As far as wiseguys fixing races, it happens. But not nearly as much as you'd think, And it's much easier to fix the trotters. That's why the trotters are a dead sport today. Roosevelt and Yonkers Raceway were like a candy store for those guys back in the '60s and '70s.
Back in the day when my father gambled he'd drive all the way up to Monticello to bet on a fixed race (that's a four hour roundtrip drive from Brooklyn). Monticello was the most crooked track in the country and the wiseguys used it as a cash machine.
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