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Great
Horse Racing Mysteries
John McEvoy
Winner
of the 2000 Benjamin Franklin Award for outstanding mystery/suspense
New
for April 2004 -- the trade paperback edition
Did
jockey Ron Hansen leap off the San Mateo Bridge, or did
someone force him? Did arsonists set fire to Hawthorne
Race Course after a betting scam went awry? Was the great
stallion Shergar killed by the IRA, or is he living in
anonymity somewhere in Ireland? Great Horse Racing
Mysteries examines these baffling cases and many
others.
Author
John McEvoy, a longtime racing writer, relies on published
accounts, interviews with survivors, and old-fashioned
digging to recreate some of the sport's strangest stories.
For instance, the saga of the great Australian runner
Phar Lap has intrigued racing fans for more than sixty
years. A legend in his homeland, Phar Lap journeyed by
boat to North America to take on this continent's best
runners. After a stunning performance at the track in
Caliente, Mexico, Phar Lap had to be guarded around the
clock in the wake of alleged threats by sinister characters.
Phar Lap then died under mysterious circumstances at a
California ranch. McEvoy talks to people who saw Phar
lap run and adds another dimension to this intriguing
story.
Other
stories include the disappearance of jockey Al Snider,
the demise of Calumet Farm, and the death of William Woodward
Jr. Great Horse Racing Mysteries provides
a fascinating look at all facets of the sport.
Praise
for Great Horse Racing Mysteries:
"Racing
enthusiasts should love this book, but even those who
can barely tell the Kentucky Derby from a hat should find
this book an engaging look at a bizarre international
subculture."
--Publishers
Weekly
****
"Titillating
and informative. Well-researched and well written. What
more could a reader want?"
--Ann
Hagedorn Auerback, author of Wild Ride
****
"Shergar's
kidnapping....The Shergar story is the centerpiece of
an excellent new book, Great Horse Racing Mysteries
by John McEvoy. The cases are well-presented, well-researched,
and well-chosen, and we can recommend this book enthusiastically
as a good read."
--Joe
Hirsch, Daily Racing Form
****
"It
is appropriate that Great Horse Racing Mysteries
has no definitive conclusions for the many questions it
raises. In a sport based on endless supposition, this
compelling book gives racing fans even more questions
to which they'll never know the answers. Great Horse
Racing Mysteries doesn't solve any of our sport's
mysteries, it celebrates them by preserving the facts
so they can live on."
--Jim
Mulvihill, University of Arizona Racetrack Industry
Program
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