Customer Reviews

Scared Money

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

 

 

Mark Cramer, Scared Money (1994, City Miner Books)

Scared Money professes to be a novel. That may well be true, but if so it's a novel in the same way The Celestine Prophecy is a novel, except that Cramer's book actually has something worthwhile to teach the aspiring risk-taker. Not surprisingly, Cramer's book centers on the risks inherent in playing the horses, but touches on risk in many other aspects of life as well (and the parables he spins as mini-morals to his horseracing stories are quite easily taken the other way). In other words, this seemingly vertical-market book is actually the most accessible piece of Cramer's horse-slanted writing; There's all kinds of things to be gleaned from here, and not just about horses.

Matt, the protagonist, starts off as a casual horseplayer. He doesn't really change throughout the series of episodes that make up the book, but these episodes are designed to highlight one aspect of risk-taking each; change is probably not to be expected. Around Matt are an odd assortment of minor characters; horseplayers, jazz musicians, a nagging ex-wife. All are roped into these mini-morality plays in some form or another. All of the tales are effective, and get their points across without beating the reader over the head, but the end result isn't something that holds together as a coherent novel. A collection of parables, maybe (the Gospel of Cramer?), but a novel it isn't.

Still, it's well worth reading not only for the horseplayer, but those who desire to take other risks in life as well. ***

Mark Cramer has written a literate and wise book concerning the journey of a man to succeed in an unusaul occupation: a gambler who bets on horse races. This book is well written and is at its center a novel about the battles we all fight within ourselves. The protagonist fights his own self destructive influences as he searches for a path "with a heart."

I was able to find this title for only $2, so I took the plunge as part of an odd assortment of used books.

Mark Cramer is a well respected writer for horse racing. This is a fictional work about a musician named Matt who meets various characters at the track, as one does. Matt seems to always live on the edge and win exactly what he needs to. (I wish I could win when I needed to achieve a goal!) Matt's music career keeps him going and for some unknown reason, many of his music friends are also gamblers. He convinces his second wife to give up a good paying job and move on a lark to France. (Man, where did I go wrong!) Finally, he moves back to the US and questions himself after hitting a weird trifecta. (So okay, now I can relate!) Finally, he meets a writer for a newspaper and convinces her to put more conviction in her longshot picks and measure success by dollars and not wins.

The book is choppy, but nonetheless a pretty easy read. The characters seems to come and go pretty quickly. This would be a reasonably good gift to a horse racing fan.

Pretty sure this story was about a person in real life. IT MAYBE YOU!!!
Good read... I'd recommend it... I'm not even a "Cramer-esque" handicapper.

Mike

Mark Cramer instructs the reader about the development of a professional horseplayer in SCARED MONEY. Through the fictional device of a character named Matt, who is a jazz musician as well as a horseplayer, he shows the psychological struggle often required to be a professional. The book contains a few tips on picking horses, but mostly it contains tips on how to be a serious horseplayer. SCARED MONEY, which seems almost autobiographical, is a series of stories about dealing with the biggest opponent of all: yourself. In a way, Mr. Cramer's book is a larger lesson in Life, where maturity, patience and believing in yourself are ultimate values. SCARED MONEY would make a great gift for a horseplaying friend or family member.

I have played the races with some success for more than 30 years. It is a humbling experience. This book is a winner. The short stories will catch the heart of anyone who has shared experiences of winning and more often than not losing. Packed into Cramer's stories are great tidbits of what playing the races is all about. An extremely well written and entertaining anthology of racetrack stories.

this book will only appeal to horse players, and is not best of breed.