News stories about the book "Horseplayers"
Bet on It: Interview
Gambler's Life Means None Beyond the Track
Smarty money won't travel down Boss' Bellamy Road
Few joys, many woes of going pro
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Bet on It
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Most of the swag that comes our way at this dump is utterly useless. So when a flack from the Chicago Review Press asked whether we'd be interested in a copy of Horseplayers: Life at the Track, newly released in paperback, Unreal champed at the bit (as it were). After reading the book — which we highly recommend — we got author Ted McClelland on the blower and asked the Chicagoan who he likes in this Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
Unreal: How much did you lose while researching the book?
Ted McClelland: Gosh, I didn't even keep track. Could have been about $4,000 or $5,000 over the course of the year.
What's the most you've ever bet on a single race?
It was a Pick Six bet on the Breeders' Cup. I spent $2,000 and I was out after the first race. But that wasn't a single race. Most I ever bet on a single race was about $250 — but I won. I basically bought out the trifecta, bought all the likely combinations. And it came in for $1,400.
Why do horseplayers have lousy hygiene?
I didn't know that many who had bad hygiene. They had bad wardrobes, though. I think of a horseplayer as someone who'll bet $200 on a race but won't spend $20 on a pair of pants.
You kinda take a swipe at our home track, Fairmount Park—
Oh, no! I love that old-fashioned atmosphere. It's a place where people are coming for the horse racing, you know — they don't have to be lured in by slot machines or petting zoos or giveaways. Everybody's there to gamble: No distractions. Do they still have the bars over the betting windows? That was one of my favorite touches. Did you think I came down hard?
Well, you write: “Evidently, Collinsville nightlife was so threadbare that Fairmount qualified as a wholesome date.”
Is that true or not?
We've never thought “wholesome” and “Fairmount Park"” belong in the same sentence. Do you still play the horses?
Oh yeah. But I don't play them as intently as I used to. You either have to go all-out at this or you probably shouldn't be betting much money at all. I figured out that it's possible to win, but I also figured out that it's not worth the money that the effort is gonna get you.
We have a horse. You've probably heard of him. His name is River Front Times....
No, I haven't heard of him. Where's he run?
At Fairmount!
Oh, that's why I haven't heard of him. I don't know how they get away with this, but the Chicago tracks don't [regularly] simulcast Fairmount Park.
Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup?
Triple Crown.
Cubs or White Sox?
Detroit Tigers.
If you had $100 of our money to bet on the Kentucky Derby, how would you play it?
You missed the best investment: I've got Scat Daddy in Derby Pool 1 at 44-1 and Circular Quay at 12-1.
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