Dutching the Book - Softcover

Gaiti, Ritch

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0983383723 ISBN 13: 9780983383727

Publisher: Sedona Editions, 2012

Synopsis

An American classic of four lifelong friends, treachery, gambling, romance and a NYC fireman’s quest to become the best horseplayer to ever play the game. The story, which spans three decades, is a tribute to the people who really lived it. Late 1930’s Brooklyn, the Great Depression and winter had almost gone. Ben had something really good and he knew it: an elegantly simple scheme to beat the racetrack and be in a position where he could win and never lose. Whenever Ben had a plan, he had partners known as the Syndicate, three high school friends that stayed friends forever: Sandy, a lawyer and charismatic ladies’ man; Willie, the nine-fingered gas station owner who would give his life for Ben and almost did; and Bull, a pugilistic fireman, who was married three times, to the same woman. It had been a time of adventure and exploration and the summer that he fell in love with Kitty under the glow of Coney Island’s Luna Park. Ben’s scheme was so good that the track closed him down, and cost Willie his finger. His plans crushed and a promise to Kitty, Ben never went back to the track again. Early 1960’s, A NYC fireman pinned under a pile of flaming debris in a burning building, gasped for breath through his cracked mask but got only heat. It was over. Damn. Goodbye Kitty. Suddenly, he rose from the rubble, lifted by a higher force; it was Bull. That was his last fire—but not his last close call. Ben took on a staggering gambling debt owed by Willie and jeopardized everything to satisfy a decades-old obligation that could never be fully satisfied. The only way to repay this debt was to go back to what he knew best. Decades ago, he had given up gambling for Kitty, but now it was her or the track. But the track was the only thing that could save her. Out of work, he had other choices, just not good ones. The bookies wanted more from Ben than Willie’s debt, something he wasn’t willing to give, and they threatened his family. Now he owed them payback well beyond money and he was determined to deliver both--he beat them at their own game once, could he do it again? The stakes were much too high--but there was no choice. The Syndicate grew tighter and made Ben’s problem, their problem, until desperation drove one of them to betray the others. But Ben schemed and repaid the bookies in a way they would never forget. Ben’s prowess as a horseplayer grew and his breakthrough betting schemes pushed the racetrack to continually redefine their rules. His reputation circulated through the racetracks; he was on the path to becoming one of the best horseplayers in the game. Las Vegas, early 2000’s, with Kitty at his side, Ben attained his lifetime goal, becoming the country’s #1 horse handicapper. The feel-good, shivers-inducing ending rewards readers for having gone on this journey with Ben and the Syndicate. DUTCHING THE BOOK is based on real people, events and betting schemes that redefined horse racing.

About this title

From the Author

Dutching the Book is an American epic about the tests of friendship and family over several decades and a one man's quest to be the best horseplayer in the game. Based on real people and events.This is about a world that many of us touch, but don't go inside. But these guys were inside--they bent the rules and when the rules changed--they bent them again. The book is been based on interviews and personal contact I had with those that were still with us. This is a tribute to the guys who really lived it--I knew them all.

About the Author

Ritch Gaiti, author, artist, and an alumnus of Wall Street, has written novels, screenplays and many magazine articles and has been featured on national radio and TV, including an appearance on the Today Show. Ritch focuses on telling compelling stories and writes in several genres from humor to drama, both non-fiction and fiction. DUTCHING THE BOOK is his first venture into quasi-fiction and is a tribute to the people who really lived it. Ritch Gaiti’s published books: ·DUTCHING THE BOOK (February, 2012) A NYC fireman schemes a way to beat the track in an American classic of four lifelong friends, betrayal, gambling, romance and the best horseplayer to ever play the game. ·TWEET, (Sedona Editions, 2011), humorous fiction about one average guy who changes the world because he didn’t know that he couldn’t. Recently, Tweet, has been optioned for a feature film. ·POINTS: WOMEN HAVE THEM, MEN NEED THEM (Running Press, 2008), a humorous non-fiction relationship book (under the pseudonym I. Glebe). He is also a recognized artist focusing on depicting the ethereal west in another time, another place. He exhibits across the U.S. in several galleries and museums. His artwork can be viewed on www.gaiti.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sedona Editions
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0983383723
• ISBN 13: 9780983383727
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 356