Racing Reviews

I'm not a racing fan, but I am a person who enjoys a good book with a great story. In The NASCAR Way, Robert Hagstrom takes the reader into every facet of the sports organization that is NASCAR. If you have an appreciation for the sport, this will be a great book for you, if not, you like me may gain an appreciation of both the sport and the NASCAR way of doing things. How this empire rose from a few bootleggers engaging in afternoon challenges to a multi-billion dollar industry is fascinating. Perhaps the most fascinating of all is the way this business works together at every level, from upper management, to track personnel, to racing teams and corporate sponsors, to the huge retail business, to loyal fans that fuel the entire machine with their support.

I highly recommend The NASCAR Way, I found it to be both enjoyable and a real learning experience.

If you are a hard core business person or a hard core race fan, you must have this book. If you wonder what all the hype is about, you have found your answer. Hagsrtom really digs into the business and explains the details of how and why NASCAR has come to be the fastest growing sport, period. A great race car fan study and an even better business person study. Business people could learn a thing or two or three from this book.

Before this book, my opinion of the sport ranked up there with my opinion of most politicians. However, a recent slight interest prompted me to buy it. I read it quickly and truly enjoyed it. Not only does it offer great insight into what drives the sport, but it gives a new fan (or someone with slight curiousity) an incredible appreciation of the sport, its athletes, the fans, and the people behind the scenes. After this book, I am a NASCAR fan.

Tom Brohamer is very coorect in his appraisal of the modern speed figures and pace handicapping in applicational use for the handicapper.

You must have a sounds sense of the figures where your playing and how the pace affects each race to understand how to pick winners using Tom's method.

A well written and worthwhile book for the handicapper.

Best Regards to All, MC - TheStickRules.Com

Whether you subscribe to one handicapping theory or many, Tom Brohemer's explanation of modern pace handicapping is the best I've read.

Brohamer clearly and succintly outlines his tenents of pace handicapping and makes it easy to convert running times into meaningful handicapping information. He uses charts from actual races to illustrate his theories. The book is easy to follow and understand for semi-experienced handicapper, but takes a bit of practice to convert 1st and 2nd call fractions into pace numbers. The book covers modern tenents of pace handicapping, including running style,class drops, energy distribution. Even if you chose not to do the arithmetic, Brohamer's explanation of pace will increase your profit.

This book tells you how important pace handicapping is in horse racing. According to this book, pace handicapping is particularly important and accurate in 5 and 6 furlongs races.

I am a serious horseplayer in Hong Kong. This book is of course talking about horse racing in the United States in which dirt racing is the main stream of racing. However, I still find this book useful for horse racing in Hong Kong in which turf racing is the main stream of racing. I also find pace handicapping important and useful even in route races and races of longer distance in Hong Kong (i.e. over 6 furlongs). This may be because of the fact that the quality and power of each horse in each race are very tight in Hong Kong and hence pace plays an important part in a race.

This book also tells you a scientific (mathematical) way of pace handicapping by assigning a score to each horse. This method is new and adds value to me. I highly recommend this book.

Come On Seabiscuit was first published when I was in the sixth grade and I purchased it as part of a school bookclub order.I still remember how exited I felt as I read it and how I could not put it down. It is a wonderful story an unattractive young colt who is mistreated and discarded.Eventually the horse known as Seabiscuit comes to be trained by a small time trainer and ridden by a broken down has been of a jockey.Their climb to glory is a heartwarming story of three underdogs teaming together to overcome many adversities and gives the reader a real feel of what horse racing really is all about.The book also gives a feel for what America was like in a bygone era when legends arose from effort and courage.I still have my book after all these years.It is sort of like an old friend I visit once in awhile. To this day I enjoy horses and the beauty of the thoroughbreads-it is a beauty that shines from within these special animals and Iam able to recognize and appreciate it because I read COME ON SEABISCUIT many years ago.

this book can bring you to tears. the story of an outcast grandson of man o' war who becomes one the greatest racehorses in history is truly an amazing tale of life, love, trust, and friendship. a story of a fighting champion, with endless endurance and a heart as big as a horse blanket for those who loved and trusted him. seabiscuit was an amazing horse for whom which setting track records and stomping out competition was an old story. truly a breath-taking tale of courage.

Ralph Moody's book is a warm tribute to the story of Seabiscuit. The illustrations are wonderful and it is written at the level for its intended audience. The original tale of Seabiscuit was written by B.K. Beckwith in 1940, his "saga of a great champion"; Moody realized the lessons inherent in this amazing horse--forgotten even by his time in the 1950s--and he recast the tale for a new audience, just the way Laura Hillenbrand did so successfully in our own time. Both Moody and Hillenbrand relied on Beckwith's book and I find the voices of all three to be excellent and complementary. Beckwith actually knew the horse and the people around him, so his book has the excitement of the time, but I recommend all of these books on Seabiscuit.

An intriguing, non-fictional tale of corporate greed and thoroughbred racing in the 1980's against the backdrop of the history of the great Kentucky racing stable of Calumet.

The characters include a multi-million dollar race horse,Alydar---famous for being second to 1978 Triple Crown Winner Affirmed, heirs of Warren Wright who took their inheritance for granted and ignored the source of their riches---Calumet, the banks who continued to loan millions of dollars to Calumet solely on the value of their star stallion Alydar. Even if you are not a fan of thoroughbred horses, the story is as much a moral tale for the 90's as it was for the 80's.

The story moves fast, and is particulary fascinating when the author flashes back to the heydey of Calumet. The antidote retold by the author describing how Alydar was named is particularly amusing. The painstaking research into the where to's and how to's of syndicating breeding shares to star stallions and borrowing money against shares can be dull reading if you are not interested, but can be skimmed over since this is not the focus of the book. Highly recommended.

WILD RIDE, by Ann Hagedorn Auerbach, (New York: Henry Holt, 1994) reads like the murder mystery that it very likely is. Subtitled "The Rise and Tragic Fall of Calumet Farm, Inc., America's Premier Racing Dynasty," the book is the work of a journalist who specializes in reporting about white collar crime. But Auerbach is more than that: she is an admirer of horses also. The tragic hero of WILD RIDE is Alydar, one of the foremost stallions in american racing history, who was euthanized in November, 1990 after breaking a hind leg in his stall. While offering no definitive prrof that Alydarwas intentionally and fatally injured to collect $36.5-million in insurance proceeds, Auerbach examines the incident in extreme detail and weaves the death of the stallion into her exhaustive account of the management of Calumet during the tenure of chief executive officer J.T. Lundy. although the book is currently out of print, the recent reopening of the Alydar investigation may change that. In any case, WILD RIDE would make a marvelous primer for anyone who hopes to follow the course of the current federal probe into the stallion's death.

Reads like a novel. An interesting peek inside one of the nation's most famous farms. Our copy has made the rounds of our barn many times, each border has read it at least twice. At times "Wild Ride" is sad, almost gut-wrenching, sometimes it can be rather amusing, and other times it reads like a Dick Francis murder mystery. This book belongs on every horseperson's desk. A valuable insight into early Thoroughbred history.

I really enjoy Dick Francis' novels, but this one left me with some concerns. There are, first of all, some really nice things here--the hero is pleasant and smart,as are all of Frnacis' engaging male characters, and the hero's house and children are great. It is an interesting twist to have children as fairly major characters.

However, I was concerned with a couple things here. First of all, the villains here are so nasty and one-dimensionable that they end up being cartoonish, and I think that detracts from the strength of the rest of the plt, which is pretty good. Also, I am concerned with the hero's wife, who apparently is rather consistently unhappy and does not appreciate him as a husband and father, both of which he seems to be pretty admirable at. She is a frustrating character. I also found it rather frustrating and somewhat demeaning that Francis felt the need to come up with another romantic interest here, when I think his main character has quite enough issues to resolve already with wife and family. The romantic interest here, in apperance a younger version of the wife, is superfluous.

Please don't get me all wrong here--I genuinely love Dick Francis, and this read well and is fun, but I expect and usually get more from him!

Following closely to his usual formula (likeable, 30ish hero facing dangers undreamed of in his prior life but facing them with courage and humor), Francis has crafted another extremely readable suspense novel. This time, his hero is an architect who specializes in restored crumbling buildings, who also happens to have 6 sons who tag along with him through many of his adventures.

When our hero is forced to become involved in the affairs of a racecourse that he owns 8% of, and thus is ensnared in the VERY unpleasant lives of the Stratton family, who own most of the rest of the course, he finds himself in repeated mortal danger.

The book is a bit more "cinematic" than most, with big explosions and some fires, rather than Francis' usual knock on the back of the head into unconsciousness. The book has further charm because this hero is the parent of young children, something Francis has seldom offered us before, and never in such generous quantities. As always, his character is well-versed in his chosen profession, showing that Francis has done his homework well.

The plot is a humdinger, but I find that the Stratton family is SO full of truly VILE people that they become too 1 dimensional, like villains in an old-fashioned melodrama. Their actions are often so violent and hate-riddled that they are a bit difficult to believe.

But that being said, this is another fine, quick, enjoyable read in the amazingly large and outstanding body of work produced by Dick Francis. I recommend it to fans and newbies alike!

Architect Lee Morris has six sons, a disaffected wife, and an eight percent ownership in Stratton Park Racecourse. Seems his late mother was once married to the recently deceased Lord Stratton's handsome but violent second son, Keith, and when she divorced him after an episode of marital rape, the shares were given to her by Lord Stratton. With the old lord dead, the family is feuding over the racecourse, and Lee is asked to intervene. But the aging but still choleric Keith is not the only foe he will have to face . . .

An ambitious book. With eight Strattons, six Morris kids, and a host of other characters, Francis is generally successful in creating individual characters (though some of the younger Strattons tend to blend as hostile faces in your mind)

A few quibbles. To a certain extent, Francis stuck to his formula in this book. In almost all of Francis later books, Francis's hero (always a pleasant fellow in his thirties whom people just love to talk to) gets beat up about halfway through the book, and, in the climactic scene, would do credit to the hero of an action movie.

Quite good, but not as good as his early books.

If you already have a good collection of racing "favorites" in your browser, then this book may not be for you. Although I found a "few" sites I didn't know, most of the sites were either main sites racing enthusiasts already knew or were people's personal sites. I did like the Teenie Bikini site (of course!) but as a webmaster and web enthusiast, I found the book a little disappointing.

I've been online for years and have followed racing for decades but not until I received this book did I every have any indication how many great racing sites there are on the Net. I really enjoy this book. It's perfect for anybody who loves any kind or racing.

I just got this book and started visiting all the incredible AUTO RACING sites on the Net. Finally I can get to great racing sites without all the clutter that the search engines provide. Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing such an incredible book.

I won't go on a long diatribe. I think the previous reviewers have said what I would have said. In a word - this book is excellent. It's well researched and Nan Mooney clearly has a passion for the topic which means everything when you're writing. There are no dull filler chapters at all. The intertwined story of Mae Mae is a hoot - she is the kind of grandmother we all would like to have as our own.

In sum - if you are new to the world of thoroughbreds and racing this is the book to start with. By the time you are through, you will appreciate the history and understand the passion and love of thoroughbreds.

I recently purchased the above book, and I thought it was one of the best books I've ever read about the thoroughbred industry.
It is written by a young woman who was introduced to horse racing by her grandmother. The book tells the story of the author's love for horse racing, and her grandmother. It is a sensitive and well written tribute to both.
Ms. Mooney entwines her experiences with racing history, and delivers an extremely enjoyable narrative that is at once educational and inspiring. There are probably few facts contained in the book that are not already known to most "track rats"; but she tells them in such an engaging manner, that even the most seasoned and hard bitten horse player should enjoy the retelling.
Her account of her love affair with the thoroughbreds is so personal, you feel you really know the author, and understand why she feels the way she does.
It is a sentimental and loving account of the maturation of a young woman, and how she has come to where she is today - a devoted fan of the sport. Her grandmother would be proud.
I highly recommend it to the readers on the board!

Ms. Mooney's engaging writing style brings the world of horse racing magically alive. A lover of horses and horse racing since she was a child (thanks to her spectacular grandmother, whose story is woven throughout the book), Ms. Mooney's passion for the sport is infectious. I especially liked the thorough and entertaining way she covered the history of the sport. I'm looking forward to reading more from her; that her next work will immensely please seems to be a safe bet.

Gary Stevens, with his co author Mervyn Kaufman have done a great job with this book. The material is well presented, concise and very informative. Stevens clearly loves what he does, has a great respect and appreciation for the many horses he has ridden. He's also overcome many injuries and a childhood disability to pursue his dream of riding throughbreds. I came away from this book learning a lot about the life of a jockey and the horse racing business in general.

After reading The Perfect Ride, I felt so much respect and admiration for Gary Stevens. He describes the athletic demands jockeys must meet and the injuries they must endure with grace. His determination and humanity come through when he writes about his personal life. I also liked his sensitivity to the horses he rides. It's a great read for an inner glimpse at jockey life.

I really Liked This Book. I Ride And my trainer recommended this book cos she used to work on the race track ireally liked it
~Bria~

Using a casual tone, the author allows the non-elite athlete to vicariously live the "what-if" scenario we all think of -- what if I REALLY trained...? A good, casual read that offers no answers, but plenty to think about.

This slim volume actually deals with 2 subjects: 1)endurance conditioning with its emotional, psychological and physical components 2) the demise of the author's father. The training portion with all its equipment and conditioning minutia is better suited to a magazine article. The reader gains an insight into the heroic efforts that world class endurance athletes must generate to be competitive. On one hand their fortitude and courage demand our admiration, on the other hand one may suspect a certain compusive obsessiveness that borders on the fanatical. Let the reader judge.

The more compelling portion of the book describes the months in which the author's much loved father engages the process of physical degeneration leading to death. This becomes a profound meditation on mortality and the spititual imnplications of life's last opportunity for self education. Moving and thoughtful, it is the soul of the book.

As a skiing enthusiast, I found that Bill McKibben's Long Distance revealed the world of physical and mental training that i never fully grasped existed. Even with all his training it was amazing to see that so much rested squarely on genetics, to see that after his many hours of training he could only become so much. The mental aspect was a plus to the book, as a past ski racer it was nice to see someone put into words how it feels out on the course:

"Except that the minute a race is done, you start trying to make it all add up, turn the thousand things that happen even in a three hour ski race in to some kind of coherent storay with a morale at the end: 'I couldn't focus,' or 'I bonked,' or 'Everything came together.'" -Bill McKibben.

To sum it all up, Mr. McKibben has written up an endurance trainer's dream and how he copes with the mental and physical pressures are fascinating to read. I would recommend this book to anyone that is remotely interested in cross-country skiing or how the elite athletes train.

I read this book and saw how the author takes sides easy. Does this author work with Greyhounds? Did he research this before he wrote it or did he hear an anti Greyhound racing group on the air talking about things like this? Usually, when someone hears one side of a story, they believe them, because there is no one talking for the other side. Too bad this story would share both sides as well as pros and cons of the racing business.... remember this is a childrens book...do you seriously want them to grow up brainwashed as half the public is already from all this negative publicity of a relatively harmless sport?

Personally, I have seen first hand the terrible ways these dogs are treated. To say this is a harmless sport is insane. It's great to have rescue groups for these animals and I support them, but think about it...If these racers love their dogs so much, why would they give them away immediatly after they can't race any longer? That is love? This book shows the truth to this "harmless sport". Dogs are forced to run and when they aren't running, they have to sit in cages that would only comfortably hold a dog the size of a small cocker spaniel. My daughter is 2, and I plan to read this book to her when she is older. Another book I recommend if you liked this is Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams (same writer of Watership Down). It deals with expermintation...but I hardly recommend this one for young kids. And I also recommend Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (or the Secret of NIMH). Both deal with animals suffering for human's enjoyment/curiosity).

I loved the book Ratzo because I have a greyhound and I never knew how bad racing can be. Marty Crisp really opened my eyes to the dangers of greyhound racing. I encourage you to read this book because it is exciting and teaches you a lot.