book reviews

At first glance, Jay Hovdey's latest literary output, "The Oak Tree Story: A History of Racing's Most Generous Benefactor," might seem an exercise in nostalgia only, recounting as it does the origins, lifespan and ignominious death of an organization that last put on a show nearly fifteen years ago. The Oak Tree Racing Association came about as an industry-led non-profit to operate a race-meet during the then barren autumnal months when there was no major racing in Southern California, only to grow into a philanthropic powerhouse and gamechanger for the...

If you are new to the sport, not fully versed in its ways and want to get involved in racing and/or breeding, where should you start? That hasn't always been the easiest question to answer, at least up until now. Author and former racing manager John Perrotta has filled in the gap with his new book, "Thoroughbred Investor's Bible," which he calls "an essential tool to avoid the pitfalls of this intricate world." Perrotta has had many a job in racing, but is best known as the executive director of...

Vivien Goodman Malloy, the Thoroughbred breeder who owns and runs Edition Farm and racing stable in Hyde Park, New York, has recently published a memoir detailing her family's against-the-odds journey from modest roots in Havana to the high life in New York City and beyond. Central to the 88-year-old entrepreneur's family history is a deep appreciation of horses, and Malloy is donating a portion of the proceeds from My Life as a Long Shot: From Cuba to Rye to benefit the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP). Two of the book's 13...

To the outside world, Eurico Rosa Da Silva came off as a good-natured, level-headed jockey whose natural talent led him to the top of the standings at Woodbine Racetrack and to seven Sovereign Awards as Canada's champion rider. But underneath that veneer was a person whose anger and troubled past had consumed him, nearly leading him down a path to total destruction. Da Silva rose from the poverty of a small town in Brazil to become the dominant rider in Canada before retiring in 2019. But that's not what his...