even the best in the business lose 75 percent of the time.

The world of Thoroughbred horse racing is much more than the glitz-and-glamour Saturday races shown on TV. From Sunday through Friday, there are a myriad of horses who run, not for million dollar purses, but in the smaller claiming races that keep horse-racing alive and financially viable. On these same days, there are the bettors, owners, trainers and jockeys who form the backbone of horse-racing with their less-than-glamorous livelihood. This volume presents a non-fiction insider's look at today's sport of Thoroughbred racing from a day-to-day, behind-the-scenes vantage point. Divided into three sections, it discusses the racing, breeding and jockeying which is the reality of Thoroughbred racing. From trainers and jockeys to the editor of the Illinois Racing News, men and women well versed in the sport provide firsthand insight and experience regarding the actualities of Thoroughbred racing. Selected racing records and an extensive glossary of horse racing terms are also included.

When Citation (1945-1970) retired in mid-1951, he was horseracing's first and, to that point, only millionaire racehorse. Following his 1948 triumphs at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont in 1948, it would be twenty-five years before another horse (Secreteriat) would again wear the coveted Triple Crown. Citation, by legendary announcer and longtime horseracing insider Phil Georgeff, reveals all about the thoroughbred, his remarkable career, and those in his inner circle. Georgeff delves into Citation's unusual bloodline; the death of his original rider, Al Snider, swept out to sea while fishing off the Florida keys; Citation's stunning 1948 Triple Crown victory; and the ultimate effects of the horse's excessive, aggressive schedule (racing on little rest after traveling cross-country in sweltering vans and railroad boxcars). Based on interviews from those who knew the thoroughbred, including famed jockey Eddie Arcaro and renowned son-and-father trainers Ben A. and Jimmy Jones; Citation is more than merely the biography of a gifted horse. It the full story of the greatest sports figure in the history of horseracing, a champion who won or placed in thirty different contests in his career and whose spirit continue to captivate the American public.

Now in paperback, reporter Elizabeth Mitchell introduces her readers to the mysterious, mercurial world of horse racing in a book that's as fast-paced and colorful as a day at the track. Focusing on the 1999 Derby winner Charismatic, Mitchell traces this horse's amazing and ultimately tragic story, from the birth of a foal through its surprising rise to fame. Mitchell also follows the major players in Charismatic's life, including the family who bred him, the trainer, the owners, and the famed jockey Chris Antley, whose own story is more tragic than that of his horse. Through these interlocking stories a sense of familiarity with the key players in the industry evolves, as well as a greater understanding of the heart and soul of a sport that has fascinated human beings for centuries.

" On the first Saturday in May every year in Louisville, Kentucky, shortly after 5:30 PM, a new horse attains racing immortality. The Kentucky Derby is like no other race, and its winners are the finest horses in the world. Covered in rich red roses, surrounded by flashing cameras and admiring crowds, these instant celebrities bear names like Citation, Secretariat, Spectacular Bid, and Seattle Slew. They're worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But in 1992, a funny thing happened on the way to the roses. The rattling roar of 130,000 voices tailed off into a high, hollow shriek as the horses crossed the finish line. Lil E. Tee? ABC broadcasters knew nothing about him, but they weren't alone. Who knew about Lil E. Tee? A blacksmith in Ocala, Florida, a veterinary surgeon in Ringoes, New Jersey, a trainer a Calder Race Course, and a few other people used to dealing with average horses knew this horse -- and realized what a long shot Lil E. Tee really was. On a Pennsylvania farm that raised mostly trotting horses, a colt with a dime-store pedigree was born in 1989. His odd gait and tendency to bellow for his mother earned him the nickname "E.T." Suffering from an immune deficiency and a bad case of colic, he survived surgery that usually ends a horse's racing career. Bloodstock agents dismissed him because of his mediocre breeding, and once he was sold for only $3,000. He'd live in five barns in seven states by the time he turned two. Somehow, this horse became one of the biggest underdogs to appear on the American sporting landscape. Lil E. Tee overcame his bleak beginnings to reach the respected hands of trainer Lynn Whiting, jockey Pat Day, and owner Cal Partee. After winning the Jim Beam stakes and finishing second in the Arkansas Derby, Lil E. Tee arrived at Churchill Downs to face a field of seventeen horses, including the highly acclaimed favorite, Arazi, a horse many people forecast to become the next Secretariat. A 17-to-1 longshot, Lil E. Tee won the Derby with a classic rally down the home stretch, and finally Pat Day had jockeyed a horse to Derby victory. John Eisenberg draws on more than fifteen years of sports writing experience and a hundred interviews throughout Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Florida, and Arkansas to tell the story almost nobody knew in 1992. Eisenberg is a sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun and has won more than twenty awards for his sports writing, including several Associated Press sports editors' first places."

Beloved for his thunderous, commanding voice and affable personality, Phil Georgeff, known as "The Voice of Chicago Racing," holds the world record for calling the most horse races an astounding 96,131. During his fifty years in the sport, Georgeff brushed shoulders with every great jockey and saw just about every great horse, from 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation to 1973's Secretariat. Part memoir, part historical analysis, and part nostalgic remembrance, this book is the quintessential guide to the history of thoroughbred racing in the twentieth century.

In the 1890s, feisty Tod Sloan (1874-1933) abandoned the centuries-old jockey tradition of riding in a straight sitting position and instead crouched low on the neck of his horse. The result was not only a string of victories for young Sloan but also a revolution in horse racing. In this entertaining book, award-winning author John Dizikes recounts the remarkable story of the Indiana boy who rose from obscurity to become the most famous jockey in the United States and Great Britain at the turn of the century. Dizikes evokes the turbulent, colorful world of horse racing and gambling in which Tod Sloan rocketed to celebrity -- and from which he was just as dramatically ejected.

Sloan's innovative riding style helped to transform horse racing into the first nationally popular spectator sport, drawing in huge crowds and vast amounts of betting money. But Sloan's career was crushingly ended by those who resented and envied him. A dandy, a big spender, a man whose company women loved, Sloan related to horses in an almost magical way, yet foundered in his dealings with people. This book is the biography of a diminutive man who lived in large style, and lives on in George M. Cohan's musical Little Johnny Jones and Ernest Hemingway's short story "My Old Man". The book is also much more -- a fascinating cultural history that illuminates the history of horse racing and betting, the democratization of sport, changing conceptions of masculinity, the hypocrisy of Victorian morality, the lionizing and demonizing of celebrities, and a variety of other inviting topics.

A day at the races, with its colorful variety and fast-paced action, appeals to people from all walks of life. Not surprisingly, the idea of going home with a few more dollars than when one arrived is part of horseracing's charm. In this entertaining but substantive volume, two distinguished economists, who happen to be horseracing buffs, outline a tested strategy for placing bets that will increase the reader's chances of a happy outcome at the track.

The authors are the first to point out that getting rich at the racetrack is unlikely. They do maintain, however, that with attention to their systematic approach, the racing fan can achieve the best possible chance at winning. In the process, the reader learns some of the most important measurement techniques in the social sciences, as well as the basic methods of market analysis.

Ainslie's Complete Guide to Thoroughbred Racing is the classic guide to everything you need to know to pick winners. Ainslie's Complete Guide to Thoroughbred Racing covers recent technological changes and the basics of breeding, conformation, calculating speed and pace, the factors of condition, class, and weight, rating jockeys, stables, and tracks, tote-board tips, and sixty tips for profitable betting.

For a few months in 1982, Landaluce was a national celebrity. In her second start, just one week after claiming her maiden, the two-year-old filly won the Hollywood Lassie Stakes by 21 lengths face=Calibri>- a margin of victory that remains the largest ever in any race by a two-year-old at Hollywood Park. Landaluce was poised to become the next American super-horse. But those dreams ended when the two-year-old died in her stall at Santa Anita four months later, the victim of a swift and mysterious illness. Today, with the 'I Love Luce' bumper stickers long-gone, the filly has been largely forgotten. In Landaluce: Forever a Champion, Mary Perdue tells the story of a filly whose short but meteoric racing career could have changed racing history forever. In doing so, Perdue also explores the lives and careers of the breeders, owners and trainer, as well as her famous sire, Seattle Slew. From breeder Leslie Combs, who grew Spendthrift farm into a 4,000 acre powerhouse while standing over 40 of the most prized stallions in the country, to trainer D. Wayne Lukas whose stable of racehorses have been winning races for nearly forty years, Landaluce's brief stint at the top of the sport provides a window into racing history. More than a mere recitation of Landaluce's accomplishments or a piece of investigative journalism probing the mystery of her death, Perdue explores how one filly captured the imagination of racing fans across the country and set the stage for another filly turned super-horse, Zenyatta, in the decades to come. "Mary Perdue takes readers on a riveting journey not just through Landaluce's two years on earth, but across decades of horse racing history, from the Great Depression to the 1980s, from Kentucky to California, from breeding shed to euthanasia ...Perdue's work centers on one horse, but taps racing's every vein - essential reading for fans of the sport." - Tim Layden, writer-at-large at NBC Sports

A deeply emotional collection of poems that highlights the filly behind the legend of The Licorice Daughter, Ruffian. With tender care, Lifshin takes her readers through the too-short life of a racing wonder. Beginning before Ruffian’s birth, this collection outlines the anticipation of Ruffian’s greatness. With a grand focus on the days before her fame, from the quiet beauty of the April night of her birth to the brutal separation of the foals from their mares six months after, Lifshin highlights the potential that could be seen in Ruffian’s early days. From the relationships the filly formed with her trainer—Frank Whitely, to her grooms, jockeys, owners, and her devoted fans, this collection brings to life the early days of a racing legend. With excruciating care the last moments of Ruffian’s short life are laid bare before the reader, as the myth is born in the hours before her death.