Old Man Curry: Race Track Stories

The race track comes alive in these early 20th-century stories, where Old Man Curry tends horses named after Biblical prophets and the Bald-faced Kid reads the crowd like scripture. Van Loan knew this world intimately, the touts, the boosters, the marks, and the men who loved horses more than money. Curry himself is a gem: part sage, part rube, always betting on long shots with names like "Ezekiel" and "Jeremiah" while sharper men try to take his coin. The humor here is dry and period-perfect. You'll meet the guy who's certain he's cracked the system, the owner who knows every horse in training but can't tell a front-runner from a fool, and the eternal optimists who swear today is the day. These aren't just racing stories, they're portraits of men who found church in the chant of the tote board and the thunder of hooves. Van Loan writes with an insider's affection and a satirist's eye, capturing a world where a man's handshake still meant something and arguments were settled like gentlemen or brawlers.