Overview

Jim Squires was in trouble. He had gone from one business seemingly intent on committing suicide to another, both led over the cliff by vision less leaders. First it was the newspaper bean-counters' blind adherence to the demands of Wall Street. Then in horse racing it was a clannish group called 'the Dinnies' refusing to share power and unable to see that vast overproduction and unbridled greed had 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 after a series of televised fatal breakdowns by horses in famous races, the sport was overdue for a reckoning. ""Headless Horsemen"" is Squires' comic but poignant 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.

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9780805090604

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<p> Acerbic wit and an insider&#8217;s brazen take on the elusive horse-game. &#8212;Sam Shepard<p> 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&#8217;t recommend it highly enough. &#8212;Jane Smiley<p> 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&#8217;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&#8217;s indictment with heads hung in shame. &#8212;Joe McGinniss<p> [A]n insider's stunning account of the co

""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"" ""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 co

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

Author Information

Jim Squires has been breeding and raising horses in Kentucky since 1990, following a career in journalism that culminated in a decade as editor of the ""Chicago Tribune."" He is the author of three previous books, including ""Horse of a Different Color,"" his account of his wild ride as the breeder of Monarchos, the winner of the 2001 Kentucky Derby. Squires lives with his wife at Two Bucks Farm in Versailles, Kentucky.

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