Keeneland Library Lecture Series Returns

Edited Press Release

Keeneland's popular Library Lecture Series resumes in May with the first of four public events that celebrate recently published works about Thoroughbred racing whose authors conducted research at Keeneland Library.

Tickets are $20 per event and will go on sale at 9 a.m., Friday, Apr. 21 at Keeneland.com/library. Proceeds from these ticketed events will benefit the Keeneland Library Foundation, which funds Library preservation, education, outreach and access efforts.

The first two installments of the Library Lecture Series will feature books related to the Library's current exhibit, The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers:

• May 11–Katherine Mooney will discuss Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey
• June 22–Mark Shrager will talk about The First Kentucky Derby: Thirteen Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn't Supposed to Win

The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers offers a deep exploration into the lives of African Americans in racing and their contributions to the Thoroughbred industry. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs through August.

The Library Lecture Series continues with two events in late August and September:

• Aug. 24–Jennifer Kelly will discuss The Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, and the Quest for the Triple Crown
• Sept. 28–Patricia McQueen will review Secretariat's Legacy: The Sons, Daughters and Descendants Who Keep His Legacy Alive

All programs will be held at the Library from 6:30-8:30 p.m. ET.

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Mark Shrager Wins Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award For Diane Crump Biography

Veteran turf writer Mark Shrager has won the 15th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by Castleton Lyons, for Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle. The winner was announced on May 10 via Zoom conference for the second straight year due to pandemic concerns. Previously, the by-invitation winner's reception had been held on-site at the Ryan family's Lexington-based farm, and hopes are that it will return to that venue in the future.

Shrager, a previous Book Award finalist for The Great Sweepstakes of 1877, took top honors for his beautifully written and comprehensively researched biography of one of racing's great trail blazers. During the late 1960s, Diane Crump represented the face of hope for aspiring young women in the Sport of Kings. Though diminutive in size, she boldly blew open doors and shattered glass ceilings while defying threats, jeers, and boycotts to achieve her goal of becoming a professional jockey. Along the way, she would be the first of her gender to ride in a sanctioned North American pari-mutuel race, the first to compete in the Kentucky Derby, and the first to win a stakes event. Hers was a story long overdue to be told, and Shrager did it with a master's touch.

“The author chronicles Diane's historic firsts,” noted judge Kay Coyte, “including her 1970 Kentucky Derby ride, with a wonderful chapter on her brother listening to the radio broadcast from Vietnam. Shrager also mines biographical gold in the all-but-unknown aspects of Diane's life: her mother's special 'gift,' her daughter's unique perspective and service to others, particularly with therapy dogs, during her post-racing career. It's a beautiful telling of a remarkable life.”

Shrager, a native of Southern California, caught the racing bug in his teens at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar. The UCLA graduate went on to a long career in education finance with the Los Angeles Unified School District, but never lost his love for racing and the fascinating stories the sport routinely produces. For nearly 50 years Shrager has written freelance for various trade publications including Turf and Sport Digest and American Turf Monthly, and his story, 1,000 Surefire Ways to Lose a Horse Race, was published in a 1974 Best Sports Stories anthology.

As winner of the 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, Shrager will receive a check for $10,000, along with a Tipperary crystal replica of Castleton Lyons' iconic stone tower.

Other finalists were: Linda Shantz for her novel Good Things Come, and Vicky Moon for the biography Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop Had a Way With Horses, both of whom will receive $1,000 and a crystal trophy.

The winner and finalists were selected from more than a dozen submissions published in 2020, representing a broad range of style and genre.

“In addition to many books by debut authors,” said Coyte, “this year's class had an international flavor, with literary trips around the globe—from Linda Shantz's Canada, to racing in World War II-era Shanghai, to a 1988 Mexican gambling coup, to a globetrotting mystery novel.”

Fellow judge Caton Bredar also noted that “In the midst of a global pandemic, it was heartening to find the quality of writing unwavering. And on a personal note, I appreciated the fact so many of the authors and/or main characters were female.”

The competition was launched in 2006 by the late Dr. Tony Ryan, to recognize the best book-length writing with horse racing as a backdrop. Past winners have included a National Book Award recipient and several Eclipse Award-winning writers. Since Dr. Ryan's passing in 2007, his son Shane has carried on the award to honor his memory.

The recorded Zoom ceremony will be available later this spring on the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxqFTKaOoNYoGSZ02EWeiJQ

Submissions for the next Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award must be received no later than December 31, 2021, and all must have been published during the current calendar year.

Additional information is available at https://www.castletonlyons.com/about/dr-tony-tyan-book-award, or by contacting Betsy Hager at bhager@castletonlyons.com.

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Three Finalists Named For Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award

Three finalists have been selected for the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award from more than a dozen quality submissions published in 2020. These include two comprehensive biographies about barrier-breaking women and an engaging novel of hope and heartbreak.

“This was the year of debut authors, including the fiction finalist,” said judge Kay Coyte, a former Washington Post and racing publications editor. “Part of the mission of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award is to encourage new writers to cover the sport he so loved. To have this many in 2020 would have delighted him.”

The award, founded by the late Dr. Ryan in 2006, has annually honored the best in longform writing about a topic or tale related to horse racing. Its $10,000 winner's prize remains among the largest in the literary world, matching that of the prestigious National Book Award. Following Dr. Ryan's 2007 passing, this celebration of racing literature has been continued each year by his son, Shane, current president of the Ryan family's Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington.

Past winners have represented a broad range of genres reflecting the breadth and width of this great sport — including fiction, short story collections, histories, and biographies. In addition to the $10,000 winner's prize, two additional finalists receive checks for $1,000, while all three take home Tipperary crystal statuettes of the farm's iconic stone tower.

Due to pandemic precautions, for the second straight year the winner's announcement cannot follow the traditional format of an in-person reception at Castleton Lyons, but will instead be announced via Zoom conference—scheduled during the heart of America's classic season, on May 10 at 5 p.m. ET.

Below are the three finalists for the 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award honoring excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature (in alphabetical order):

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.

Good Things Come, by Linda Shantz.
Mixing together optimism, 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 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 that brought them together. 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.

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.

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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.

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