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Category Archives: Richard Canfield

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Fists vs Wits – Part II: Richard Canfield

Patrick Kerrison August 5, 2010July 3, 2018

Richard Canfield was "the greatest gambling asset the United States had ever known." i And unlike his casino's original proprietor John Morrissey, he had the respect and admiration of the well-bred.He was born in 1855 in New Bedford, MA, and...

Fists vs. Wits – A Tale of Two Gamblers

Patrick Kerrison August 3, 2010July 3, 2018

Part I of IIOne was a pugilist. A roughneck, thief and gambler who made a reputation for himself socking people in the mouth and collecting money for mob bosses.The other, a gambler who took to self-education in the arts, philosophy,...

While most American men of Patrick's generation grew up talking to their Dad about baseball and the likes of Mantle, Ford, Berra and DiMaggio, he and his father covered the racing beat and talked of Ruffian, Seattle Slew, Affirmed and John Henry.

The son of a newspaperman, Patrick spent his summers a "spoiled" child, but not in the traditional sense. Spoiled because his August months were spent at Saratoga Race Course watching the best the game ever offered.

Breakfast in the mornings, races in the afternoons and the occasional party when kids were welcomed in the evenings, he has lived a privileged childhood.
For better than 10 years Patrick worked in varied frontside positions in racing, "living the dream" as he calls it.

Today at age 41, he reverts back to his life as an eight year old with the same passion and love for the town of Saratoga he always had, but with the perspective of an adult. His appreciation for her history and his desire to go back in time revives every summer, while never forgetting the glorious life he lives today.
Patrick and Saratoga.com invite you to come back to Saratoga's 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and a little bit about today, too.