Review of "Death of a Racehorse"

I used to follow horse racing more closely but the recent scandals, deaths of horses and general overall lack of enthusiasm about the sport compared to others has made me follow it less and less.  Nevertheless, I was intrigued by this book by its title - the book was not quite what I expected but still a good read.  

Title/Author:

“Death of a Racehorse: An American Story” by Katie Bo Lillis

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Horse racing has been rocked by scandals involving drugging and doping the race horses and the deaths of some of these thoroughbreds. The death of Medina Spirit, the horse trained by well-known trainer Bob Baffert and whose Kentucky Derby win was taken away when testing revealed a banned substance in the horse’s system.  That was the start of this in-depth look at the world of horse racing by Katie Bo Lillis.

The title of the book and the first chapter made me think that this was going to be a compilation of sad stories of horses who had to be euthanized for one reason or another due to their participation in races. That turned out not to be the case at all as Lillis, a journalist who used to work in the racing industry, exposed both the therapeutic and performance-enhancing use of various drugs in horses that run in the sport.

The book also took a critical look at training methods, the horse racing industry as a whole and the various degrees of interest by the federal government in their investigations of criminal activity in the sport.  An example of this would be the consideration of wire fraud charges if illegal substances were sold across state lines using electronic technology (phone, email, texting, etc.) and money exchanged hands.  There are many people involved in these stories, not just the big names like Baffert. 

It was also interesting to learn new knowledge about the industry.  One example that was a recurrent topic in the various chapters was the need for a full complement of horses to run in each race for an event to turn a profit. This is so that there are more betting options for gamblers, resulting in a higher purse for the track.  It makes sense after reading this, but it is something that I was never aware of.

At times, the book does get very detailed, especially about the drugs used in the sport.  It felt at times I needed a pharmacology degree to understand these nuances, but despite this, it is a book that is very informative and one that would be enjoyed by readers of all levels of interest in horse racing.  

I wish to thank Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Death of a Racehorse: An American Story: Lillis, Katie Bo: 9781668017012: Amazon.com: Books