After he sold his controlling interest in the Chicago White Sox in 1961, Bill Veeck never stopped itching to "get involved again with people." In his best-selling 1962 autobiography VeeckAs in Wreck, he vowed: "Look for me under the arc lights, boys, I'll be back." Now, thumping the promotional drums as loudly as ever, the old Barnum of baseball has returnedbut not to baseball. He is the new president and part owner of East Boston's Suffolk Downs race track.
Though a rank novice at horse racing, Veeck, 55, is already shaking up the Establishment. Astonished that the average age of...