Death of a Racehorse: An American Story

(Hardback)

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The inside story of the crisis within the countrys most classic sporthorseracingand 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 doesnt 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 outsidersfantastically 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 sports 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 horses 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 industrys glamorous center, raising nuanced questions about the relationship between animal and humanand offering a hopeful path forward for one of Americas oldest and most treasured sports.

Reviews

"[A] penetrating debut.... a disturbing expos of horse racings dark underbelly."Publishers Weekly

"This is an amazingly insightful, detailed, and convincing book about why the problems with American horseracing are so complicated and difficult to resolve. Maybe the best thing about it is that Katie Bo Lillis has some hope. Now that I've read it, I do, too."Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize winning author ofA Thousand AcresandLucky

I was on the edge of my seat.Death of Racehorseis a serious piece of reporting, deeply researched and beautifully told. This isn't just a book about horse racingits a thriller-like read about money and power in America. I learned a lot. A very special thanks to Katie Bo Lillis for writing this terrific book. WolfBlitzer, CNN, The Situation Room

Author Bio

Katie Bo Lillis is a CNN senior reporter covering intelligence and national security. Prior to her role at CNN, she worked for Atlantic Media traveling the Middle East, covering Americas wars. But she was raised in the saddle in rural Virginia, and her first love was thoroughbred horse racing. She now lives on a farmette with a small barn in northern Virginia with her husband and son.