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Against All Odds: The Larry Rolla Story
The true story of one man’s ride through the tainted world of horse racing—a world riddled with greed, corruption, celebrities, drugs, sex, and the Mob. ALMOST 100 COLOR PHOTOS!
240 pages, Paperback
Published November 26, 2018
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 11, 2018
A real charater
I have known Larry for 40 years and no matter what he does you can never hate him. This book is typical Larry Rolla and a great read.
I have known Larry for 40 years and no matter what he does you can never hate him. This book is typical Larry Rolla and a great read.
January 1, 2024
Well, the book is hard to rate. If you know harness racing, I would give it five stars as it is an interesting backstretch tale and knowing the game like I do I can't question the credibility of his stories. For the general public, I would give it two stars as it plays into the hands of people who say harness racing is fixed. Yes, there was seedy individuals in the game like Larry, and there have been "bad" races just like "bad" sporting events, but they were all more of an outlier or aberration. There were many more honest trainers and drivers than there were bad seeds.
I do feel badly for the author, who, I can tell, was a good horseman, which is rare to find. It's a business full of charlatans when it comes to horsecare. But Rolla was not a fraud when it came to the care and training of the trotter and pacer. He really knew horses and could empathize with their ailments and make them better. Unfortunately, he gravitated towards the wrong people and the wrong actions. Who knows what he could have become if he stayed on the straight and narrow? But it's obvious it was not in his DNA no matter how hard his mother tried to set him straight when he was younger.
I do feel badly for the author, who, I can tell, was a good horseman, which is rare to find. It's a business full of charlatans when it comes to horsecare. But Rolla was not a fraud when it came to the care and training of the trotter and pacer. He really knew horses and could empathize with their ailments and make them better. Unfortunately, he gravitated towards the wrong people and the wrong actions. Who knows what he could have become if he stayed on the straight and narrow? But it's obvious it was not in his DNA no matter how hard his mother tried to set him straight when he was younger.
January 25, 2020
If you love horse racing, know some history of the industry and know how betting works that will certainly add to the enjoyment of the story. Each chapter stands on it's own and the book is not very cohesive. I think it should be renamed Larry's Confession.
December 16, 2018
Honest and thoughtfully written
this boo gave me a feeling of being there. Very authentic ! A great look at what goes on behind the scenes. Through it all a story of survival .
this boo gave me a feeling of being there. Very authentic ! A great look at what goes on behind the scenes. Through it all a story of survival .
February 8, 2019
Enjoyable Read
I found this book interesting and informative as it revealed behind the scenes activities of harness racing on the east coast. It confirmed for me that nothing is as it seems in the racing game. Well worth you time to read about it.
I found this book interesting and informative as it revealed behind the scenes activities of harness racing on the east coast. It confirmed for me that nothing is as it seems in the racing game. Well worth you time to read about it.
January 24, 2025
This was a delight to read. Gave an insight to horse racing that I didn’t know existed. I love how open Larry was about his life also.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews