A Fine Place to Daydream: Racehorses, Romance, and the Irish Book

Twenty-five years after Laughing in the Hills, his racetrack classic, Bill Barich tells the story of how he fell in love and found a new life in Dublin, where he was soon caught up in the Irish obsession with horses and luck. Barich travels his adopted country and meets the leading trainers and jockeys; the beleaguered bookies who work rain or shine; and a host of passionate, like-minded fans—from Father Sean Breen, the “Racing Priest,” to T. P. Reilly, whose peculiar betting system turns on a horse’s looks.

Witty, philosophical, and vividly written, A Fine Place to Daydream is a paean to the real Ireland, a moving tale of a surprise romance, and a thrilling account of a hugely exciting season at the track.

The New York Times - William Grimes

As Mr. Barich has shown time and again in The New Yorker, where he has been a regular contributor for years, his choice of subject is almost irrelevant. An easy, fluid stylist, he writes entertainingly about anything, but in Irish racing he has grabbed on to a good thing. The sport has color and thrills aplenty. As Mr. Barich quickly comes to realize, there is nothing quite like the spectacle of 15 horses leaping over hedges and fences on a three-mile run for glory.