Using a comparative framework advocated by Hughes, I describe and analyze the work activities of professional horse race gamblers. Drawing upon qualitative data, I show that this unresearched occupational grouping is involved in a difficult nondeviant task for which commitment, discipline, and the ability to deal with ambiguity are prerequisites. The bane and sustenance of the occupation is its independent character, as players work with neither an organizational safety net nor bureaucratic regulations. The common dimensions that the professional gamblers share with certain other workers provide insight into occupations that survive outside bureaucratic organizations and suggest refinement of existing occupational categories.
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