September 16, 2003 For more information: Frank R. Scatoni 619-807-1887 frank@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Venture Literary Sells Saratoga History Narrative to Eclipse Press On September 16, 2003, Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary sold the world rights to Saratoga by Jon Bartels to Jackie Duke at Eclipse Press. In Saratoga: Emerging America’s House of Dreams, journalist Jon Bartels will offer readers an in-depth look at the early times and some of the larger-than-life characters that made Saratoga the "Monte Carlo of America" in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It contains all the necessary ingredients for a great story—success, failure, scandals, ostentatious displays of wealth, and insidious deceit, all set against a backdrop of gambling in casinos and at the racetrack. Saratoga came into its own in 1870 when Irish immigrant John Morrissey, fighter/gambler/Tammany Hall crony, formed the Club House at Saratoga, so that the horses could race and the gamblers could spend millions of dollars betting on them. That brought the crowds out in droves, and the curious mix of social classes collided during racing season when the aristocracy of New York mingled with the masses in what soon became Saratoga’s great appeal: the chance to strike it rich. Then along came Richard Canfield, a visionary who saw Saratoga as a destination resort and who set up Canfield’s Casino in 1894, offering all types of games for anyone who wanted to play. With Canfield’s success came the hardcore gamblers, the greatest of whom was Arnold Rothstein, forever known as the man who fixed the 1919 World Series. Not only did Rothstein gamble away a lot of money, but he also brought friends along to help him spend it—and many of them were celebrities, including actress Fanny Brice, international con artist Nicky Arnstein, film star Marion Davies, actress Peggy Hopkins Joyce, construction magnate "Subway" Sam Rosoff, and gambler Nick "the Greek" Dandalos. With a Runyonesque cast of characters, Saratoga is the definitive book on the early history of a town and a racetrack that has been a haven for New Yorkers for well more than a hundred years. To learn more about Venture Literary, visit www.ventureliterary.com To learn more about Eclipse Press, visit www.eclipsepress.com.