Headless Horsemen

A Tale of Chemical Colts, Subprime Sales Agents, and the Last Kentucky Derby on Steroids

By: Jim Squires

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Paperback | 27 April 2010 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
274 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 1.58

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For fans concerned about the future of horse racing, "a well-told cautionary tale about greed and willful inattention" (Kirkus).

"An insider's stunning account of the corrupt practices that threaten both the horses and the game . . . an engrossing read." -Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Jim Squires was in trouble. He was in the horse business, an enterprise seemingly intent on committing suicide, led over the cliff by visionless leaders. A clannish group called "the Dinnies" had long refused to share power, as vast overproduction and unbridled greed created a subprime-like bubble in the market. Overpriced animals of dubious quality and drug-enhanced performance on the track were undermining the integrity of competition and ultimately the very breed itself. With its economic model broken, its tawdry sales practices under attack, and its public image in tatters, the sport was overdue for a reckoning.

Headless Horsemen is Squires's critique of what is happening to the sport and the animals he loves, as he and a small group of unlikely heroes agitate for a return to fair dealing. For anyone who cares about the soul and survival of horse racing, this book is an impassioned call to arms.

Industry Reviews

"Acerbic wit and an insider's brazen take on the elusive horse-game." --Sam Shepard

"I laughed. I cried. I read this book a second time, and then I cried again. If you want to know how thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has destroyed itself, this is the book for you. If you want to know what is to be done, this is the book for you. I can't recommend it highly enough." --Jane Smiley

"Jim Squires has written a sad and scathing and all-too-true story about the greed and obtuseness that are destroying the once glorious sport of thoroughbred horse racing and that are turning that most magnificent of God's creatures -- the thoroughbred horse -- into a steroid-swollen dinosaur. The charlatans of the Kentucky breeding industry and at the New York Racing Association -- as well as their overpaid apologists -- should read every page of Squires's indictment with heads hung in shame." --Joe McGinniss

"[A]n insider's stunning account of the corrupt practices that threaten both the horses and the game. . . . Squires' folksy style makes for an engrossing read." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"[A] hilarious and informative look at the troubled condition of horse racing." --Publishers Weekly

"Exposes a thoroughbred horse-racing industry drowning in drug abuse and rife with unscrupulous business practices. . . . A well-told cautionary tale about greed and willful inattention." --Kirkus Reviews

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