Amazon.com: Horseplayers: Life at the Track: Ted McClelland: Books

Review
"Everything a horse-racing book should be." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Interesting stories of racetrackers by a budding handicapper seeking the Holy Grail." -- Steve Davidowitz, author, Betting Thoroughbreds: A Professional's Guide for the Horseplayer

"Tells it pretty much like it is . . . Two thumbs up!" -- James Quinn, author, The Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping and The Handicapper's Condition Book

"Will best be appreciated for its humor and insight even by those who have had little experience at the racetrack." -- Library Journal

Review

"Immensely readable account, by a brutally honest writer...a gambler’s book that is well worth a punt" —The Racing Post

"A delightful memoir . . . McClelland details his transformation from casual fan to obsessed racing geek with humor." —Railbird

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1556525672
ISBN-13: 978-1556525674
Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #454,809 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#31 in Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Gambling > Track Betting

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Getting hooked on gambling was the best thing that ever happened to me. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
betting chart, prime bet, maiden special weight race, twin trifecta, handicapping contest, turf race, betting machines, ninth race, eighth race, tote board, post parade, claiming race, trip notes, betting line, speed figures, playing the horses, fourth race

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Racing Form, Pick Six, Funny Cide, Daily Double, Rebel Enclave, Storming Home, Beamer'n Glick, Empire Maker, Great Eight, Kentucky Derby, Miles City, Sportsman's Park, Bob the Brain, Churchill Downs, Fleet Boss, Northern Catch, Arlington Park, Las Vegas, Steven Walker, Stop That Dancer, Pick Three, Santa Anita, Andrew Beyer, Blond Jimmy, Derby Day

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 12 books:

Betting Thoroughbreds: A Professional's Guide for the Horseplayer: Second Revised Edition by Steve Davidowitz on 4 pages
The Kentucky Derby (Great Moments in Sports) by Jack C. Harris on page 87, page 98, and page 172
Labor Day (Carolrhoda on My Own Books) by Geoffrey Scott on page 113, and page 222
The Rocking-Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence on page 11
The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck on page 115

See all 12 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

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The Big Horse by Joe McGinniss

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	66% buy the item featured on this page: Horseplayers: Life at the Track 4.4 out of 5 stars (15) $24.95
	18% buy Not by a Long Shot: A Season at a Hard Luck Horse Track 4.6 out of 5 stars (12) $19.76
	6% buy Laughing in the Hills 4.6 out of 5 stars (9) $10.17
	5% buy Wild Ride: The Rise and Fall of Calumet Farm Inc., America's Premier Racing Dynasty 4.6 out of 5 stars (24) $13.60

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A galloping good time, May 28, 2005

By	Andrew Kleine (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Looking for a fun, fast-paced read this summer? If so, odds are you'll love this book. The author, Ted McClelland, spends a year as part of a fascinating subculture -- people desperately searching for the edge it takes to make a living betting on horses, whether it's searching the grandstand floor for winning tickets that were discarded by mistake, developing a new handicapping system, or just doing what your gut tells you. McClelland introduces readers to the regulars at Chicago's horse tracks, from grifters to whales (big-time betters). The book is much more than a series of character profiles, though, because the characters are McClelland's friends, mentors, confidants, and foils as he searches for his own edge.

I can attest that you don't have to be a horse racing aficionado to enjoy Horseplayers, you just have to appreciate excellent writing. McClelland has a reporter's eye for detail, a novelist's skill with metaphor and character development, and a humorist's wit and sense of timing. He also throws in historical tidbits and wonderful literary references for good measure. It is a truly great read.

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., July 26, 2005

By	Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Ted McLelland, Horseplayers: Life at the Track (Chicago Review Press, 2005)

Ted McLelland devotes a whole chapter of this book to a friend of mine. Cool.

The obsessive reader of books on horseplaying (which is a very small group of people; in fact, it may well only contain me) needs to take a break from handicapping tomes and huge books of mathematical formulae every once in a while and read something about the equine and human sides of the sport. The former is less sparsely populated with truly great material, though Jane Schwartz' Ruffian: Burning from the Start, which is finally back in print on a steady basis, certainly fits the bill. The human side has been covered somewhat better, from the academic (John Rosencrance's thoroughly engrossing and entertaining The Degenerates of Lake Tahoe) to the poetic (Bill Barich's masterpiece Laughing in the Hills). Horseplayers: Life at the Track is a fine addition to the literature of the human side of horse racing.

McLelland's book, actually, reads kind of like Rosencrance's, but with a plot and human names (or, in many cases, nicknames) plastered on the characters. You will meet the down-and-out, the desperate, the obsessed, the obsessive, the compulsive, the bum, the mathematician, and others. In fact, you'll meet pretty much every type of social outcast there is. (There's even a religious fanatic, though certainly the most likable one I've come across in print recently.) The one thing you'll lack is a truly well-rounded normal person, but then, the track doesn't seem to attract too many of them. Assuming they even exist. (We all have our faults, yes?) Even if you're not a big reader of nonfiction, if you like your books full of quirky characters, believe me, you're going to get a kick out of this book. And you may even pick up some tips on how to operate at your local track. (Here's a starter: stooping is not a good idea.)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than horse racing, December 6, 2005

By	Guy Ward "Guy" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book that provides a valuable and in-depth view of horse racing, the colorful characters that frequent race tracks and how the industry operates. It takes us on a search to find the holy grail of making money in horse racing and comes up with some pretty surprising and unexpected answers.

The book's audience should be far wider than just people who bet on horses, as the lessons and insights can be applied in many other areas, eg. stock trading to name just one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and could not put it down until I had finished it -- and this from someone who has never placed a bet on a horse or been to a horse race track.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars If your a track fan, this is for you
McClelland brings the track into a perspective that any horse player can relate to. If you "work at the track", this read is a "sure thing".

Published 10 months ago by Bigband

2.0 out of 5 stars Horseplayers - Life at the Track
OK but I had to struggle through it. I wouldn't recommend it for a seasoned horse player!

Published 17 months ago by R. Mencio

5.0 out of 5 stars horseplayers primer
The premise alone invites envy and curiosity. What aspiring writer would not wish to be paid for the priviledge of researching and writing about his own vice and be given a year... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Bernard R. Ditter

5.0 out of 5 stars Horseplayers: Life at the Track
Found the book to be an easy read for me. I could relate to most of the characters in the book. I would recommend this book to anybody.

Published 19 months ago by Harvey Nothelfer

5.0 out of 5 stars These great character sketches are all winners!

This is a fun book for the literate two-dollar bettor or for anyone whose pulse quickens when they hear the words "Breeders Cup" or "Kentucky Derby." Mr. Read more

Published on May 13, 2007 by S. Newman

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
Every writer hopes for that one book that will define their career. Capote had his " Cold Blood" and Lee her "Mockingbird". Read more

Published on April 3, 2007 by DOMINO WEST

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winning Ticket
Ted McClelland puts cash in the kitty and takes a year to explore the real world of handicapping the races.... Read more

Published on September 12, 2006 by Mr. Richard D. Coreno

5.0 out of 5 stars Horseplayers: Life at the Track
Great read!!!.....As I went through the chapters, I thought to myself: " I KNOW these guys"!...very insightful on what goes on in guy's heads that makes horseracing such an... Read more

Published on July 13, 2006 by Vibod

5.0 out of 5 stars Horseplayer: Life at the Track by Ted McClelland
I've read a lot of horse racing books this past year but none of them touched me as much as Horseplayers by Ted McClelland. Read more

Published on November 16, 2005 by Samuel T. Story

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winning Read
McClelland's book really makes you feel like you are at the track. It reads like a fiction story, intertwining details on colorful track personalities with the author's... Read more

Published on September 28, 2005 by C. Lindsley

› See all 15 customer reviews...

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