"...'Rockingham Park, 1933-1969,' a perfectly wonderful book by Paul
Peter Jesep that tells how Lou and Lutza (Smith) started out their years
together, how they couldn't have children and how deep that cut, and how
they devoted their lives thereafter to the under-privileged and, in some
instances, to the unwanted -- all the while building and running the famed
racetrack...Jesep has created a book that deserves to be on every bookshelf
in New Hampshire..."
--Bob Hilliard, retired sports editor, N.H. Sunday News and Union Leader,
Nov. 15. 1998
_______________
Rockingham Park..."It was a glamorous place that drew stars and sports
legends to its halls. It was the gathering point for many of New Hampshire's
movers and shakers. It was an economic powerhouse that one year paid for
nearly half the state's budget and once boasted 10 percent of the (N.H.)
legislature on its payroll...
"...Horse racing enthusiasts will find their share of detail...'The
Rock' saw four records shattered on opening day, and later drew such world
class horses as Seabiscuit and Man 'O War...
"'...Anybody who was anybody in the racing world would come there because
it really wasn't about gambling, it was about the sport of racing,'"
Jesep said.
-- Liz Anderson, Lawence Eagle-Tribute, Feb. 18, 1999
_______________
"...The book touches upon many of New Hampshire's trying times, from
the Great Depression and World War II, to the great track war started by
Suffolk Downs and the Rock's eventual decline in political stature...
"...(Lou) Smith was so savvy that he was able to deter efforts to make
gambling illegal; he was vigilant in smoothing over relationships with various
organizations who attacked gambling and the Rock. His saving grace, in effect
saving gambling and preserving the Rock, was his endless charity..."
-- Dan Tuohy, Foster's Sunday Citizen, Nov. 15, 1998
_______________
"...oh what a whirl, financially and socially, was the Rock. Here were
the Smiths with Judy Garland, Jack Dempsey, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Mickey Rooney..."
-- Royal Ford, Boston Sunday Globe, Nov. 29, 1998
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