Barry Meadow – Professional Gambler & Award-Winning Author

Barry Meadow is certainly what I would call a jack of all
trades, especially when it comes to gambling. Not only is he an
amazing horse race bettor and blackjack player, but he also is
an established author who writes books that mostly pertain to
gambling.

Meadow has actually published dozens of books based on his
gambling experiences, many of which he has been awarded for
thanks to the special insight and phenomenal advice that his
books often offer. Meadow has more than thirty years of
experience as a professional gambler and he’s still making money
through gambling to this day.

Life as a Professional Gambler

Little is known about Meadow’s past, other than the fact that
he served in the Vietnam War and upon returning, he started
gambling professionally in Las Alamitos, California. He found
the most success betting at the harness races, because they were
his specialty. Meadow actually dedicated five years of his life
to learning about harness racing by travelling across Nevada to
view a myriad of harness races.

After he got out of the Navy, he worked as a harness handicapper for Armstrong Daily and then editor of American Turf Monthly.
Later he taught tennis for six years in New York before moving to California and working as a television writer.
In the 1980’s, Meadow began going to the harness races at Hollywood Park and Los Alamitos,
where he began full-time gambling. After five years at the harness races,
he switched to the thoroughbreds; it was at the thoroughbreds that he twice hit the pick 6 for more
than $100,000 each (not slots). He continued to play the thoroughbreds daily until he retired in 2011.
During this time he frequently visited Nevada to play blackjack for an additional income stream,
and also played online casinos for the excellent bonuses they used to offer.

In his spare time Meadow would spend his weekends playing
cash games at the nearby casinos and trying out all the new
games they had to offer. Meadow had extraordinary luck when it
came to playing slots too, as he went on to hit the one hundred
thousand dollar jackpot, not once but twice during his five year
long adventure.

Meadow, the Author

Meadow now had the funds to open up his own business called,
TR Publishing, which published, The Trot Report, a small weekly
sheet that focused on harness racing. Meadow also intended
to use this company to publish the books he was in the process
of writing.

He published his first book in 1967 titled, Success at the Harness Races.
In 1987, he wrote, “Professional Harness Betting,” which is
often considered one of Barry Meadow’s finest works and it’s the
first time he actually gives details about his experiences
during the five year period of his life where all he did was
watch harness races and gamble. He wrote this book in the form
of a journal where he recounts his daily experiences and gives
advice to his readers so that they may learn from his past
mistakes.

The following year, Meadow published, “Money Secrets at the
Racetrack,” which focuses on having good money management while
horserace betting and gives his readers a deeper look into the
odds and overlays that one must understand to become a
successful bettor.

In 1994, Meadow wrote a book called “Secrets of Pick 6,” a
simple but beneficial guide to accomplishing the big payout
bets. Another handy booklet Meadow wrote was called, “Player’s
Guide to Nevada Racebooks,” nearly five years after.

In 1999 he published “Players Guide to Nevada
Racebooks”. Prior to that, Meadow had visited every
single racetrack in the state so that he could compile an
all-inclusive guide for visitors that covered everything from
house rules to where to sign up for free daily racing forms and
everything in between.

On top of writing all of these books, between 1996 and 2003,
Meadow wrote a magazine known as, “Meadow’s Racing Monthly.”
Many of his detailed articles in the magazine covered
handicapping, statistics on various horses, money management,
betting tips, and plenty of more valuable information for
gambling enthusiasts.

Meadow received the inaugural Rippey Award for Handicapping
Media for writing the article, Statistics and Garbage, which
appeared in the. “Horseplayers Association of North America,”
newsletter. Meadow presented this award along with a $1,000 cash
prize at the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters dinner in
the fall of 2014.

After receiving the award, Meadow said,

“My goal in the
article was to help handicappers think about the statistics they
consider every day and encourage them to ask the right
questions.”

It was always evident in Meadow’s work that he truly
cared about his readers and how his words would affect them.

Meadow currently writes a monthly column for American Turf
Monthly called, “The Skeptical Handicapper,” which is also the
title of a new book he’s in the process of writing. His love of
writing has only grown in his ladder years and he has no
intentions to stop writing anytime soon.

A More Recent Love for Blackjack

At the turn of the century, Meadow started developing an
interest in blackjack. It was around this time that Meadow
decided to take a break from his regular routine to go on a two
month long trip where he made an effort to visit every single
casino in Nevada. He tried a series of different popular casinos
games and slots, but blackjack definitely became his favorite on
that trip.

More recently, Meadow was invited to join the annual,
“Ultimate Blackjack Tour” where many famous players compete and
play blackjack on live TV. He was also encouraged to perform an
interview for the documentary film, “Players: Blue Collar
Gambler,” as even as he approaches retirement, Meadow still has
many followers that respect his advice to this day.