{"product_id":"the-gambler-and-the-bug-boy-1939-los-angeles-and-the-untold-story-of-a-horse-racing-fix-paperback","title":"The Gambler and the Bug Boy: 1939 Los Angeles and the Untold Story of a Horse Racing Fix - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn Christgau\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Scandal on the Turf!\" the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e proclaimed. It was October 1940, a mere few months after Seabiscuit had won the Santa Anita Derby, and now this bombshell: \"Six Jockeys Admit Horse Races Fixed.\"\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Gambler and the Bug Boy\u003c\/i\u003e recounts this dark chapter in horse racing history. At its center is Bernard \"Big\" Mooney, a flashy L.A. bookmaker who began his seedy career by threatening young jockeys with death if they didn't \"pull\" their horses. His unwilling partner is Albert Siler, a callow, eighteen-year-old apprentice rider (a so-called bug boy) from eastern Oregon. John Christgau tells how Big Mooney manipulated this promising rider and how Siler tried to escape the gambler's criminal grip without ruining his career. Christgau's book gives all the harrowing details of the unraveling plot and the botched court case that followed which riveted the attention of the nation. Told in full for the first time, this story brings to light a little-known but important horse racing scandal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Christgau (1934-2018) is the author of several works, including \u003ci\u003eThe Origins of the Jumpshot: Eight Men Who Shook the World of Basketball\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948\u003c\/i\u003e, both available in Bison Books editions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 280\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.3 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 01, 2013\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51761356701984,"sku":"9780803271708","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/0bfa06d052f058171fff92c26568b8dd.webp?v=1780205414","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-gambler-and-the-bug-boy-1939-los-angeles-and-the-untold-story-of-a-horse-racing-fix-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}