| As I Remember Racing: A Personal History of Thoroughbred Horse Racing Written by Oscar Otis Preface by Pete Pedersen Book Details Hardback ISBN: 978-0-9840418-3-1 Full Color Cover & B/W Interior Size: 6" x 9" Pages: 256 with Index 13 B/W Photographs ABOUT THIS BOOK Oscar "Double-O" Otis' As I Remember Racing: A Personal History of Thoroughbred Horse Racing offers a "you are there" insight into the history of the Sport of Kings. From the first page to the last, one gets a feeling that they are seated before a Master Storyteller with an extraordinary tale to tell. From delivering newspapers as a teenager to one of his "employees," a young Charlie Whittingham, to his frolicking days at Tijuana Race Track and Agua Caliente, to his free-wheeling adventures as a "tramp-reporter," to his life-long association with the Daily Racing Form, Otis leaves behind a treasure trove of lasting memories that entertain and preserve the history of Thoroughbred horse racing for generations to come. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Oscar Otis was one of the greatest turf writers of the 20th century. He was also a professional newspaperman, editor, and the lead turf reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. For the last 26 years of his life, he was a syndicated columnist for the Daily Racing Form. He served as president of the National Turf Writers Association in 1965. Away from the racetrack, he was a Shakespearean and quantum physics scholar. He passed away on March 26, 1992 at age 85. He completed work on this memoir in 1986. ABOUT PETE PEDERSEN Oscar Otis' memoir will include a preface by Pete Pedersen, an Eclipse Award of Merit honoree and long time friend of the author. Before his retirement in 2004, Pedersen was affiliated with horse racing as a turf writer, publicity director, steward, racing official, and backstretch worker. His work has appeared in Collier’s, Liberty, Turf and Sport Digest, Thoroughbred Times, Daily Racing Form, San Francisco Chronicle, The Blood-Horse, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Thoroughbred. In 2005, he received the Joe Palmer Award presented by the National Turf Writers Association, and in 2008, he was inducted into the Washington Thoroughbred Hall of Fame. In the same year, he was honored with the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, presented by Hollywood Park to the individual who has served the sport with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction. ADVANCE PRAISE "These pages carried me back to another time and place, when horse racing was more sport than big business. Oscar Otis was one of the great Turf journalists of the 20th century, and one who I had the privilege of meeting late in his life. He knew everybody who was anybody in racing, and for more than 50 years they trusted him to tell their stories, accurately and eloquently. Although gone now for a quarter of a century, Oscar's voice remains as vivid, insightful, and gently humorous, as if he were sitting in a room with us today having a comfortable chat. His words remind me of why I fell in love with horse racing so long ago... Thanks, Oscar!" --- Mary Simon, Contributing Editor, Thoroughbred Times “Oscar Otis lived and worked close to the beating heart of 20th century Thoroughbred racing, telling its story with the wide-eyed wonder of a backstretch Candide and the reporting instincts of a hungry panther. I would recommend sharing his gloriously rambling memoirs with anyone fascinated by the romance of the racehorse and by the people -- like Otis himself -- who were willing victims of a lifelong affair.” ---Jay Hovdey, Executive Columnist, Daily Racing Form "It was never dull sitting next to Oscar Otis in a race-track press box. In a way, Oscar is now back. It's a wonderful thing that his memories and observations have been preserved." --- Bill Christine, Eclipse Award-winning turf writer “Oscar, its [the manuscript’s] arrival has taken first priority over all business. I just think that you have done a terrific job of touching every base in the annals of racing over the past half-century. You have not missed a call, full of good humor, tact and taste, free of any semblance of malice or ill will. Racing claims Oscar Otis as one of its most memorable journalists and enthusiastic boosters.” --- James E. (Ted) Bassett III, former president, chairman of the board and trustee of Keeneland in Lexington, upon receiving a copy of what eventually became this book. |
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