1 comments about Dark Horses.

1. Norman Mauskopf, Dark Horses (Twin Palms Publishing, 1988)
   
   Dark Horses is a big book that got a small printing. (Five thousand. Good luck finding one.) Norman Mauskopf's photographic journey through tracks big and small, domestic and international, is prefaced by a wonderful, if short, Bill Barich essay on the photographs, and he captures their essence wonderfully (as is Bill Barich's wont with pretty much anything to which he sets his mind; if you have not discovered the joy and wonder of Bill Barich's writing, please do so at your earliest convenience). After that, it's just the photos. The only captions given them are the names of the racetracks, and in some cases those of the notable humans in the shot. Mauskopf is not just interested in the horses, or the tracks themselves, but is usually more interested in the humans around the track and how they interact with it. A must-own for anyone interested in, or involved in, racetrack life. Absolutely gorgeous, and worth every penny. **** ½

5 comments about Shooting from the Outside.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth view of Tara's work with the Women's National (Olympic) team of 1996. The team was a masterpiece, and being able to see it thru the eyes of its coach was really something special. It gave me great insight into Tara and her drive and dedication to the sport and to the team. A great book!!



2. I confess that I have been a fan of Tara Vanderveer for nearly 10 years. I think I understand that basketball is a very major part of her life. She likes Bob Knight, sheesh. This book was a very easy read even though you already know how it will end. When you finish the book you might feel like you want to see if the players saw everything the same way. Well, this is her point of view.



3. This is a really inspirational book for those who care about womens' basketball. I had a really hard time putting it down. You feel as if you are part of the U.S. Olympic Team, and were there to witness the trials and tribulations of their road to Gold. Great book for those who play basketball or enjoy it. (Especially if you're female!!) I think I will start reading the book from the beginning again tomorrow. It also meant more to me then maybe someone else because I have been to Tara's Camps and been able to interact with Jennifer Azzi and Katy Steding, and other players as well. It is totally my favorite book ever!



4. Tara Vanderveer is the author of the inspiring autobiography Shooting form the Outside.  In this autobiography, Tara Vanderveer discusses the challenges and obstacles that she must overcome into to reach her goal of winning the gold medal.  The autobiography discusses the hardships, conflicts, and problems that the team faces throughout the year and shows how teamwork can overcome anything.
   This novel is pretty much an overview of the Women's Basketball team throughout their Olympic season.  The novel starts out with Tara Vanderveer talking about her child hood days and how she developed a love for the game.  She talks about how she use to be a mascot for the school, used to write down every new play she heard in a notebook, and how she went and watched the men's basketball team to learn any new play on offense or defense she could pick up.  The story then proceeds to Coach Vanderveer discussing her thoughts and concerns for the year that lay ahead of the eleven woman that have been selected as the national team.  She talks about her past failures like the 1994 World Games that have pushed her and motivated her to win the gold medal.  She promised that the embarrassment and disgrace that she felt from the World Games will never happen again.  One can easily feel the strong determination and motivation that Coach Vanderveer feels, and how she uses this as an ally and works the team harder than they have ever been worked before. 
   This book was undoubtedly worth reading from my point of view.  This book taught me information about Title IX that I had previously never even heard about.  The book showed me the true struggle that a woman must face and has taught me a sense of respect for woman who have succeeded in the past. 
   One issue the book brings up is that woman are not given enough opportunity to succeed in life.  A woman's determination and motivation can easily be destroyed or brought down by the cruelness and unfairness of discrimination towards woman.  Therefore, since woman can do all jobs just as productively as men, the book suggests that woman should be given fair and equal treatment and equal opportunities to men. 
   In conclusion, Shooting from the Outside is an excellent book that teachers lessons and values that should be known and followed by all of society.  The story teachers discrimination is pointless and by not allowing woman to perform to their full capacity we are truly ruining our own opportunities to further succeed in life.



5. This is a fun and easy read for any fan of the women's game, centered around the pivotal 1996 Olympic gold medal-winning team, which in many ways marked a turning point in establishing the foundation upon which the modern game is built.
   
   But not only does this book offer a wonderful historical perspective, and some great stories and inside anecdotes on many top players past and present, it also provides insight into the mind of one of the college game's top coaches.
   
   Even for those close to Stanford basketball, Tara Vanderveer is a very private inividual. That's why I found this book especially helpful in providing a better understanding of her personal history, philosophy toward the game, how she feels it should be played, and how that all filters down to the teams she puts on the floor today.
   
   Because Tara is often softspoken in public and not one to actively seek the limelight or TV cameras like some of the other big names in her profession, there may be a tendency by some to think she is more of a hands-off coach. And despite the occasional glare from the sideline, a calm and quiet presence. Nothing could be further from the truth. This book does a good job of uncovering the intensity that boils deep inside and her unbending desire to win.

1 comments about Horse Racing Coast to Coast: The Traveler's Guide to the Sport of Kings (Coast to Coast series).

1. If you're a horse racing fan, don't miss the racetrack profiles, extensive tips on where to stay and how best to enjoy, and interviews which pair with history in HORSE RACING COAST TO COAST: THE TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE SPORT OF KINGS. This book's loaded with everything the horse race buff needs to know; from hotels and recommended eateries to trackside statistics. Unparalleled in its scope, it's a horse racing fan's travel 'bible'.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

3 comments about Letters to Seabiscuit.

1. Through printing exact reproductions - many handwritten - of the fan mail to the Howard family and Seabiscuit in 1939-40, a unique glimpse into the lives and attitudes of America is shown. The content of the letters, notes, and poems is fascinating, and made moreso by being able to view it in the original format - including the stationery, stamps and envelopes.

   It's a very enjoyable read. I loved it! Thanks, Ms. Howard, for sharing your family's collection with us.




2. After reading and admiring Laura Hillenbrand's book, and seeing the movie, I was eager to learn more about the world's response to Seabiscuit during his lifetime. These letters illuminate the feelings he evoked in people.



3. This is a beautiful book on so many levels.
   
   There are points in time when a Thoroughbred captures the imagination of a nation and Seabiscuit had that rare quality of being a champion on and off the track. And with this celebrity came fan letters and accolades that are actually so personal in nature.
   
   The letters featured in the collection are photographed, so the reader has the feeling of being with the Howard Family as they opened the mail for the first time. A unique tribute to the memory of The Biscuit, the material etches a strong impression on what the racer meant to so many people, young and old.

2 comments about Native Dancer: Thoroughbred Legend (Thoroughbred Legends (Unnumbered)).

1. Book seven in the Thoroughbred Legends series from Eclipse Press is about the amazing gray Thoroughbred who won all but one of his twenty-two starts from age two to four. His lone loss--and it was a big one--came in the 1953 Kentucky Derby to 25-1 longshot Dark Star.

   Imagine the consequences if Native Dancer would have won: he would have shattered Citation's record for consecutive wins (sixteen); and he probably would have been voted Thoroughbred of the Century over Man O'War, who also lost a single race.

   Author Eva Jolene Boyd develops several theories as to why Native Dancer lost the Derby:

   --He was bumped near the start, and his jockey Eric Guerin lost his cool. He tried to take his mount up the inside, where he was blocked and forced to take up twice. If Native Dancer had taken his usual route up the outside, he would have kept out of trouble and won the Derby.

   --Another rider deliberately blocked Native Dancer. This is jockey, Eric Guerin's theory.

   --Native Dancer followed a rather peculiar race route to the Derby, and his trainer, Bill Winfrey didn't have the big gray colt 100% fit. There may be a grain of truth to this theory. Almost 35 years after the race, Winfrey admitted to a writer: "I didn't have him fit."

   --The bad ankles theory. This seemed to be favored by certain members of the press.

   --The hat on the bed theory. When trainer, Bill Winfrey entered his Lexington hotel room a few days before the Derby, he discovered that one of the reporters had left his hat on the bed--very bad gris-gris for superstitious Thoroughbred trainers.

   Take your choice of theory as to why the Gray Ghost lost the big one, but be sure to read this book. The author covers Native Dancer's career both on the race course and at stud. In both careers, he performed superlatively well.




2. Very enjoyable and interesting book. I highly recommend it and others in the series for horse racing fans or just horse lovers.

No comments about Festival Gold: Three Decades of Cheltenham Racing.

5 comments about Pedigree Handicapping.

1. This interesting book has great merit as a handicapping tool. Written in clear concise language, the author shares her extensive knowledge of horse pedigrees with the reader. She explains the influence of the pedigree (especially the sire, the dam, and the dam's sire) on racing performance, including stamina, speed, and the secret of the "hidden turf" factor.
   
   Whether you bet frequently, or only occasionally on popular races such as the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup, this book is a valuable resource and MUST READ for every horseplayer and aspiring horseplayer. Bravo to Ms. Stich for creating such a detailed reference guide! Her passion for racing is quite apparent and admirable.
   
   Arlene Millman
   author of "Boomerang - A Miracle Trilogy"



2. You have to be a devout pedigree analyst or become one for this book to be effective in the daily war handicapping horse races. In that event the book is 5 stars but outside that
   it is almost useless.



3. Stich is a fantastic mind on pedigrees and analysis. However, this book doesn't quite live up to the potential that it should for a few reasons:
   
   (1) Spending a chapter or two on a primer as to why certain lines (Bold Ruler, Northern Dancer) do better than others (Man O'War, etc.) would give the reader a real foundation for the information contained inside. The book becomes a list of "here's who's good for x, y, and z", without any history or exposition to back it up.
   
   (2) There's a fair amount of material in the book (including an entire chapter) that's pure regurgitated material from her Racing Form columns. They're useful material, but nothing really new if you've followed racing at all.
   
   (3) The chapter on pedigree in the Derby doesn't really work because she boldly declares which horses did or did not have the pedigree to win the Derby, with no explanation attached. Yes, this would've made for a longer book, but it would've been more informative than by simply putting together a laundry list of horses that did and did not make the grade. (She also admits herself that Derby pedigree analysis may be useless at this point, which makes one wonder what the entire point was.)
   
   So yes, there's a lot of good info in the book, but it could've been much, much better. Color me disappointed.



4. OK, the author clearly knows her matreial, but I was really looking forward to reading this book as I am interested in horse pedigrees and their usefulness as a handicapping tool. Stich shares some good ideas, but nothing I hadn't read in other volumes on comprehensive handicapping. The ideas are solid, but the material will need constant updating to be effective. I really wish she had spent more time discussing why certain traits are passed from maternal and paternial ancestors instead of just offering a blanket statement that "speed and surface characteristics come from the sire, while racing class comes from the dam." I've heard it before, but nobody has been able to satisfactorily tell me why this may be the case or back it up with any evidence.
   
   As a practical tool for handicapping, I really don't think it's that useful.



5. Lauren Stich, Pedigree Handicapping (DRF Press, 2004)
   
   I hate to say this. I really do. I have found Lauren Stich's posts on @derby and her column in the Daily Racing Form very, very valuable over the years, and I admire her handicapping prowess to no end. But this book just doesn't work on so many levels.
   
   The main problem with the book is it lacks explanation. It's packed with examples, which is always a good thing, but the reasoning behind those examples is rarely, if ever, made clear. Instead, the book has two very long lists, one of sires whose offspring do well on certain surfaces, and another of freshman sires for 2004-05. While Stich contends that the freshman sires list is timeless, and it's certainly the case that offspring of a horse who was a freshman sire in 2004 should perform the same way as those offspring in later years, what's missing is an explanation of how she comes to the conclusion that sire X's offspring will perform better at distance Y or on surface Z. It's easy to figure out if you've followed discussions on pedigree handicapping over the last twelve years, as I have, but I can't imagine most of this book's prospective readers would fall into this category.
   
   Also, Stich's examples fall into the "selective examples" trap-- every example fits perfectly. Which is okay for illustrative purposes, but tends to bias the reader's perceptions a great deal. (This is why most modern handicapping authors will go through a full day or two-- or in the memorable case if William Scott, a full week-- to show the places where their handicapping failed as well, or races that simply couldn't be handicapped with the methods presented. (One may argue that Stich's handicapping, which lends itself to maiden and two-year-old races, would get very boring as you watched race after race pass. I'd answer that people advancing this argument have never seen a weekday card at a bush-class track in autumn, where bottom-level maiden claimers are the rule, not the exception, and pedigree handicapping is often the only handicapping one can do.)
   
   I hope there is a second edition of this book eventually, one with a great deal more explanation, more writing on the concepts behind pedigree handicapping and how they can be applied by the average player, etc. Until then, this will have to do, but it is only one small piece in the pedigree handicapping puzzle. **

4 comments about Riding for Success: Both in & Out of the Showring.

1. As someone new to the horse world, I found this book to be very insightful, taking nothing for granted, and explaining all the details on care, grooming and even riding tips. Illustrations and photos were also nice. Very readable, very concise. Being written by a college professor was also helpful compared to others that I have read.



2. This book could be considered a "maunal" for someone wanting to learn to ride Saddle Seat correctly, in its true art form. This book also covers many aspects of being a good horseman and the skills it passes are all generally applicable to all horses and styles of riding. This book is one of only 4 books that I highly recommend to my students.



3. This book could be considered a "manual" for someone wanting to learn to ride Saddle Seat correctly, in its true art form. This book also covers many aspects of being a good horseman and the skills it passes are all generally applicable to all horses and styles of riding. This book is one of only 4 books that I highly recommend to my students.



4. Having ridden with Gayle Lampe and shown in front of her before, I found this book to be full of useful information. I am a riding instructor and wish that all my students would read this book. Full of photos, this book is an excellent read for beginners and experts alike. This is a "must buy" for anyone in the horse world, not just saddleseat riders.

2 comments about Belmont Park: A Century of Champions.

1. This is a very good value for the (Amazon.com) price. It is a quality production, but it is flawed slightly. Richard Stone Reeves is one of the Greats in the history of Thoroughbred portraiture, without question. However, his recent works are sketchy, lacking in detail, and seem unfinished. Several of the plates betray the fact that that Reeves is either no longer concerned with perfection, or is having difficulty putting paint onto canvas or board now. His earlier works as included in this volume are very good, but the later ones (done during the past five years or so) are more "impressionistic" and sketchy. Boren has written descriptions of the careers of the horses portrayed, and there's nothing new there, just brief summaries familiar to most racing fans. Reeves describes the horses briefly, but his comments are limited mainly to the temperment of the "sitter" ("stander"?) and the races he viewed. These quibbles aside, the book IS very nice. By all means, purchase a copy...it's a great addition to any equine library.



2. Edward L. Bowen, Belmont Park: A Century of Champions (Eclipse Press, 2005)
   
   Richard Stone Reeves is likely to go down in history as the twentieth century's finest chronicler of the Thoroughbred racehorse. Here, Eclipse Press offers us a wide selection of Reeves' paintings, with text by both Reeves and Edward L. Bowen. The portraits themselves, of course, are above reproach; each one is a stunning portrayal of its subject. Where the book too often fails is in the writing.
   
   The main problem with the text is that Reeves himself, while a fine painter, is not all that good a writer. Bowen is, most of the time, but Reeves' comments are often redundant in the face of Bowen's writing, and the end result is a wish that they had been excluded, or at least heavily edited, in order to give more room to Bowen's descriptions of the horses, which are usually abbreviated, the text versions of highlight reels.
   
   The pictures are good, but if you're looking for depth, you might want to head somewhere else. ***

4 comments about The Great Black Jockeys.

1. Mr. Hotaling's latest horse-racing book is a must read for anyone who considers himself a true afficianado of the sport. It tells a story which far too many people, even serious horse players, know little about. Horse racing is unique among sports in America because it is has virtually no black presence. There are few black owners, trainers, and breeders, and very few of the most visible players in racing, the jockeys. This was not always the case. In fact, black jockeys once dominated America's oldest sport. The first winner of the Kentucky Derby was black, as was the Derby's first repeat winner and its first three-time winner. The jockey with the highest winning percentage in history was black. Hotaling gives the history of these pioneers, and in doing so gives a history of the sport. He also deals with the glaring question: why have black jockeys largely dissappeared from the sport? It is well-written and insightful, a book invaluable to those who value the history of horse racing.



2. This book explores a negleted aspect of the African-American experience in the United States. I had always assumed the African-American heros of sport were a twentieth century phenomenon. It was an eye opener to learn that there successful African-American jockeys and trainers as early as colonial time.

   I would recommend this well written book to anyone with an interest in American history




3. I read this book because it combined Black History and horse racing. Two of my favorite subjects. The book is well organized, full of information.

   The author seamlessly intertwines American History, African American History, and the history of horse racing in America. So the book keeps your interest. He also balances historical facts, with the colorful characters\stories surrounding horseracing, while elevating Black jockies to their noble place in the "sport of kings".

   This book is worth the price. A great read!!




4. Any person who is a serious study of sports history will find this a most compelling dialogue on the "true" evolution of the American professional athlete. It is simply the most "untold" and most compelling story in the American experience. Today's athletes - of whatever color - should read this book to get a true appreciation for the foundations of the "professional" athlete in America and the depth of character exhibited by these great athletes under the most dire conditions.