Fully updated with a new chapter on A.P.'s knighthood, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement award and his new role as a TV pundit When Tony 'A.P.' McCoy announced his retirement from racing, the shockwaves reverberated across the world of sport. With more than 4,300 winners to his name, McCoy seemed to be at the peak of his powers when he suddenly brought down the curtain on an extraordinary career. But then A.P. McCoy has always done things his way. In Winner: My Racing Life, AP reflects upon his unparalleled career, taking the reader from his humble beginnings in County Antrim to the emotional day at Sandown when horse racing bade a tearful farewell to arguably its greatest ever star. McCoy relates in forensic detail the process that led to his decision to retire, recalls some of his greatest rides, lifts the lid on his family life and looks ahead to a future no longer driven by the constant pursuit of victory. The result is a remarkable insight into the private and public life of a true winner.

Every year the Grand National produces very different stories from jockeys and horses alike; uplifting scenes from a victor and heartbreak when a mere inch divides the loser from the winner at the end of nearly four-and-a-half miles and thirty challenging fences. In 1839 the first winner was aptly named Lottery. Back then, huge crowds rode to Aintree by horseback, in carriages, carts or on foot. Today the Grand National is probably the world's most famous horse race, with a global television audience of some 600 million in 140 countries. This richly informed book focuses on the race's various record-breakers, rather than being a purely chronological history of this greatest of all steeplechases. Many records have stood the test of time: in 2019, Tiger Roll's second consecutive victory was the first time that the feat had been achieved since Red Rum in 1973-74. Anne Holland's authoritative history celebrates one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles. 'A well-organised and cheerily anecdotal volume' Spectator

History was made at the Belmont Stakes in Summer 2015 when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown title, the first racehorse to achieve the momentous feat since Affirmed in 1978. Pharoah was the crowd favorite, as spectators had anxiously anticipated the American Thoroughbred's victory, already a proven winner at the year's earlier Kentucky Derby and Preakness races. By all appearances, American Pharoah has led a successful career, unmarred by any controversy as he was the undisputed champion-only twelve horses total in American history have won the Triple Crown. Unfortunately however, his training team has not fared nearly as well. With accusations ranging from sour business transactions to poor gambling practices to active litigation with bankruptcy courts and other legal cases pending, his owner Ahmed Zayat has many rooting against him. The flamboyant Egyptian-American businessman has been leading a double-life that has threatened to overwhelm his small empire. Victor Espinoza, the famed racehorse's relentless jockey, left rural Mexico only to face harsh conditions on a farm where he had to overcome his fear of horses before learning that he had a gift for race riding. Finally, Bob Baffert, American Pharoah's trainer, has an interesting arc that includes tremendous wins, personal losses, and controversial medication violations. Beginning with American Pharoah's modest showing at his first maiden race in 2014, Joe Drape will recount the winning thoroughbred's explosive racing career by weaving in details of Zayat's questionable business practices, Espinoza's heartbreaking loss with California Chrome last year, and Baffert's temperamental, unreliable track record. By interviewing many of the parties involved, Drape will explore the claims of corruption, illegal gambling, and secretive business practices that have been prevalent throughout, all that have ultimately contributed to the makings of this award-winning racehorse.

This collection of poems captures the life and brilliance of one of racings biggest legends. In a lyrical style that brings the tale of Secretariat to life, Lifshin highlights the beauty and wonder of the foal's early days from birth to the track. As always, Lifshin focuses on Secretariat's life before the track, outlining the playfully perfect foal who found his way into the hearts of many. Full of emotion and beauty, this collection outlines the life and death of one of the tracks biggest racing legends. from "As The Days Get Longer" the horse dreams of flying in the air like a gust of wind on an abandoned Christmas tree, red exploding like a spurt of light, flaming wildly like those boughs of northern lights out of darkness