Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 18)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 18: Envoi 

Veeck closes his memoir as the owner and operator of Suffolk Downs with his staff Christmas party. Despite the impending end of Veeck's ownership of the track, he and the staff were able to keep it lighthearted by reading aloud a stack of gag telegrams poking fun of how the financial issues experienced by the track's parent company Realty Equities impacting the staff and operations at the racetrack.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 17)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 17: The Voracious Animal, Eating Itself Up

Veeck details the financial difficulties of Suffolk Downs's parent company Realty Equities, and connects those financial issues to his short-lived ownership of the racetrack. 

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 16)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 16: Massacre Called Off on Account of Rain

Veeck reflects on his efforts for a marketing slogan for Suffolk Downs ahead of his second year of ownership and highlights a few of the events the track organized to gain more attention: Reenactment of the chariot races from Ben Hur and the cancelation of a reenactment of the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 15)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 15: The Third Wheel

Veeck focuses on the relationship between Suffolk Downs and the media in this chapter, starting with a review of a scandal in 1954 when the Providence Journal wrote an expose on the number of sportswriters in New England who were also double-dipping as PR staffers for the racetracks they were reporting on. 

Throughout the rest of the chapter, he details the nuances that are required to foster meaningful and positive coverage from the media without crossing the line of "pay-for-play" coverage.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 14)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 14: Save Our Dump

Veeck opens this chapter with a summary of the Boston Patriots football team's struggles to find a permanent stadium after utilizing Fenway Park and Boston College's Alumni Field as temporary solutions. 

He then summarizes the rivalry between Harvard and himself, generated when Suffolk Downs hired Harvard's football coach John Yovicsin as a part-time events coordinator. The tit-for-tat included Veeck taking potshots at Harvard, the Harvard band pranking the track owner when they surprisingly accepted an invitation to perform at the track, and Veeck flying taunting messages over Harvard Stadium on opening day of the football season.

Veeck ties together the Boston Patriots's struggles to find a permanent home with his own rivalry with Harvard before writing more seriously in great detail about the plan his management team put together to work with the Boston Patriots to develop a stadium that complemented Suffolk Downs. And according to Veeck the Patriots's owner Billy Sullivan thanked him for the proposal because it allowed him to stave off NFL officials pressuring the team for a stadium proposal, while also giving the owner of the racetrack in Foxborough the idea of combining a track with a football stadium.

And the rest of the story is, as they say, history.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 13)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 13: Into the Minefield

Veeck once again provides a blow-by-blow recap of negotiations of race dates among the various dog tracks, harness tracks, and Thoroughbred tracks in New England.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 12: Horses and People

Veeck details the logistics of horse manure removal at Suffolk Downs before pivoting to profile the president of the New England horsemen's association (Gerry Colella), a couple trainers (Jack Van Berg and Dick DeStasio), a jockey (Charlie Maffeo), and the various types of fans and handicappers who attended races at the track. 

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 11: Fathers and Sons

Veeck writes about his personal and professional relationship with Joel Kozol, a prominent young lawyer in Boston in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 10: It Couldn't Be Done

Veeck picks up where he left off in the previous chapter by providing the background details related to the legal and political process Suffolk Downs management went through to secure the 24 additional racing dates they inherited from their purchase and subsequent closure of Berkshire Downs. 

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 9: Nine Deals + Two Lawsuits = Twenty-Four Dates

Veeck summarizes the elaborate negotiations he participated in to purchase Berkshire Downs in exchange for an additional 24 race days on Suffolk Downs's annual calendar.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 8: The Interlocking Machine

Veeck writes about the rivalries that existed among the eleven dog, harness, and Thoroughbred tracks in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and he profiles the tracks' owners and lobbyists.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 7)

 

 

 

 

 

             

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 7: The Great and Glorious Commonwealth

Veeck continues his reflections on his interactions with Massachusetts politics, specifically the seemingly "pay-to-play" nature of property tax increases and property tax abatements. Veeck also writes about the horse racing industry's rivalry with dog racing in Massachusetts for racing dates and political clout.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 6)

 

 

 

 

             

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 6: An Issue of Insignificance 

Veeck delves into some of the legal and political challenges he faced early on as owner of Suffolk Downs, including a lawsuit he filed against the Massachusetts racing commission over a rule that prohibited anyone under the age of 21 at the track.

Bookshelf: Bookshelf (Chapter 5)

 

 

 

             

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 5: It Was an Artistic Success; We Ain't Running It Any More

Veeck recounts the last running of the Yankee Gold Cup, a 2-mile turf race at Suffolk Downs. The June 1969 edition of the race was the most lucrative race in North America at the time with a purse of $252,750 (or $2.3 million in 2025 dollars), but it didn't have the sizable impact on crowd size or handle Veeck was hoping for due to the scorching heat.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 4)

 

 

             

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 4: But Is It Promotable?

Veeck opens this chapter by breaking down the $7.50 "profit" the track expected to make on every $100 in handle after the 85/15 split with takeout and the 50/50 split of that 15% with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

• $3.49 (purses)
• $2.68 (payroll)
• $1.33 (tote services) 

And then he summarizes the promotions and adjustments management team made to attract fans to the track and make the on-track experience more enjoyable for attendees:

• Speeches to 400 different groups
• Punctual, 27-minute intervals between races
• Potted petunias to the first 5,000 women to attend the races on Mother's Day
• "What's Your Beef?" raffle for customer feedback that included the giveaway of a bull and two calves for the winner, and a McDonald's gift certificate to all who contributed more than 4,000 notes with feedback
• Lucky Chair Days that featured giveaways, including a thousand hot dogs, a thousand buns, and a thousand Cokes
• Joe Fan Handicap race contest that resulted in the no-expense giveaway of a race horse named Buck's Delight to a fan

And finally he closes this chapter with this excerpt:

Is racing promotable, though? I can't approve it by the record, but having spent two years laboring in those vineyards I know absolutely that it is. I don't think it is; I know it is. Call it a basic feel of the mood that had been developing, or call it the gift of prophecy[.]

It's certainly a refreshing perspective from a racetrack owner, since there's very little evidence that it's the belief at most of the tracks our pacers have competed at.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 3)

 

             

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 3: Waiting for Godiva

Veeck recalls how Suffolk Downs opened under his management in the late 1960s at the same time female jockeys were advocating for the ability to be jockeys in parimutuel races, and he explains the context of his Lady Godiva race featuring eight fillies and eight female jockeys on the opening day card on April 19, 1969.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 2)

            

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 2: Dream and I'll Dream with You

Veeck reflects on his first visit to Suffolk Downs in November 1968 (he thought the "joint looked like a factory...a dirty, dingy factory") and recounts the time and resources that went into preparing the newly-purchased track for opening day in April 1969.

According to Veeck, the renovation budget was $1 million (or about $9.1 million in 2025 dollars), including $80,000 (or $728,000) for turf course reconditioning and $250,000 (or $2.5 million) for bathroom renovations.

Veeck's goals for opening day had been 30,000 attendees with $2.5 million (or $22.7 million) in handle, but settled for "only" 18,940 with a $1.4 million (or $12.7 million) handle.

Bookshelf: Thirty Tons a Day (Chapter 1)

           

Thirty Tons a Day: The Rough-Riding Education of a Neophyte Racetrack Operator (Bill Veeck and Ed Linn)

Chapter 1: Dr. Frankenstein, I Presume

Veeck and Linn open the book with the backstory behind Veeck's sale of the Chicago White Sox in 1961 due to health issues, his failed attempt to buy the Washington Senators in the late 1960s, and his purchase of the racetrack Suffolk Downs in 1968.

Key allies mentioned in the chapter are Nate Dolin and Louie Jacobs, a former owner of the Cleveland Indians and a serial sports entrepreneur respectively.