Horse Racing Tracks

Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments

Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 01/07/2010)

Some of horse racing's most respected authorities looked at feats of greatness, world records, legendary rivalries, and innovations to rank the sport's top 100 moments. They weighed individual accomplishments against industry initiatives, innovations against lucky breaks to come up with the definitive list. They pondered Secretariat's 31-length Belmont Stakes victory, Smarty Jones' elusive Triple Crown, the creation of the Breeders' Cup, and advancements in equine surgery. Racing's top 100 list will generate debate for years to come, just as did the ranking of Man o' War over Secretariat as Horse of the Century.

Great Horse Racing Mysteries: True Tales from the Track

by: John McEvoy

Amazon Price: $12.20 (as of 01/07/2010)

Did the IRA steal Shergar, Europe's most famous racehorse? Is he dead, or living a life of quiet obscurity in the Irish countryside? Did jockey Ron Hansen accused but never found guilty of race fixing jump off the San Mateo bridge, or was he pushed to his death? In Great Horse Racing Mysteries: True Tales from the Track, horse racing reporter John McEvoy explores 12 of the sport's weirder tales, including the poisoning death of legendary Australian racehorse Phar Lap.

Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby

by: Pamela K. Brodowsky, Tom Philbin, Inc. Churchill Downs

Amazon Price: $14.81 (as of 01/07/2010)

This book is chockablock with facts, figures, and statistics on all 132 years of this incredible race. It also contains a capsuled yet detailed history of the race and of Churchill Downs, focusing on all the larger-than-life personalities from Col. M. Lewis Clark, who founded the Derby in 1875, to Col. Matt Winn, who saved it when it was in the stretch, out of breath, about to break down, and in need of a miracle-and beyond that to the present day.

The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse

by: Lawrence Scanlan

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 01/07/2010)

Scanlan has written over a dozen books on horses, and this volume bulges with insight into and sensitivity toward the world of Thoroughbred horse racing. He offers hundreds of racing anecdotes and endless minutiae about Secretariat's career. More interestingly, he introduces readers to the marginal figures-grooms, hot-walkers, exercise riders, smalltime trainers, breeders and owners-whose love for horses and hope for a lucky break outweigh their desire to make a decent living.

Barbaro: A Nation's Love Story

by: Pamela K. Brodowsky, Tom Philbin

Amazon Price: $16.96 (as of 01/07/2010)

In 132 years of derby races, only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown, the last in 1978. Barbaro was a favorite to be the twelfth until May 20, 2006, at the Preakness Stakes, when his jockey, Edgar Prado pulled him up a couple of hundred yards from the starting gate. Subsequent examination revealed that he had virtually exploded bones in his right rear leg so badly that under normal conditions he would have been euthanized right on the track. But his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, chose another path, one filled with anxiety and tears-but also courageous determination to save his life.This touching, soaring book-filled with insights from Barbaro's trainers, breeders, caretakers, and owners-follows Barbaro from foal to colt to champion to perfect patient. But In the end it is not just a story of a down-but-not-out champion, but of human beings at their very best.

Betting on Horse Racing For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies))

by: Richard Eng

Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 01/07/2010)

How to enjoy a day at the races-and bet to win!
The last two years have seen a record number of Americans tune in for climatic Triple Crown races featuring Smarty Jones and Funny Cide; in 2004, television viewership jumped a whopping 61 percent over the record set in 2003, and the Belmont Stakes race itself drew a record crowd of more than 120,000! This easy-to-understand guide shows first-time visitors to the track how to enjoy the sport of horse racing-and make smart bets. It explains what goes on at the track, what to look for in horses and jockeys, how to read a racing form and do simple handicapping, and how to manage betting funds and make wagers that stand a good chance of paying off.