Fix Six

"For a good summer read on the track's quiet day, Noel Michaels' FIX SIX is just the winning ticket. It's light and breezy like a frisky colt in a field. Four 'Jersey boys' have a reunion with the aim of fixing a pick six ticket for a big score. Sort of like Janet Evanovich's Jersey Girl, Stephanie Bloom, things don't go quite right for the guys - must be something in the Jersey water. Each one brings a particular talent to the task. Jimmy is the scam artist, the one who dreams up the plan. Austin is the racetrack tout with the betting knowledge, Larry Lipwinkle (who might as well be called Larry the Loser) is the computer geek, the one who can hack into the pari-mutuel system. Tony is the moneyman who provides the start-up cash for the scam. Tony is also a sleazebag who frequents strip clubs, particularly one called the Love Tunnel. (Tony gets his comeuppance when he is beaten up by a gang of enraged strippers. Stiletto heels should be registered as lethal weapons). Throw in a dogged cop names Bragg, a mad veterinarian, two black bikers and a dominatrix mother - who bakes cookies - and you have enough insane characters to fill an asylum. Oh, and add four fired Latino jockeys to the nut mix. Michaels is an equal opportunity offender. The only sympathetic character in the book is Austin's long-suffering girlfriend Alana, who mistrusts the Jersey boys but understand's Austin's need to remain part of 'the old gang.' And even Alana can't resist the lure of the quick buck. What few vulgarisms are uttered by these characters only adds to the authenticity of the racetrack scene, which the author knows well. Michaels has written books on the topic as well as columns for the Daily Racing Form. FIX SIX was inspired by a real life attempt to fix the pick six through computer fraud. One can only hope those perpetrators weren't quite as hapless as Michaels' characters, who elevate the word 'incompetence' to new heights. In fact, the real life scammers were caught in the act. At least one of the Jersey characters makes out like a bandit. A review from Saratoga Summer 2008, Marilyn Rothstein