" On the first Saturday in May every year in Louisville, Kentucky, shortly after 5:30 PM, a new horse attains racing immortality. The Kentucky Derby is like no other race, and its winners are the finest horses in the world. Covered in rich red roses, surrounded by flashing cameras and admiring crowds, these instant celebrities bear names like Citation, Secretariat, Spectacular Bid, and Seattle Slew. They're worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But in 1992, a funny thing happened on the way to the roses. The rattling roar of 130,000 voices tailed off into a high, hollow shriek as the horses crossed the finish line. Lil E. Tee? ABC broadcasters knew nothing about him, but they weren't alone. Who knew about Lil E. Tee? A blacksmith in Ocala, Florida, a veterinary surgeon in Ringoes, New Jersey, a trainer a Calder Race Course, and a few other people used to dealing with average horses knew this horse -- and realized what a long shot Lil E. Tee really was. On a Pennsylvania farm that raised mostly trotting horses, a colt with a dime-store pedigree was born in 1989. His odd gait and tendency to bellow for his mother earned him the nickname "E.T." Suffering from an immune deficiency and a bad case of colic, he survived surgery that usually ends a horse's racing career. Bloodstock agents dismissed him because of his mediocre breeding, and once he was sold for only $3,000. He'd live in five barns in seven states by the time he turned two. Somehow, this horse became one of the biggest underdogs to appear on the American sporting landscape. Lil E. Tee overcame his bleak beginnings to reach the respected hands of trainer Lynn Whiting, jockey Pat Day, and owner Cal Partee. After winning the Jim Beam stakes and finishing second in the Arkansas Derby, Lil E. Tee arrived at Churchill Downs to face a field of seventeen horses, including the highly acclaimed favorite, Arazi, a horse many people forecast to become the next Secretariat. A 17-to-1 longshot, Lil E. Tee won the Derby with a classic rally down the home stretch, and finally Pat Day had jockeyed a horse to Derby victory. John Eisenberg draws on more than fifteen years of sports writing experience and a hundred interviews throughout Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Florida, and Arkansas to tell the story almost nobody knew in 1992. Eisenberg is a sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun and has won more than twenty awards for his sports writing, including several Associated Press sports editors' first places."

Winx joins Phar Lap and Bradman in the history books: a national sporting idol and the world's best racehorse.Australia's world champion racehorse Winx has become a sporting giant, transcending racing in the same way that Muhammad Ali transcends boxing and Bradman transcends cricket. She is described by her trainer, Chris Waller, as a supreme athlete--a world-class sprinter with a freakish ability to dominate longer distances "like Usain Bolt running in 1500-metre races." She is the Phar Lap of the modern age, and one of the greatest racehorses in 300 years of thoroughbred racing. In Winx: The Authorised Biography, Andrew Rule, her owners, her breeder, her trainer and her rider tell the real stories behind the world's greatest racehorse.

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO OWNING, MAINTAINING, AND ENJOYING HORSES.

The Whole Horse Catalog, the definitive horse guide, is now completely revised and updated to include everything from advances in nutritional thinking to sources on the World Wide Web. With hundreds of illustrations and a detailed, easy-to-understand text, this new edition of The Whole Horse Catalog is the one-stop book for all your equestrian needs.

• Where to look for a horse
• How to select a horse
• How to choose stable construction and furnishings
• Horse health care, feeding, and grooming
• Tack: from bits, bridles, and saddles to halters and harnesses
• Apparel and new equipment advances for riders
• Equestrian sports for participants and spectators alike, including ideas for "holidays on horseback"
• Equestrian magazines, organizations, and Web locations

Filled with advice and contacts, The Whole Horse Catalog is a complete resource guide for the novice and experienced equestrian alike.

Built in 1864 as the nation's first horse racing facility, Saratoga (New York) racecourse is one of the sport's hallowed sites. This text details the development and social history of Saratoga the resort, historically a magnet for the wealthy and famous.

A day at the races, with its colorful variety and fast-paced action, appeals to people from all walks of life. Not surprisingly, the idea of going home with a few more dollars than when one arrived is part of horseracing's charm. In this entertaining but substantive volume, two distinguished economists, who happen to be horseracing buffs, outline a tested strategy for placing bets that will increase the reader's chances of a happy outcome at the track.

The authors are the first to point out that getting rich at the racetrack is unlikely. They do maintain, however, that with attention to their systematic approach, the racing fan can achieve the best possible chance at winning. In the process, the reader learns some of the most important measurement techniques in the social sciences, as well as the basic methods of market analysis.

Opening with Vince Lombardi's last win as coach of the Packers in Super Bowl II and closing with Joe Namath's Super Bowl III guarantee, James Nicholson delivers an original portrait of a sensational closing decade in American culture. Controversies on the field and in the ring reflected broader political and social turmoil in the late-sixties United States. With one of the most contentious presidential elections in US history, the ongoing civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War all storming in the background, Nicholson charts a course through the oddly unsettled waters of American sports in 1968: the Masters golf tournament decided by the strict enforcement of an arcane rule to the detriment of a foreign player; the winner of the Kentucky Derby disqualified for a drug violation; Muhammad Ali waiting in sports exile while he appealed a criminal conviction for draft evasion; an unorthodox rendition of the national anthem at the World Series nearly overshadowing the game it preceded; and the silent gesture at the Mexico City Olympics made by Tommie Smith and John Carlos that shocked the nation

'Poignant and compelling, an equine Bridget Jones.' Racing Post Being a stable lass is probably one of the hardest jobs in the country, and yet for Gemma Hogg it is the most rewarding. She works in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Middleham and if her colleagues are occasionally challenging, then the horses are downright astonishing. Now, in Stable Lass, she takes us into the closed world of a top racing yard, from the elation of having several winners in one day to the almost indescribable grief of losing a horse. Like most stable lads and lasses, Gemma arrived in her yard as a teenager fresh out of racing college and had to cope with living away from home for the first time, as well as adapting to the brutal long hours, backbreaking work and often treacherous weather. She describes falling in love with Polo Venture, the first racehorse in her care, the pure exhilaration of riding him on Middleham Gallops for the first time and what happens when a horse takes against you, from the growling gelding Valiant Warrior to the potentially lethal Broadway Boy. She brings to life the characters around the yard, from straight-talking boss Micky Hammond to the jockeys starving themselves to make weight, the wealthy owners and the other stable lads and lasses who come from a range of different places and backgrounds. Stable Lass by Gemma Hogg is a unique look into the world of horse racing filled with heart-warming stories and amazing thoroughbreds - some loveable, some cantankerous, all impressive.

Robin Oakley brings alive the colourful world of those who ride and train jumping horses. With elegant production and gripping images The History of Jump Racing chronicles the social and economic changes which have brought the sport's ups and downs-like the development of sponsorships and syndicate ownership, the near loss of the Grand National, the growing domination of the Cheltenham Festival and the growth of all-weather racing to meet the bookies' demands for betting shop fodder. Pace and colour is provided by stories of the horses who have been taken to the heart of racing crowds, like the Irish-trained hurdler Istabraq and Best Mate, the three-times winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup for England. Famous rivalries and memorable races are re-lived and key victories revisited in portraits of and interviews with the owners, jockeys and trainers who have dominated the sport. The emphasis will be largely on the past fifty years-from Arkle to Tony McCoy-but a significant introduction by Edward Gillespie encapsulates the past history of what was previously known as 'National Hunt Racing' and sets the stories in context.

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

A quirky collection of true stories from the stranger side of horse racing, featuring horse-swapping skulduggery, battling jockeys and a horse that may or may not have beaten a train. Extraordinary but true stories from over 150 years of racing. This hilarious, sideways look at horse racing vividly recounts many of the strangest moments and oddest incidents from over 150 years of the sport's history. Andrew Ward recalls the time when spectators mounted two fallen horses and rode them to second and third places; the race which had to be re-run because the judge wasn't in his box at the finish; the ultrasonic binoculars that allegedly stunned a horse and unseated a jockey at Ascot, and many more. A totally original, offbeat collection of extraordinary but true stories, Horse-Racing's Strangest Races will be a delight to all lovers of the turf. Word count: 60,000

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.

Dr Tony Ryan Award finalist, 2019 'A wonderfully insightful, detailed and emotional biography of the legendary trainer's later years' Racing Post '[Cecil's] is a remarkable story and it has now been told with compassion, love, honesty and wonderful insight by Tony Rushmer' David Walsh, Sunday Times With a foreword by John Gosden When Henry Cecil sent out just 12 winners in 2005 it seemed as if the 10-time champion racehorse trainer's career was in terminal decline. The masterly touch that he'd shown through the glory-days of the two previous decades appeared to have deserted him after a series of painful professional and personal blows, including the death of his twin brother David. When Cecil was diagnosed with cancer in June 2006, it would have been enough to break many a man. But behind the scenes, the master of Warren Place in Newmarket was determined not to be labelled - in his words - a 'has-been'. Showing an iron resolve to fight for his professional reputation as well as his life, Cecil staged one of the great sporting comebacks. It was a story that captured the imagination of the racing public and beyond, peaking with his supreme handling of the unbeaten champion Frankel. Cecil's astonishing revival was witnessed in close-up by Tony Rushmer. The sports journalist became a trusted stable insider after being engaged in spring 2006 to help with the trainer's website and PR. He would remain part of the team right up until Cecil died in June 2013. Rushmer's unique access over seven years - in which he saw Cecil at the best and worst of times - allows him to provide a fresh perspective on an incredible part of the trainer's career. He is helped by many of those who were closest to the story, having interviewed numerous people during his extensive research. Containing fascinating detail and a wealth of new material, The Triumph of Henry Cecil shows how Cecil emerged from his slump, displayed relentless strength in the face of a cruel disease and trained the magnificent Frankel - as brilliant a racehorse as the sport has ever known.

Autobiography of champion jockey and much-loved sports personality Ruby Walsh. A much-loved sports personality throughout Ireland and Great Britain, Ruby has had a career of outstanding success, which includes having won all four of the home Grand Nationals. This new edition brings his story right up-to-date to include all of the races over the busy Christmas period as well as last year's astonishing triumph against the odds. With many doubting that he could be race-fit following a broken leg in November 2010, Ruby competed at Cheltenham Festival in March 2011 and won five races, finishing as the leading jockey. Ruby also talks openly about the three key working relationships in his life - with Paul Nicholls, Willie Mullins and his father, the legendary Ted Walsh - as well as laying bare the relationship that exists between him and jockey Tony McCoy - both great friends and professional rivals. With his intimate knowledge of the two greatest horses of our time, he also provides valuable insight into what it is like to ride Kauto Star and Denman. Ruby charts the rise of an immensely talented and unstoppable force in the world of sport.