Headless Horsemen: A Tale of Chemical Colts, Subprime Sales Agents, and the Last Kentucky Derby on Steroids (Hardcover)

~ Jim Squires (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Squires, a newspaperman–turned–horse breeder who bred 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos (chronicled in his 2003 book, Horse of a Different Color), offers a meandering though at times hilarious and informative look at the troubled condition of horse racing at the end of 2008. The book is a subjective combination of memoir, recent horse-racing history and rant at the use of steroids, subprime sales agents and the tradition-laden powers who oversee the horse business, known as the Dinnies. Squires, a self-described pygmy breeder, spins some engaging stories, especially about the exploits and influence wielded by the late veterinarian Dr. Alexander Harthill on the outcomes of the Kentucky Derby. Although Squires is critical of much in horse racing, he writes persuasively about the love for horses that he and his wife share with real horse people. And Squires makes a passionate defense of the integrity of Larry Jones, who trained Eight Belles, the horse euthanized on the track after finishing second and then breaking both ankles in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. For casual horse-racing fans, though, some of his exposition on the multifarious boards that run the industry or the minutiae of X-rays given to horses may be more detail than necessary. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Dan Kois In 2008, the death of filly Eight Belles on the track at Churchill Downs led to an uproar over steroids in racing. At the same time, the recession and a glut of thoroughbred stock led to disastrous sales at the industry's most prestigious auctions. A former editor of the Chicago Tribune and the breeder of the 2001 Kentucky Derby winner, Monarchos, Jim Squires is well suited to write the definitive book on the crisis gripping horse racing. He may have done so, but his florid prose and scattershot organization leave us slogging on a muddy track. Racing neophytes will be lost amid the rail-talk. And aficionados may find nothing new in Squires's charges that chemical enhancements allow thoroughbreds to run a furlong faster than Secretariat ever did, while steroid-related damage keeps them from producing worthy foals. Almost everyone will be amazed, though, by the suggestion that a prominent Kentucky vet, the late Alex Harthill, gave drugs to Derby horses for 50 years "simply because he could."
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Times Books (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805090606
• ISBN-13: 978-0805090604
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,806 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Horseracing Fans, August 11, 2009

By	B. Clark - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Squires book is an insiders take on what is ruining the horse racing industry. The thing I like
best about Squires book is that he holds no punches and is painfully candid.
From health battles, to personal feuds, to taking his finger and clearly pointing it at who is exactly at fault, the book is amazing. Squires has boldly gone where no horse racing author has gone before. He takes on the biggest and richest leaders in the racing world with an incredible amount of humor and humility.
I would recommend this book for every 2 dollar better to anybody who has been lucky enough to bid on or own a thoroughbred. Three cheers for Squires.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark Shadows in the Winner's Circle, August 4, 2009

By	Mr. Richard D. Coreno "Mr. C" (Berea, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Greed. Unbridled greed.

Author Jim Squires caught lightning in a jar when his Kentucky-based Two Bucks Farm bred 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos. Chronicled in his 2002 book, Horse of a Different Color (2003 paperback; Perseus Books Group: PublicAffairs), it is a wonderful story of a small breeding farm defying the odds and permanently carving its name into the Thoroughbred record book.

But there is no joy in Headless Horsemen: A Tale of Chemical Colts, Subprime Sale Agents, and the Last Kentucky Derby on Steroids (August 4, 2009; Times Books: Henry Holt and Company, LLC), as Squires provides a candid account of the other side of the "Sport of Kings," which includes a small club of influential owners and their sycophants who run the industry for private gain, the proliferation of illegal drugs being pumped into equine athletes and the unseemly price manipulation at public auctions and in private deals by "agents" who knowingly inflate prices in a game to boost profits, with a total disregard to the true reality of the marketplace.

The sordid saga is laced with Squires piecing together accounts from a variety of sources - but oftentimes lacking a "smoking gun" of documentary evidence - which is not surprising, since every facet of the industry has mostly avoided the public and professional scrutiny found in other sports. There are explosive allegations that may not be new to those who meticulously follow racing, but are now available to a wider audience.

Squires believes that steroids entered the sport as early as the 1950s and other dangerous drugs like cocaine were used to boost the performances of racers for many years. He alleges that the iconic Secretariat - the 1973 Triple Crown champion and considered by many historians and fans as the greatest ever - may have raced while on steroids.

And as with the now tainted 1998 season-long home run derby between Mark McGwire (70 homers) and Sammy Sosa (66), it was two recent equine superstars that brought the steroid debate in racing to the national stage. Two-time Horse of the Year (2007-2008) Curlin and 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown each competed while on steroids, with the dosages used legal in certain states.

"These two champions are poster boys for the steroid era in racing," writes Squires.

The bloodlines in the boardroom are often as impressive as those found in the winner's circle in many top races, but - according to Squires - does not always deliver the same results, especially in The Jockey Club. Founded in 1894, it is the authority for all Thoroughbreds in North America, Canada and Puerto Rico. Because of the power wielded by two individuals - Ogden Mills Phipps and William S. Farish III - Squires says the organization has shirked establishing a firm leadership role within the industry.

Phipps is the grandson of Henry Phipps, who founded Bessemer Trust, and the son of Ogden Phipps, who was a racing executive and Thoroughbred owner/breeder, philanthropist and art collector. Farish III - the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2004 - is the grandson of William S. Farish II, the founder and vice president of Humble Oil and Refining Company and president of Jersey Standard, who - in 1942 - pleaded "no contest" to criminally conspiring with the Nazi government in Germany.

There are also several shadowy veterinarians and an incident last year that Squires says was a conspiracy to silence his criticism of the industry. In November, the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission upheld a stewards ruling against trainer Larry Jones for Stones River failing a drug test after winning a June 8 race at Delaware Park. The runner is owned by Squires and it was the first ruling against Jones - who was suspended for seven days and fined [....]- in more than 25 years of training. Squires says the incident involved sabotage of the horse or drug test.

Squires suggests a number of major policy changes that ultimately centers on Thoroughbred racing receiving federal antitrust exemption, like Major League Baseball, which would open the barn doors to - for example - uniform drug reform and stringent oversight of sales organizations through a national commissioner's office.

For more than 30 years, Thoroughbred racing has seen the erosion of its popularity with sports fans and railbirds to the point where survival for many tracks now hinge on alternative gaming revenues generated through slot machines and card tables. But the problems in the industry run deeper than finding cash to bolster purses for races. Squires does not mince words in his very public attempt to end the cycle of greed...once and for all.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shining a Light Where Needed, September 8, 2009

By	Erika E. Holderith (los angeles, ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Eight Belle's tragic death after her excellent 2nd place finish to Big Brown's Kentucky Derby victory initiated much scrutiny into the practices of breeding and racing thoroughbreds. The resulting US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce Hearings brought to light the urgent need for reform within the thoroughbred racing world. I was particularly struck by the testimonies of Allie Conrad (CANTER USA - an organization which finds homes for horses no longer able to race), Jess Jackson (owner of Curlin and Rachel Alexandra), Arthur Hancock (Hancock family thoroughbred breeding and racing enterprises) and Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg.

Unfortunately, there is little coverage of any follow-through on the recommendations presented at the hearings. Jim Squires has done an excellent job of reporting on the current state of affairs. His status as breeder of Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos and as former editor for the Chicago Tribune well-position him to provide the reader and hopefully the thoroughbred industry with a clear description of what problems any much-needed organizational reform needs to address.

For those that care about thoroughbreds and horse racing, this is the first book that I would recommend.