Book Review: Alydar’s Chief Counsel

If there was a Thoroughbred who ever needed legal counsel to mount an adequate defense of his life, then perhaps it would be Calumet Farm's MGISW Alydar.

His battles with rival Affirmed as both a juvenile, and of course, through the 1978 Triple Crown are now the stuff of legend. However, what has clouded all those spectacular past performances came during his stallion career when he tragically died from an injury which was sustained while he was in his Calumet stall on a November night in 1990. Officially chalked up as an accident, his sudden and shocking death has remained shrouded in conjecture ever since.

What happened to Alydar? That is the central question that Fred M. Kray attempts to tackle in his ambitiously titled new book, Broken: The Suspicious Death of Alydar and the End of Horse Racing's Golden Age.

There is nothing quite like a tenacious true crime writer. Plucky isn't a descriptor that goes far enough. It's one's dogged determination, coupled with an ability to stare deep into the abyss that demands sterner stuff. Kray has all of that and more. His passion for this topic is evident, and he possesses the requisite skills to follow a labyrinth of clues and misstatements that go back forty-plus years.

A former animal-rights attorney who was on hand to witness the John M. Veitch trainee when he won the 1978 GI Flamingo S. at Hialeah Park and the GI Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, Kray began to delve into the case in 2018. He tried to track down those involved, performed seemingly countless interviews and attempted to weave together a story chock full of contradiction.

But has Kray actually uncovered a smoking gun or is this just a series of red herrings? Where exactly is the conspiracy to commit murder?

Broken flows rather like a true crime memoir. It's Kray's defense laid bare on behalf of the Thoroughbred in question. Committing the cardinal sin if we skip to the end of this mystery, the author mythically knots his favorite Windsor tie and strides to the same courtroom in Houston, Texas where the security guard who was on duty that fateful night was tried and sentenced. There, he gives his own account of why he believes Alydar was murdered. It's heartfelt, but somehow it falls just short of compelling drama à la Raymond Burr.

Still, what makes this work a worthy read is the journey. Kray starts with the initial, all-too-brief insurance investigation. He then moves briskly through a composite of Alydar's racing and breeding shed exploits and delves into the questionable economic practices of Calumet's J.T. Lundy & Co. After painstakingly wading through the ensuing trials which fingered less than a handful of Calumet figures, Kray opens the curtain for the final act in which he becomes the lead. Perched on his shoulder like a GoPro Camera, we watch as he sits in front of many a horse farm gate, chides a reluctant private detective who didn't deliver and relates a number of emotional moments with key witnesses.

Alydar visiting Lucille Gene Markey on Blue Grass S. Day in 1978 | Keeneland

The relationship he forms with Tom Dixon, the equine insurance agent who was the first on the scene at Calumet, is particularly poignant. Dixon is a no-nonsense umpire that calls them like he sees them, and Kray has to steadily battle for the former agent's uneasy trust in order to access key photographs and notes. 'Deep Throat', Dixon is not, but the back-and-forth between the pair as they argue points of view on several occasions is quite a chess match.

Speaking of emotional moments, Kray's interview with Alydar's groom, Michael Coulter is both enlightening to his case, but we also find a man who hasn't returned to the scene mentally in quite some time. Though a witness in one of the trials, Coulter's perspective was underutilized and from Kray's questions, we get a window into the relationship the groom built with this superb equine athlete. Coulter explains how tired Alydar was from over-breeding and addresses the horse's psychological state. This is important because there were constant questions throughout the different trials about Alydar's penchant for kicking stall doors.

What Kray finds is a trail of dead ends and memories which are parsed with a few nuggets of remembrance. The author leads us to the assumption that key players that do not want to talk are clinging to something deeper. His mission to ask everyone connected why there were no marks on the paint in Alydar's stall, and why the latch was not disturbed becomes an indelible part of the script. A tense section relates an interview with the well-known Dr. Larry Bramlage. It is particularly excruciating to plow through, but it also shows how resolute Kray is when it comes to defending Alydar. You feel both men's frustration bearing out and it makes for good theater in the Rood & Riddle waiting room where the interview was conducted.

There is something very Citizen Kane about Broken. Like the reporter who is sent to find out what Charles Foster Kane meant when he said 'Rosebud' on his deathbed, we may never know what happened to Alydar that night at Calumet in 1990. Was his leg hit with something? Was more than one person involved? Who knew about the coverup at Calumet? Who knows something right now? Questions will continue to float. While we are on a roll, did Kray prove that this was the end of horse racing's 'Golden Age' as the book's subtitle suggests? That answer seems even more amorphous.

Instead, maybe we can take a sliver of comfort in knowing that there are some things we just can't uncover about a tragedy. If you read Broken as an homage to this Thoroughbred, then we need to thank the author for his contribution and determination. What we can say is that if Fred Kray had defended Alydar, at the very least, he might have had his day in court.

Broken: The Suspicions Death of Alydar and the End of Horse Racing's Golden Age by Live Oak Press, 348 pages, photos, May 2023.

The post Book Review: Alydar’s Chief Counsel appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Six Semi-Finalists For Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Announced

Even as a deadly pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, the business of horse racing continued — and thankfully, so too did the art of writing about it. The year 2021 brings with it the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, once again recognizing the best long-form writing the world of racing has to offer. Despite strict limitations set by COVID-19, authors continued to ply their trade, as evidenced by the exciting crop of racing-themed books that arrived last winter in the offices of Book Award sponsor Castleton Lyons.

As always, submissions represented multiple genres, from story collections to biographies, to works of fiction. Remarkably, nearly half of the 2020 submissions fell in the latter category, a strong group that served up mysteries and romance, misfits and second chances, crime, heartache, and equine greatness. Several of the titles represented excellent efforts by first-time authors.

After reading steadily through early spring, the Book Award judges selected six semi-finalists, including four fictional volumes and two stand-out biographies of trail-blazing women in racing.

A by-invitation reception has been held at Castleton Lyons' Kentucky farm each April since the award's inception in 2006. It had become a rite of spring until last year when the pandemic upended everything. The 2020 winner's announcement was by necessity moved back to November and was conducted remotely for the first time, via Zoom conference. That will likely be the format again this year, with a tentative target date of late April.

Below are the semi-finalists for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in thoroughbred racing literature published in 2020:

A Hole Through the Wind, by Alan Patterson.

This improbable but engaging semi-autobiographical tale of twin colts—one, big and handsome, the other a tiny castoff—is revealed through the diary and reminiscences of an old horseman. Written by an ex-jockey, the story centers around a young black man, the kindly farm manager and his daughter who take him in, and the undersized colt with an outsized heart they all believe in. It is a simple, feel-good tale for troubled times.

Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle, by Mark Shrager.

This exceptional biography follows the life path of Diane Crump from a horse-crazy child to the courageous young woman who forever altered the course of racing. Crump's dream was to be a jockey at a time when that was not considered possible for a female. She fought back hard against discrimination while enduring boycotts, insults, and even threats of violence. In 1969 Crump became the first woman to ride in a pari-mutuel race in the U.S., the first to win a stakes, and the first to compete in the Kentucky Derby. Crump blew doors wide open for future generations of horse-loving girls to live their dreams at the racetrack.

First-Time Starter, by Stan D. Jensen.

This charming novella, penned by a former owner, jockey's agent, and published author, reminds one how wonderful racing can be. It centers around a beautiful but seemingly incorrigible filly, her old-school trainer, a loving groom, and a has-been jockey. As the story develops, the filly transforms from an angry, vicious, untrusting animal into the glorious racehorse she was meant to be. First-Time Starter is a short, quick read encompassing a single day in the life of its cast of characters, and it leaves you wanting more.

Good Things Come, by Linda Shantz.

Mixing together hope, heartbreak, and romance, a dash of rivalry, and a great deal of excitement, Good Things Come delivers all the goods in terms of top-notch racing fiction. Set in the world of Canadian racing, the story is that of an intense young woman, a troubled young man, and the quirky but talented filly they both love. This is the first book written by an accomplished equine artist and former backside worker who knows her subject well and tells it with a master's hand.

Ruffian, by Precious McKenzie.

This fictionalized account of the life of Ruffian as seen through the eyes of a young girl is a well-penned read for older children and young adults, as well as a broader audience. No one who lived through the brilliant career and untimely death of this immortal filly could forget Ruffian. And those who came later will learn from these pages of her all-too-brief life and those of the people who surrounded and loved her.

Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop Had a Way With Horses, by Vicky Moon.

Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop is not a widely familiar name, but she was a true racing pioneer. She climbed a mountain of adversity growing up in the Jim Crow South, and later fought relentless battles against sexism and racism to become the first black woman in the United States to obtain a trainer's license. Journalist Vicky Moon's meticulously researched work tells the story of America while tracing the life of this most remarkable woman—from her blue-collar childhood in West Virginia, to her start as a racetrack groom during the Great Depression, to the saddling of her final winner at age 80.

The post Six Semi-Finalists For Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Announced appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘My Freedom Only Really Came When I Asked For Help’: Da Silva Opens Up About Addiction In New Book

Former jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva has just released his new book entitled Riding For Freedom. The book follows his journey from a young boy with a big dream in a poor country to a seven-time recipient of Canada's outstanding jockey award, according to Canadian Thoroughbred. The crux of the book, however, lies in the inner demons that he battled along the way.

“When the opportunity came, I left,” da Silva said in an interview with Peter Gross on his podcast, Down The Stretch. “When I started riding in São Paulo, I was very lucky. I started winning a lot of races right away, making a lot of money. I started in Canada and I was successful. My freedom only really came when I asked for help.”

Da Silva retired from his career as a professional jockey a year ago to help athletes with their mental performance. The 45-year-old husband and father of two children now strives to help people with problems similar to his own. He opened up in his interview with Gross about his addictions and how he insisted that the book include them.

“I was a chronic sex addict and a chronic gambler, and I am not afraid to say that,” da Silva said to Gross. “My goal with my book is to motivate people to go for help.”

Read more at Canadian Thoroughbred.

Listen to the Down The Stretch podcast.

The post ‘My Freedom Only Really Came When I Asked For Help’: Da Silva Opens Up About Addiction In New Book appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights