It explains: what goes on at the track what to look for in horses and jockeys how to read a racing form and do simple handicapping how to manage betting funds and make wagers that stand a good chance of paying off. Complete with coverage of off-track and online betting, it's just what anyone needs to play the ponies-and win! Richard Eng (Las Vegas, NV) is a racing writer and handicapper for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a columnist for the Daily Racing Form, and the host of a horseracing radio program in Las Vegas. He was formerly a part of the ABC Sports team that covered the Triple Crown.

    A jockey tested by tragedy. A rejected racehorse. A three million dollar race. Teagan Sullivan is a golden disappointment in the show ring. To make matters worse, her family are big deal Olympic equestrians, so she skulks off to pony Thoroughbreds at a rundown racetrack. But while she excels at equine relations, she sucks at human ones—just ask her sexy blacksmith/sleepover buddy Screaming Wolf. And if she hadn't gone and rescued that stupid jockey wannabe Anne Simmons, she wouldn't be saddled with a new roommate, a broken down racehorse and a chance to prove herself to her family at last. Born two months premature to an anorexic mother, Anne was a longshot just to survive. Now eighteen, she arrives on the backstretch with nothing but a duffel bag and Derby dreams. But the horsemen don't trust the naïve newcomer, so she's stuck ponying horses instead of riding races. She is still chasing their respect when a near-fatal accident shatters her body—and her spirit. As Anne struggles to find the courage to ride again, Teagan wrestles with her feelings for Screaming Wolf. Horse racing's richest race, the Breeder's Cup Classic, offers them both a chance at redemption. Will Teagan and Anne conquer their fears in time to claim the things that they love most?

    Once one of the top junior riders in the country, now she has no horses to show, debts to pay off, and a court-ordered community service at a therapeutic riding center, Narrow Lane. Thank goodness, Hannah helped her get another job riding for Linda Maro or she wouldn’t have any connection to the show circuit that has been her home since she showed ponies.When Zoe starts working at Narrow Lane, she’s certain she will hate every minute of her time there. But she begins to see how horses can be important beyond the show ring.She also finds a derby horse in an unlikely place—the barn of a local trainer, John Bradstreet. Gidget has all the talent to win on the ‘A’ Circuit and Zoe wants to take the mare all the way to Derby Finals. If she can put herself back in the winner’s circle there, she’s sure top barns will be clamoring to hire her. But when she finds herself falling in love with John, she has to ask what’s more important—reestablishing herself as a top rider, or finally being with a good man.

    For the owners, it is about wielding power through money in their quest to proudly hold the prestigious World Championship trophy. For the riders, it is about demonstrating technical skill and nerve by out-riding their competitors and maneuvering their horse in the frenetic ring so the judges notice it. For the trainers, it is about finding the key that makes your horse out-perform others that might actually be more talented and achieving the professional recognition that leads to new clients and financial security. For everyone, it is about settling scores and finding a way to win the championship. The central character is Jennifer, a young, relatively unknown trainer. She can’t believe her luck when a rich client brings her the reigning world champion horse and tells Jennifer to prepare the horse for her timid daughter to ride. Jennifer quickly learns that this horse and rider are a dangerous and doomed combination, and she must move carefully to find an alternative that keeps her important client from leaving the barn and ruining Jennifer’s chances to finally join the ranks of the most well-known and respected trainers.

     At age fourteen, she's a know it all teen living alone with her mum in London - not a horse in sight. Can a few weeks staying with her grandparents back at the stables change all that, or has she really put horses out of her life for good? Meet the whole Michaelson clan, and their four-legged friends, at the Quicksilver Stud in Book 1 – Born in the Saddle. Teen fiction for horse lovers, especially eventing fans. Ideal for fans of Claire Svendson, Amanda Wills or Samantha Alexander.

    Barbaro was a favorite to be the twelfth until May 20, 2006, at the Preakness Stakes, when his jockey, Edgar Prado pulled him up a couple of hundred yards from the starting gate. Subsequent examination revealed that he had virtually exploded bones in his right rear leg so badly that under normal conditions he would have been euthanized right on the track. But his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, chose another path, one filled with anxiety and tears—but also courageous determination to save his life.This touching, soaring book—filled with insights from Barbaro's trainers, breeders, caretakers, and owners—follows Barbaro from foal to colt to champion to perfect patient. But In the end it is not just a story of a down-but-not-out champion, but of human beings at their very best.

    Since winning her first race a little more than a year earlier, the unbeaten, unflappable Ruffian had literally raced her way into the hearts of a nation. One of those hearts belonged to Newsday turf reporter William Nack.As a boy in Illinois, Nack had carried in his pocket a trading card of his hero, Swaps, the winner of the 1955 Kentucky Derby. As a young soldier in Vietnam, Nack tuned out the midnight bomb blasts by listening to racetrack broadcasts from Santa Anita. Now, fresh off the publication of his astonishing biography of Secretariat -- described by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand as "the gold standard of horse books" -- he found himself smitten once again.But tragedy struck that summer's day at Belmont Park. After charging from the gate, Ruffian stumbled and shattered her right foreleg. She had to be put down. Nack's heartbreaking run with thoroughbred racing's most famous filly will soon be immortalized in a made-for-TV movie to be broadcast on ESPN and ABC. In this moving, lyrical memoir, he relives the afternoon that forever changed his love affair with the track.

    But when fellow competitor Frederick Twemlow snatches away their top horse, everything they have ever worked for is on the brink of falling apart before their eyes. Frederick Twemlow is gorgeous, rich, popular and at the top of the eventing ranks. When he sets his sights on something, he doesn't stop until he gets it. So when he begins to make eyes at Elsa, they both know it's only a matter of time before Frederick gets what he wants. Desperate to despise him for tipping their yard into turmoil, and to prove her loyalty to Sophia; for how long can Elsa resist his charms?

    But, somehow, that's exactly what she got.When a fateful encounter at the hospital introduces her to the world of horses, Bree is determined to make them a part of her new life. Things quickly spiral out of control when she becomes the caretaker to a pair of misfit thoroughbreds who also need a second chance.Will her strength and willpower be enough to beat the overwhelming odds that are stacked against them all?

    Nicknamed "The Grey Ghost, " Native Dancer was a blue-blood thoroughbred with a taste for drama, courtesy of his come-from-behind running style, and impressive credits: He finished first in 21 of his 22 career starts, his only loss by a nose in the 1953 Kentucky Derby; was named Horse of the Year--twice; and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. His popularity was so great, Time(R) magazine put him on its cover, and TV Guide named him one of America's top three TV stars, along with Ed Sullivan and arthur godfrey. Legend says his ghost haunts Churchill Downs. Set against the nostalgic events of an America long past, Native Dancer is the definitive account of one of the greatest champions of horse racing's golden age.- 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of Native Dancer's heroic bid for the Triple Crown, and NATIVE DANCER's 5/03 publication date is perfectly timed to tie in to the running of this national event.- Books about racehorses have become tremendously popular, as evidenced by Seabiscuit (Random House, 3/01), the #1 New York Times bestseller about the legendary thoroughbred and his fabled rivalry with War Admiral.Spanning a half-century of American life, NATIVE DANCER incorporates such touchstones as the end of the railroad era, the dawn of the TV age, the fading old money grandeur of the Vanderbilts, and the darkest days of the Depression.

    Focusing on the 1999 Derby winner Charismatic, Mitchell traces this horse's amazing and ultimately tragic story, from the birth of a foal through its surprising rise to fame. Mitchell also follows the major players in Charismatic's life, including the family who bred him, the trainer, the owners, and the famed jockey Chris Antley, whose own story is more tragic than that of his horse. Through these interlocking stories a sense of familiarity with the key players in the industry evolves, as well as a greater understanding of the heart and soul of a sport that has fascinated human beings for centuries.

    Counting down the days until she can leave school and work towards making her dream of riding round Badminton a reality, Georgia James spends her mornings exercising Thoroughbreds at the track. The rest of her time is spent at event rider Rose Holloway's yard, and thinking about Loxwood, whose future as a racehorse is uncertain. Always on the sidelines, is Georgia's hard work and patience about to pay off?

    She’s been told again and again: stick to horse shows, stick to riding lessons, stick to the relative safety of the suburban equestrian center where she has been a working student since grade school.But Alex can’t shake the conviction that the Thoroughbred life is her destiny.When her unstable trainer cuts her off from horses, Alex finally has to obey her instinct to run away from the safe version of life. She heads to Ocala, where horse racing is king, with no plan and no leads on jobs. When she meets handsome, successful racehorse trainer Alexander White, she feels an instant connection with him. Could this be her dream come true?Falling for Alexander and learning to stay on young racehorses all at once: that’s risky business. But it’s a risk Alex is willing to take — until a storm of emotion threatens to founder her new life. Nothing at Alexander’s gorgeous Thoroughbred farm is as simple as it seems, and she’s not the only one lining up for Alexander’s affection — or his horses.How many times will Alex obey her urge to run away when things get too real? And what happens to her dreams if she can’t stay the course?

    Just ask them; they'll be happy to tell you.But every girl knows that there can only be one "best."Can Sasha keep the girls from turning the arena into a war zone and still snag a spot on the coveted Youth Equestrian National Team?

    “When there are gaps in understanding, confusion, and thus frustration, worry, and even anger are sure to follow.”Horses often grow up with these “gaps” in their training and education. When this happens, it can be difficult for the horse to be a willing partner to a human, and he may need to be “restarted”—that is, given a second chance to learn what is expected of him and how he can find a place where he is confident and comfortable both beside a handler and beneath a rider.In order to restart a horse successfully, we need to know how to retrace the steps the horse’s education has taken and find the path missed the first time around. In this book, the first of the expansive library of books penned by Rashid to include full-color photographs, readers are guided through practical steps for restarting horses, using Rashid’s simple yet impactful concepts derived from years of study of martial arts. We walk along with him as he proceeds with the quiet sorting of experience that provides the insight we need to give any horse the new beginning he deserves.