Can You Beat the Bookies?

Nigel Rhodes plays a boy who, while riding his wooden rocking horse, can predict which horse will win at the race.

Katlin is a high school student whose obsession with gambling leads to her accumulating a mountain of debt. Her habit also causes a high degree of family tension.

The desert city of Las Vegas embodies the American Dream in its most extreme form. Turbo-capitalism and gigantic shows are a magnet for gamblers and adventurers. Since its founding, Las Vegas has developed into a global entertainment center, attracting millions of people and generating billions of dollars in revenue. From a dusty backwater, it has become a glittering gambling metropolis.

Raised on horseback in Blackfoot Territory and coached by her father, Logan Red Crow fights to become the first woman to ride the Indian Relay at the Calgary Stampede, a breathtaking, bone-breaking sport where riders vault from horse to horse at full gallop.

A gambler is smuggled into a billionaire's house to undertake a gambling duel.

“The NFL Today” on CBS was one of the preeminent sports programs on television in the early 1980s. It was a perfect combination of reporting, analysis, predictions, humor and talent. But there was no personality on the show more popular than Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder. Born in Steubenville, Ohio, to Greek immigrants, Jimmy overcame childhood tragedy, moved to Las Vegas, and eventually became the biggest name in the world of sports handicapping. When CBS added him as an “analyst” on “The NFL Today,” “The Greek” not only further increased his stature as a sort of national folk hero, but he also gained an air of respectability never before associated with gamblers. Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Fritz Mitchell, who broke in as an intern on “The NFL Today,” will examine Snyder’s impact on the growth of sports gambling, while also taking a fresh look at The Greek’s tragic downfall.

Transmitted as part of BBC Schools series Scene, 8 March 1973. Actor improvisations around the theme of gambling devised by Mike Leigh.

Luttes intimes

Alexis Conran explores gambling addiction, an affliction that ruined his estranged father, and seeks to understand how and why this compulsion destroys people's lives. A documentary where Alexis Conran of The Real Hustle explores the effects of gambling addiction on his life, and the lives of others. Gambling addiction ruined his father's life, so the documentary seeks to find why gambling addiction is powerful enough to destroy someone's life.

The world of gambling - from the fascination and personal fates to the dark sides such as addiction and illegal online offers. Those affected, experts and gamblers have their say and show how close thrills and the abyss are.

The high tech world of cheaters and catching them in the world of the Las Vegas casinos.

He was boxy, with stumpy legs that wouldn't completely straighten a short straggly tail and an ungainly gait; though he didn't look the part, Seabiscuit was one of the most remarkable thoroughbred racehorses in history. In the 1930s, when Americans longed to escape the grim realities of Depression-era life, four men turned Seabiscuit into a national hero. They were his fabulously wealthy owner Charles Howard, his famously silent and stubborn trainer Tom Smith and the two hard-bitten, gifted jockeys who rode him to glory. By following the paths that brought these four together and in telling the story of Seabiscuit's unlikely career, this film illuminates the precarious economic conditions that defined America in the 1930s and explores the fascinating behind-the-scenes world of thoroughbred racing. Scott Glenn narrates.

A woman travels to an island paradise when her daughter, Kayla, goes missing during a spring break trip with friends. As she tries to deal with the kidnappers' demands, she soon learns that Kayla may have been betrayed by those closest to her.

This short follows the life of a harness racehorse named "Spunky" from foal, through training, to the finish of his first race at Yonkers Raceway.

After living in Australia for the past decade, Fitz and Judith return to Manchester in 2004 for their daughter Katie's wedding. Drinking too much at the reception, Fitz stumbles through a rambling toast, which only embarrasses the bride. Instead of spending time with his grandson, son of his married son Mark, Fitz opts to join in the investigation of a serial killer who has an apparent dislike of Americans in the wake of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq.

Focusing on the sport of chuckwagon racing at the Calgary Stampede, captured through a mix of aerial, POV, and ringside footage, the film is ahead of its time in the way it captures adrenaline-pumping action. This short documentary offers a ringside view of the chuckwagon race, star attraction of the world-famous Calgary Stampede. Once ponderous Percheron and Clydesdale draught thundered around the course. Now they are racers, and it takes a firm hand to guide such horsepower.

Lucky Number addresses the world of compulsive gamblers. Topics include who these individuals are, what drives them to gamble, the consequences of compulsive gambling, and treatments available to them. Interviews with gamblers, various experts (such as professors), and major individuals (such as Pete Rose and Brian Maloney) are also present.

Handsome silver spoon Texan Trevor Forrest can't always control his tendencies to flirt and gamble, even on honeymoon cruise to Tahiti with Lindsey Ross Forrest, which may compromise their business ambitions. The ship captain asks FBI agent Gwen Merced, on cruise, to investigate discretely when Trevor goes missing, probably fallen or pushed overboard as blood traces are found. It's unclear whether the Hungarian business trio Luka, Max and Ben are innocent flirtatious gamblers like Trevor or criminals, but others have hidden agendas too.

Former footballer Paul Merson sets out to understand why his life has been so blighted by gambling and asks if enough is being done to prevent others following in his footsteps.

What do Bingo and Sponge Bob have in common? Dusan, an eight year old boy trapped in limbo between two polar opposite worlds, spends his time amongst gambling adults in a casino while his imagination is captivated by children's television series. When does one grow up? Let's play and find out!