Racetracker: Life with grifters and gamblers... - Softcover

In 1955 John Perrotta was a young Jersey boy—eyes locked on his grandfather’s small black-and-white television watching the blurry figures of horses and jockeys loping to their starting gates. Little did he know that his father’s passion for the races was going to tip destiny’s scales in favor of a lifelong passion for horsemanship, breeding, racing, and the beautiful animals themselves.

Perrotta’s story digs deep into the thoroughbred racing world through a unique insider’s perspective on the strategies, emotions, and personal lives of those involved in high-risk gaming. In his travels, he meets an array of colorful characters like Woody and Peaches, Snake, Pockets, and Schnoz, who populate the racetracks, wheeling and dealing in the search for the fastest horse and the biggest prize.

Revel in this heartfelt story of a natural-born racetracker. Stand trackside and slip behind closed doors at legendary world-class events, including the Kentucky Derby, the Irish Derby, and the Breeder’s Cup. Follow Perrotta on his journey from a boy with Hopalong Cassidy’s horse, Topper, on his tin lunch box, to racing journalist and jockey agent, to head of operations for one of the largest racing stables stateside.

John R. Perrotta is a University of Miami graduate and a lifelong horseman with extensive experience in thoroughbred racing and breeding. As one of the first professional racing managers in the United States, he spent the late seventies coordinating business affairs for John Forbes Stable, one of the country’s leading barns. In 1981 he became the general manager of Due Process Stables, where he developed a fifteen-year career racing over forty-five champions and individual stakes winners and breeding the two-time Eclipse Award winner Open Mind. Perrotta continued to race multiple stakes winners through his Star Stable and was co-breeder of the 1996 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Touch Gold.

Perrotta was the creator, president, and executive producer of the Thoroughbred Racing Radio Network (TRRN), which is the leading radio and Internet outlet for information regarding thoroughbred racing. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he is a screenwriter, producer, and consultant on entertainment properties set in the horse racing world.