[ARETE] Horse Racing the Chicago Way

[Duncan Jamieson]

All,
Please find attached and below my review of Steven Riess, *Horse Racing the
Chicago Way*
Thanks
Duncan

Riess, Steven A. *Horse Racing the Chicago Way: Gambling, Politics, and
Organized Crime, 1837-1911.*  New York: Syracuse University Press, 2022.  XIX
+ 413 pp.  Illustrations, Tables, Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Reviewed by Duncan R. Jamieson, Ashland University, Ashland OH USA

Thoroughbred horse racing, “The Sport of Kings,” is immensely popular in
both the United States and Great Britain among many other nations around
the globe.  The Royal Ascot, run in June is undoubtedly England’s most
famous and prestigious flat track racing event.  In the United States, The
Kentucky Derby, run at Louisville’s Churchill Downs is the first race for
the famed Triple Crown.  The Run for the Roses is followed by the Preakness
at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.  Finally, the longest of the three
races at one and one-half miles is the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York,
a suburb of New York City.  While these represent the summa cum laude for
thoroughbred horse racing, there are thousands of tracks across the United
States and Great Britain, in large and not so large cities that thrill and
delight millions of fans, male and female who turn out to witness the
drama, and, perhaps pick the winner to take home more money than they hoped
for.  In addition to the thoroughbreds, harness racing can be found in
virtually every community which hosts a county fair, though here it will be
trotters and pacers rather than thoroughbreds, with drivers in a two
wheeled cart rather than jockeys atop the horse.  In Ashland where we live,
the fairgrounds are about a mile away from our house and we can hear the
races being announced.  In Wooster where my wife works, she can see the
trotters going around the track in the morning as she drives to the College
of Wooster.  Whether thoroughbreds or trotters, it is exciting to watch the
power of the horse and the skill and strategy of the jockey or the sulky
driver.

               I’ve watched the trotters in both Ashland and Wooster and
before them thoroughbreds.  I grew up in Queens Village, New York, about
four miles from Belmont Race Course.  I have fond memories as a child
seeing the horses as we drove past the stables on our way to wherever.  The
father of one of my friends was very interested in thoroughbred horse
racing.  He would follow the horses’ pedigrees through the mare’s line, and
far more often than not he picked the winners, though he rarely bet.  That
friend often went to Belmont, placing $2.00 bets more for entertainment
than the hope of winning, but not being interested in betting myself, I
only went to Belmont Race Course once.  As Steven Riess points out in his
Preface, “people would quickly find it very boring to watch horses ride
around an oval unless there was money involved” (xvi).  In contrast, my
friend and I went to the Bronx to watch the Yankees play multiple times,
and I went with my father to Brooklyn to watch “dem bums” play in Ebbets
Field before they decamped to the West Coast in 1957.

As will become evident very quickly to anyone who picks up *Horse Racing
the Chicago Way*, Steve Riess’ knowledge of horse racing is encyclopedic,
and his writing is lively and engaging.  This follows his 2011 book, *The
Sport of Kings and the Kings of Crime: Horse Racing, Politics and Organized
Crime in New York City, 1865-1913*, also published by Syracuse University
Press.  The greatest interest in the United States was in New York City,
followed closely by Chicago.  Early on it was more with trotters and
pacers, as saddle racing was seen to be “too English.”  By the 1830s,
however, the memory of America’s colonial past had sufficiently faded which
allowed thoroughbred racing to gain in popularity, the huge draw
underpinned by gambling, which over time became racing’s downfall.   Despite
baseball being “America’s pastime,” with Chicago’s White Stockings winning
multiple pennants in the 1880s, thoroughbred horse racing had consistently
larger audiences.

              Riess builds his understanding of horse racing, America’s
first sport, around three main points that run throughout the book.  First
and foremost, gambling made horse racing a successful spectator sport for
without the gamblers there would be no way for the tracks to turn a profit,
without which there would be no racing.  Because the races were all
relatively short, the number of races increased the opportunity to bet.  On
the one hand, gambling was viewed as a victimless activity, though on the
other, some believed it ruined families, leaving the wives and children
impoverished.  Yet it was, as Riess argues, this financial support that
allowed two types of tracks to develop.  One model is exemplified by
Chicago’s Washington Park Club, a nonprofit race course with luxurious
stands and large purses to attract the moneyed clientele necessary to build
and maintain the facility.  Alternatively, smaller and less ostentatious
tracks were built with the intent of turning a profit.  Like Washington
Park they survived because gambling brought sufficient paying fans to allow
the tracks to turn a profit.  Finally, regardless of location, track
personnel needed the protection provided by city governments.  While
individuals might have been neutral on racing in and of itself, many
objected to the betting, either on or off the track, which they saw as
sinful, and to the people who participated, seen as immoral and potentially
dangerous. This was especially true for those who lived near the venues who
believed the tracks brought unsavory characters who reduced the property
values and the quality of life for the neighborhood’s residents.  All of
this was made worse by the reality that politicians protected the track
owners.  In reality, however, for the moral police, prostitution and
alcohol use were far more pressing problems, with gambling on the ponies
coming in a distant third.

              On the other side, track owners often kept admission prices
low to attract spectators, encouraging families to come for an inexpensive
outing.  The tracks did stimulate the economy as people would spend money
on ancillary activities and items.  For example, in 1902 horse racing added
perhaps $900,000 to Chicago’s revenue.  Western Union benefitted
financially by providing the wire services for off track betting.  Public
transit benefited by taking spectators to and from the tracks.  Yet despite
political protection, the opponents were able to reduce the number of
tracks significantly, though ultimately the sport, the tracks and the
gambling continued.

              The list of people involved with racing is close to endless,
some well-known while other names are more anonymous.  Financier August
Belmont, politicos Carter Harrison, father and son, John Peter Altgeld,
machine politicians Mike “Hinky Dink” Kenna, “Bathhouse” John Couglin,
“Blind John” Condon and “Big Ed” Corrigan, gamblers and race track
owners—are richly described and integrated with Chicago life, racing and
politics.

              Like its predecessor, *Horse Racing in Chicago* Is an
encyclopedic work that will be enjoyed by any and all who have an interest
in horse racing, Chicago history, and the biographies of the colorful
characters involved in either furthering or lessening its impact on society.
Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past

Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.
Professor of History
Book Review Editor
*AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature*
Ashland University
Ashland, OH  44805
USA
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