The Bottom Line
- A well-written autobiography by one of racing's greatest ambassadors
- Simultaneously inspiring and entertaining
- Shows how alcoholism can hold back even the greatest of entrepreneurs from finding success
- A true rags-to-riches story anybody can enjoy
- No fault was found in this work. Campbell's writing skills are well-known and it shows here.
Description
- Campbell is a very intelligent man, but he never completed grammar school, high school, or college, but did attend all three
- He served in the U.S. Navy in the Second World War, as a signalman on board a destroyer in the Pacific.
- Returning to America after his tour of duty, he traveled up and down the eastern United States, from Florida up to New York.
- He tried many different jobs, including boat driver, nightclub car parker, mortician, and sportswriter at a newspaper.
- He failed at all of these, each time retreatng to his hometown of Rome, GA to plan his next scheme and borrow more money.
- Clearly, Campbell did not know the meaning of quit, which has helped him to this day.
- However, he needed to quit drinking, as his alcoholism consistently prevented him from excelling at anything.
- He admitted himself to Alcoholics Anonymous, kicked the habit, and suddenly his natural talents as an entrepreneur showed.
Guide Review - Memoirs of a Longshot
With his business sense in forming limited partnerships, he sold the idea of enjoying the thrill of watching "your" horse win without having to absorb all of the costs of losing. His initial investors were business acquaintances and people from his home town, but as the stable started to win races, people from all over the U.S. began to join Dogwood Stable. He originally had the head office in Atlanta, but partly in protest for not being able to bring parimutuel racing to Georgia, he moved his family and the Dogwood offices up to Aiken, SC, where Dogwood's training center was, and still is, located.
Initially, racing's upper crst were cold to these new ownership groups, but when those famous green silks with yellow dots appeared in the winner's circle more often, officials, fans, and the press began to take notice that this was the wave of the future. Turf specialists Dominion and Southjet were two of Dogwood's early stars, but it was Preakness winner Summer Squall that put Dogwood on the map.
Campbell is one of racing's best public speakers and writers, a very entertaining character indeed, and his personality, sense of humor, and outlook on life really show shows through in this book. He successfully uses self-deprecating humor to poke fun at himself, whether it was due to his drunken antics in his younger days, or more recent times such as his comedy character "Sheikh Bin Had".
Campbell's life is truly a great story, a great read, for all racing fans.
