Horseplayers: Life at the Track [Hardcover]

Ted McClelland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005

This fun and witty exposé of horse racing in America goes behind the scenes at the track, providing a serious gambler's-eye view of the action. Ted McClelland spent a year at tracks and off-track betting facilities in Chicago and across the country, profiling the people who make a career of gambling on horses. This account follows his personal journey of what it means to be a player as he gambles with his book advance using various betting and handicapping strategies along the way. A colorful cast of characters is introduced, including the intensely disciplined Scott McMannis, "The Professor," a onetime college instructor who now teaches a course in handicapping, and Mary Schoenfeldt, a former nun and gifted handicapper who donates all of her winnings to charity. This moving account of wins, losses, and personal turmoil provides a sobering look at gamblers, gambling, and life at the track.

Editorial Reviews

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

About the Author

Ted McClelland is a staff writer for the Chicago Reader, where he writes a popular column called "At the Track" featuring his stories from the racetrack.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556525672
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525674
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Horseplayers: Life at the Track (Hardcover)

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.)

20 of 21 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
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Horseplayers: Life at the Track (Hardcover)

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.

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
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This review is from: Horseplayers: Life at the Track (Hardcover)

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.