The inside story of the crisis within the country's most classic sport--horseracing--and why money is killing thoroughbreds at the top of their game.

Every year, hundreds of horses die on the racetrack. Why?

In this deeply reported and propulsive narrative, CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis shows how two high-profile cases lay bare the ills facing the sport: the abrupt, industry-rocking indictments of top trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, and the untold story of Bob Baffert, the most successful and recognizable horse trainer in modern history, and the allegations he faced after a string of mysterious horse deaths and the high-profile disqualification of his latest Kentucky Derby winner for a failed drug test.

Death of a Racehorse delves deep into the horse racing world, offering intimate access to dozens of top trainers, owners, breeders, veterinarians, lab specialists, and more. The mainstream perception has been that rampant drug use is forcing these horses to run past their natural ability, resulting in heart attacks and broken legs. But this doesn't paint the full picture.

That picture is driven by class tension between the affluent old stables and an ambitious new guard. This upstairs-downstairs drama shows blue-blooded families on a quest to restore horse racing to the good old days that never existed, versus those like Bob Baffert who are still viewed as outsiders--fantastically successful, but coming from less pedigreed backgrounds and experience. The privileged few, determined to save the sport, seem to hold a powerful suspicion that the sport's brash, pioneering working class could not possibly be doing so well on their own.

Lillis shows how the breeding industry prioritizes making millions over breeding a sound, durable horse. A disjointed race schedule, created by racetrack operators that are trying to maximize betting opportunities, makes it impossible to manage a horse's athletic career safely. In this purely capitalistic industry, the brute force of winning and the money that follows has taken the place of a responsible husbandry of the animal that is its beating heart.

Death of a Racehorse is a cutting, on-the-ground investigation into the morally ambiguous behavior at the industry's glamorous center, raising nuanced questions about the relationship between animal and human--and offering a hopeful path forward for one of America's oldest and most treasured sports.

The Horse God Built tells the amazing and heartwarming story of a Secretariat and the man who knew him best.

Most of us know the legend of Secretariat, the tall, handsome chestnut racehorse whose string of honors runs long and rich: the only two-year-old ever to win Horse of the Year, in 1972; winner in 1973 of the Triple Crown, his times in all three races still unsurpassed; featured on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated; the only horse listed on ESPN's top fifty athletes of the twentieth century (ahead of Mickey Mantle). His final race at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack is a touchstone memory for horse lovers everywhere. Yet while Secretariat will be remembered forever, one man, Eddie Shorty Sweat, who was pivotal to the great horse's success, has been all but forgotten--until now.

In The Horse God Built, bestselling equestrian writer Lawrence Scanlan has written a tribute to an exceptional man that is also a backroads journey to a corner of the racing world rarely visited. As a young black man growing up in South Carolina, Eddie Sweat struggled at several occupations before settling on the job he was born for--groom to North America's finest racehorses. As Secretariat's groom, loyal friend, and protector, Eddie understood the horse far better than anyone else. A wildly generous man who could read a horse with his eyes, he shared in little of the financial success or glamour of Secretariat's wins on the track, but won the heart of Big Red with his soft words and relentless devotion.

In Scanlan's rich narrative, we get a groom's-eye view of the racing world and the vantage of a man who spent every possible moment with the horse he loved, yet who often basked in the horse's glory from the sidelines. More than anything else, The Horse God Built is a moving portrait of the powerful bond between human and horse.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A vivid portrait of America's greatest stallion, the larger-than-life men who raced and bred him, and the dramatic times in which they lived.--Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse

The powerful true story of the champion Thoroughbred racehorse who gained international fame in the tumultuous Civil War-era South, and became the most successful sire in American racing history

WINNER OF THE DR. TONY RYAN BOOK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THOROUGHBRED RACING LITERATURE

The early days of American horse racing were grueling. Four-mile races, run two or three times in succession, were the norm, rewarding horses who brandished the ideal combination of stamina and speed. The stallion Lexington, named after the city in Kentucky where he was born, possessed these winning qualities, which pioneering Americans prized.

Lexington shattered the world speed record for a four-mile race, showing a war-torn nation that the extraordinary was possible even in those perilous times. He would continue his winning career until deteriorating eyesight forced his retirement in 1855. But once his groundbreaking achievements as a racehorse ended, his role as a sire began. Horses from his bloodline won more money than the offspring of any other Thoroughbred--an annual success that led Lexington to be named America's leading sire an unprecedented sixteen times.

Yet with the Civil War raging, Lexington's years at a Kentucky stud farm were far from idyllic. Confederate soldiers ran amok, looting freely and kidnapping horses from the top stables. They soon focused on the prized Lexington and his valuable progeny.

Kim Wickens, a lawyer and dressage rider, became fascinated by this legendary horse when she learned that twelve of Thoroughbred racing's thirteen Triple Crown winners descended from Lexington. Wickens spent years meticulously researching the horse and his legacy--and with Lexington, she presents an absorbing, exciting account that transports readers back to the raucous beginning of American horse racing and introduces them to the stallion at its heart.

Over 100 years after his birth, Man O' War's outstanding accomplishments continue to be unrivaled, by any other race horse. Over the century his legendary racing and breeding career have heralded him as an icon, compared to the Taj Mahal and Napeolan's Tomb. Man O' War was voted by The Blood Horse and Sports Illustrated as the #1 Race Horse of the 20th Century, and one of Sports Illustrated's top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century. During his 30 years of life, he captured the adoration of millions of fans worldwide, and was visited in retirement by over 3 million. Compared to a living flame by the late Joe Palmer, the fiery red chestnut stallion was almost impossible to break to saddle, fighting like a raging tiger. He brought thousands of people back to the race tracks in 1919 and gave America a sports hero to brighten their day after WWI. While the world was loving the legendary Man O' War, he fell in love with his soulmate and groom Will Harbut, who acted as an ambassador for him to the public. This story is an old fashioned great American memoir about the fastest race horse there may ever be, and his inseperable bond with horse whispering Will Harbut, whom referred to the horse as his mostest. Lexingtonians began to wonder whether Will and Man O' War could live without each other. Ann Reilly, fictionally in Will Harbut's voice, tells the story of Man O' War's life in a way which causes readers to fall in love with the spirit and heart of Man O' War and Will Harbut.

In Letters from Country Life, Josh Pons, a third-generation horseman and owner of Country Life Farm, depicts a century of life inside the horse business, written from inside the fences of Maryland's oldest Thoroughbred farm.

This is an equestrian book unlike any other... This is THE book all horses truly want you to read! Within this book you'll find the missing links of the most valuable equestrian information. No matter what your discipline or goal is, reading this book will make all other equestrian books more valuable, as now you can finally fill in the gaps that many books do not cover in detail or at all. This is also the book for all the horses that simply don't do things 'by the book'. Dressage in hand explains it all step by step. This book truly contains the knowledge of what horses want you to know. About the author Josepha Guillaume is an international horse trainer, instructor and author based in Belgium. She comes from a solid classical dressage background, but has been working mostly with injured and traumatized horses for the last 20 years. Josepha has taught in many European countries and South Africa. Many hopeless cases have been successfully rehabbed in her hands the last two decades. The art of keeping horses healthy and happy, or bringing them back to health and happiness, no matter what happened to them, has become her specialty and her life's work. All the knowledge for you to do the same, can be found in this book.

No Matter How Fast You Are, the Past Has a Way of Catching Up

Thoroughbred racing is one of the oldest, richest, and most traditional of sports. In ancient Greece, horse-drawn chariots sped around oblong hippodromes. In North America, racing dates to the mid-1600s on Long Island, only a few miles east of present-day Belmont Park. Today, crowds cheer and scream from the stands as intelligent, athletic equines thunder toward the finish line, but few consider the welfare of the horses once the track lights go dark.

It's at Belmont Park where former bookie Matt Galiano encounters the bewitching Heliacal Star, a horse on the cusp of greatness-if only he weren't at the center of a race-fixing scheme. It's also where Matt meets fledgling trainer Kristine Connelly, whose trust and savvy he needs if he's going to have any chance of escaping the gangsters embroiled in heinous activities at the track-and who are none too pleased to encounter Matt there, years after he's caught skimming from their coffers. As they bond over their love of horses and racing, Matt and Kristine must learn to lean on each other, or they'll lose more than just a wager.

An American champion at heart, The Magnificent Sham achieved an unofficial record for the second-fastest time in the history of the Kentucky Derby. He remains second only to the legendary Secretariat. Ironically, challenging Secretariat for the 1973 Triple Crown abruptly shattered his quest for fame and almost ended his life. This compelling book unfolds that brilliant animal's spellbinding story-the story of a courageous underdog born in the wrong place in time.

Timothy Capps tells the riveting story of Secretariat from the champion's birth at Meadow Stable in Virginia and his tutelage under renowned trainer Lucien Laurin, to his great victories with jockey Ron Turcotte and his life after the racetrack.

In The First Kentucky Derby, racing historian Mark Shrager examines the events leading up to the first Run for the Roses, the unsuccessful plot hatched by the winning horse's owner to fix the race, and the prominent role played by African Americans in Gilded Age racing culture--a holdover from pre-emancipation days, when slaves were trained from birth to ride for their wealthy owners and grew up surrounded by the horses that would be their life's work.

During two short seasons at the track, Ruffian was hailed as the greatest thoroughbred filly of all time. Unbeaten in her first ten starts, she shattered one record after another, dazzling crowds with both her beauty and her brilliant speed. Then tragedy struck on the afternoon of July 6, 1975. Ruffian broke down-on the lead-in the middle of a match race at Belmont Park. Later that night she had to be destroyed.

Ruffian: Burning from the Start is the story of this exceptional filly, a horse so dominating, so powerful, that writer Walter Farley once suggested she was more like the fictional legend, the Black Stallion, than any colt he had ever seen. Beginning with her earliest days in Kentucky, the book follows Ruffian at every stage of her career and through the agony of her final hours- venturing behind the scenes of the racing world and exploring the politics and personalities that came together to shape this extraordinary filly's fate.

Dorothy Ours's Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning tells the fascinating true story of one of the greatest racehorses who ever lived.

His trainer said that managing him was like holding a tiger by the tail. His owner compared him to chain lightning. His jockeys found their lives transformed by him, in triumphant and distressing ways. All of them became caught in a battle for honesty.

Born in 1917, Man o' War grew from a rebellious youngster into perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time. He set such astonishing speed records that The New York Times called him a Speed Miracle. Often he won with so much energy in reserve that experts wondered how much faster he could have gone. Over the years, this and other mysteries would envelop the great Man o' War.

The truth remained problematic. Even as Man o' War--known as Big Red--came to power, attracting record crowds and rave publicity, the colorful sport of Thoroughbred racing struggled for integrity. His lone defeat, suffered a few weeks before gamblers fixed the 1919 World Series, spawned lasting rumors that he, too, had been the victim of a fix.

Tackling old beliefs with newly uncovered evidence, Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning shows how human pressures collided with a natural phenomenon and brings new life to an American icon. The genuine courage of Man o' War, tribulations of his archrival, Sir Barton (America's first Triple Crown winner), and temptations of their Hall of Fame jockeys and trainers reveal a long-hidden tale of grace, disgrace, and elusive redemption.

Get the most out of your horse legally and safely

Training Thoroughbred Horses features the methods, secrets, tips, and advice of a Master Horseman. Learn the fundamentals of how to:

• Select and train young horses to produce competitive runners
• Condition each horse individually to achieve its maximum potential
• Place each horse where it can win, on dirt or in the mud, with the right jockey
• Treat minor injuries and prevent them from becoming career-stopping disasters
• Feed simple, wholesome rations that build muscle and power
• Manage your stable so that each horse eats well, trains well, and races well

Commissioned by the reputable Blood-Horse magazine and initially published in 1953, this classic explains the timeless tactics of selecting horses for racing ability, training them to be reliable campaigners, and conditioning and placing them in the right spots.

Burch provides the ingredients of shaping a winning horse. Find out why his techniques and advice continue to be sought out by the most prominent and influential owners.

Preston Burch (1884-1978) won nearly every major race and captured nearly every award, title, and accolade that racing can bestow during his training career, which spanned nearly 70 years. The son of Hall of Fame Trainer William P. Burch, Preston grew up surrounded by the best trainers racing has ever seen and was tutored by James Rowe, Sam Hildreth, and Green B. Morris. From these notable horsemen, Burch studied and adopted the best to create his unique style of training.

Burch became legendary for getting the most out of every horse in his charge. His horses excelled at all distances, set track records, and enjoyed long, productive careers on the racetrack. Burch was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

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.

Great Horse Racing Mysteries digs beneath the surface of some of the sports most intriguing cases, including Phar Lap, William Woodward, Dancer's Image, Chicago ringers, Shergar, and Calumet Farm. McEvoy examines several unsolved mysteries of the racing world-- murder...suicide...arson...fraud--and recounts some of horse racing's strangest, most fascinating tales. The new edition features chapters by Lenny Shulman on the death of troubled jockey Chris Antley and Big Brown's puzzling collapse in the 2008 Belmont Stakes.

Man o' War has been acclaimed as the greatest racehorse of all time, and nearly three-quarters of a century after his death his legend continues to grow. In Man o' War, veteran racing historian Edward L. Bowen recounts the life and times of Big Red.

Bowen traces not only Man o' War's life but also those of the people connected to him--his breeder, August Belmont II; his trainer, Louis Feustel; and his famed owner, Samuel D. Riddle--weaving their stories into that of the great horse.

Man o' War became the greatest sports hero of his era, mentioned with the same reverence as Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and Red Grange. Man o' War's legend began at age two when he won nine of ten starts. Due to his great popularity, his only loss was surrounded by rumor and intrigue. Man o' War never knew defeat again. He dominated his rivals at every turn, even winning one race by a recorded 100 lengths.

Retired to stud in Kentucky, Man o' War welcomed tens of thousands of fans to Faraway Farms where faithful groom Will Harbut would regale visitors with tales of Man o' War's exploits. The sons and daughters of Man o' War--including Triple Crown winner War Admiral--and their descendants carry on his legend in the Thoroughbred breed today.

This edition includes a new afterword by the author.

Learning to Ride Right by Michael D. Cintas is a comprehensive guide for young and adult riders alike.

This book offers step-by-step instructions on the fundamentals of riding, from choosing the right horse to mastering equitation, flatwork, and jumping. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, Learning to Ride Right helps riders build confidence, develop discipline, and cultivate a lifelong passion for horses. Ideal for parents, trainers, and aspiring equestrians, this guide provides practical advice for creating a strong bond between horse and rider.

Horse racing's dream team is back.

Nate Miller's finally got everything he's ever wanted. He's the leading jockey in Canada, he's finally convinced trainer Liv Lachance to take a chance on the two of them being a couple, and Chique just might take them to the Breeders' Cup.

Getting the chance to ride in California during the off-season should be the icing on the cake, until Liv, after pushing him to accept the opportunity, says she's not going with him. What starts out as a dream come true turns into the winter from hell.

Racing is hard on relationships. Nate and Liv will have to beat the odds if theirs is going to survive.

From Woodbine to Santa Anita and back again, All Good Things dives deep into the ups and downs of Thoroughbred racing and the lives of the people devoted to the horses at its heart.

The Good Things Come Series:

• Good Things Come (Good Things Come Book 1)
• All The Little Things (Good Things Come Book 2)
• All Good Things (Good Things Come Book 3)

From the award-wining author of Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan's first book, Blood Horses, combines personal reflections about his father and an in-depth look at the history and culture of Thoroughbred racehorses.

Winner of a 2004 Whiting Writers' Award

Sullivan has found the transcendent in the horse.--Sports Illustrated

One evening late in his life, veteran sportswriter Mike Sullivan was asked by his son what he remembered best from his three decades in the press box. The answer came as a surprise. I was at Secretariat's Derby, in '73. That was ... just beauty, you know?

John Jeremiah Sullivan didn't know, not really-but he spent two years finding out, journeying from prehistoric caves to the Kentucky Derby in pursuit of what Edwin Muir called our long-lost archaic companionship with the horse. The result-winner of a National Magazine Award and named a Book of the Year by The Economist magazine-is an unprecedented look at Equus caballus, incorporating elements of memoir, reportage, and the picture gallery.

In the words of the New York Review of Books, Blood Horses reads like Moby-Dick as edited by F. Scott Fitzgerald . . . Sullivan is an original and greatly gifted writer.