Customer Reviews

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

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

This could have been a wonderful book. The subject is good. The writing isn't.

I had to force myself to keep reading until the end. Then I wanted to take all the information from it, spread it out, organize it, and put it back together into a logical and coherent story. I suspect that if I tried that, I'd find some duplicated pieces and a lot of missing ones. Several times, I had to reread sentences trying to make sense of them. I should have made notes so I could give examples of problems, but I didn't, and I'm not about to reread it to do so.

It's a mystery why Mr. Squires thought he should include his ordeal with kidney stones anywhere in the book. His problems with Indian Charlie also seemed off track. He also went on and on about his love for a mare, which seemed to have nothing to do with the subject of the book. These pieces probably could have been woven into the story neatly if more care had been taken with them. Instead, they're just strange, jolting sidetracks.

My impression is that this book was written hastily and put into print without any editor saying, "Whoa, this needs a lot more work!"

"Among the errors: writing on page 119 that Funny Cide won two legs of the Triple Crown in 2004 (he won in 2003); on the same page saying Azeri won Horse of the Year in 2003 (she won in 2002); repeatedly spelling the name of WinStar Farm co-owner Bill Casner as Castner on page 179, and writing that New York legalized the use of Lasix in 1985 on page 133 (it was 1995)."

Credit to Alicia Wincze [...]

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.

Jim Squires is not only a good writer and a good reporter, but he knows what he's talking about. This a story of his own experience in the Thoroughbred business--and the frustrations and aggravations he has experienced are real.
In the interest of full disclosure, he is also a good friend of mine.
The primary complaint I have heard about the book is the level of negativity--and that has caused a lot of readers to quit reading before they finish the entire book--but the last two chapters deal with his love of the horse and the industry, which is why he has endured the deplorable aspects of the business and continues to do so.
If you get tired of the pessimism, skip to the last two chapters and read them. Then you'll be able to finish the rest of the book with better feelings.

I enjoyed this one, as I enjoyed the author's previous book, which I thought a five-star work. Squires says much that rings true in this one; it rates four stars as a rant, as an entertainment, and as a work of philosophy.

As a work of journalism or history, however, he is much too careless with the facts.

His chapter on "Vets," for instance, seems hastily written and is flat out wrong about a number of things. He has no footnotes and cites no sources and we must guess how he came to some conclusions about historical incidents which happened long before he became involved in the sport.

For instance, his take on the episode where Dr. Alex Harthill 'decked' journalist Billy Reed seems taken from Billy Reed's own account of it, written long after it happened and leaving out some important things. With a little investigating, Jim Squires could have interviewed others who were there and gotten a much different account of the circumstances on that day.

I cheer the sentiment of the work, while shaking my head at the leaps in factual inferences and erroneous nuances of fact.

very enlightening. i love the style this author writes in - very sophistocated, comprehensible, and i love the spilling the beans on the dinny's and the racing industry. if you love horses and in particular love racing then this book is a must read.

As one believer that the drug culture was deleterious to both human and animal existance, the promotion of this book struck a positive note to me in opposing drug enhancement. I didn't realize that the message was brought by a super flake and would be buried in his self agrandizement. The humor comes when he refers to one trainer as having a big ego. It couldn't equal that of Mr. Squires.
Most of the book is ranting about others that don't share the author's views. He defends one of his own horses winning while testing positive for dope by blaiming some unknown third person with no clear motive for such action. He posits that all Republicans are bad and all inherited money leads to incompetence or greed. The good money comes from a "Golden Parachute" (like his)which arises when you are let go by an employer. It appears that some states do well with racing regulations but Congrss should take over. While some congressmen wouldn't know which end of a horse to feed, Mr. Squires will tell thm what to do.
Readers at the end may well believe in "Indian Charlie".

William McKee

I was very disappointed with this book. It was a difficult book to read, and I didn't even make it halfway through before I abandoned it for a more interesting read.