On May 4, 1968, Dancer's Image crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs to win the 94th Kentucky Derby. Yet the jubilation ended three days later for the owner, the jockey and the trainers who propelled the celebrated thoroughbred to victory. Amid a firestorm of controversy, Dancer's Image was disqualified after blood tests revealed the presence of a widely used anti-inflammatory drug with a dubious legal status. Over forty years later, questions still linger over the origins of the substance and the turmoil it created. Veteran turfwriter and noted equine law expert Milt Toby gives the first in-depth look at the only disqualification in Derby history and how the Run for the Roses was changed forever.

In the late eighteenth century, in the bustling city streets of Louisville, began a tradition of thoroughbred racing that has transcended centuries. Follow Kimberly Gatto as she chronicles the history of the world's most famous racing venue, which revolutionized the "Sport of Kings" and created the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap races. Fans will enjoy the tales of various horses, from the early triumph of Ten Broeck over Mollie McCarthy to the Derby victory of the heroic Barbaro. Churchill Downs: America's Most Historic Racetrack recounts how various financial hardships, the introduction of parimutuel wagering, the construction of the famed twin spires and the age of television transformed Churchill Downs into the majestic track we recognize today.

It was a cold and foggy February night in 1983 when a group of armed thieves crept onto Ballymany Stud, near The Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland, to steal Shergar, one of the Thoroughbred industry's most renowned stallions. Bred and raced by the Aga Khan IV and trained in England by Sir Michael Stoute, Shergar achieved international prominence in 1981 when he won the 202nd Epsom Derby by ten lengths -- the longest winning margin in the race's history. The thieves demanded a hefty ransom for the safe return of one of the most valuable Thoroughbreds in the world, but the ransom was never paid and Shergar's remains have never been found. In Taking Shergar: Thoroughbred Racing's Most Famous Cold Case, Milton C. Toby presents an engaging narrative that is as thrilling as any mystery novel. The book provides new analysis of the body of evidence related to the stallion's disappearance, delves into the conspiracy theories that surround the inconclusive investigation, and presents a profile of the man who might be the last person able to help solve part of the mystery. Toby examines the extensive cast of suspects and their alleged motives, including the Irish Republican Army and their need for new weapons, a French bloodstock agent who died in Central Kentucky, and even the Libyan dictator, Muammar al-Qadhafi. This riveting account of the most notorious unsolved crime in the history of horse racing will captivate serious racing fans and aficionados as well as entertain a new generation of horse racing enthusiasts.

Jockeys perform the most perilous job in sports yet are among the most underrated athletes in the world. They put their lives on the line every time they get on a horse, often riding seven or eight horses a day, five days a week. Most must diet to keep their weight at levels lower than the average twelve-year-old boy, yet they need immense strength to control thousand-pound Thoroughbreds. A select group of riders has risen to the top of their sport, sought after by racing's leading owners and trainers and paired with the sport's greatest equine stars. In Ride of Their Lives, Lenny Shulman profiles riders whose love of racing and desire to win have propelled them to the top echelon their profession. Pat Day, Gary Stephens, Jerry Bailey, Corey Nakatani, and Laffit Pincay, Jr. are among the jockeys who share their stories of how they became race riders and what it is like to deal with the pressures of riding fragile, willful racehorses at top speeds day in and day out. They also tell what it is like to win the Kentucky Derby and just miss capturing the Triple Crown. In this updated edition, Shulman profiles Kendrick Carmouche, who had five straight seasons with more than 200 victories and in 2021 became the first Black jockey to compete in the Kentucky Derby in seven years.

Great Horse Racing Mysteries digs beneath the surface of some of the sport's most intriguing cases, including the death by poisoning of the great Australian champion Phar Lap; the shooting of William Woodward by his wife Ann, owners of the great horse Nashua; the disqualification of 1960 Derby winner Dancer's Image (was he drugged?); the theft and disappearance in 1983 of Shergar, Europe's best-known racehorse and stallion; and the scandalous financial collapse of Calumet Farm after the death by euthanasia of Alydar, one of the world's most successful sires.John McEvoy researched several unsolved mysteries of the racing world- murder...suicide...arson...fraud-and recounts some of horse racing's strangest, most fascinating tales. In this updated edition, veteran turf writer Lenny Shulman adds to the intrigue by exploring the mysterious death of the troubled jockey Chris Antley, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness aboard Charismatic, and Big Brown's stunning collapse in the Belmont after cruising to winsin the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Man o' War didn't compete in the1920 Kentucky Derby because owner Sam Riddle thought the distance was too long for a young three-year-old. But nearly two decades later, Riddle had a change of heart. In 1937, he agreed to run War Admiral, a son of the great Man o' War, at Churchill Downs. War Admiral went on to sweep the Triple Crown and established himself as Man o' War's best racing son. Veteran racing historian Edward L. Bowen, biographer of Man o' War, chronicles the exploits of War Admiral, including the colt's historic battle with the great Seabiscuit and War Admiral's success at stud.