Horse of a Different Color - Softcover

Squires, Jim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586481800 ISBN 13: 9781586481803

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2003

Synopsis

Everybody in the thoroughbred horse business wants to win the Kentucky Derby, but the odds on making it to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs are about 35,000-to-1. How did a former Chicago newspaper editor bring together the stallion and mare and breed the winner of the world's most famous and important horserace?

Jim Squires's Horse of a Different Color tells the story of his wild ride from absurdity to glory at the pinnacle of horseracing success alongside Monarchos, the charismatic gray colt blessed with the extraordinary speed, poise, and stamina necessary to carry his motley band of human handlers to the highest level of their profession.

Squires takes you on an exciting journey through the close-knit and secretive world of horse breeders, buyers, sellers, owners, and trainers. And his hilarious tour of racehorse culture ends with a blazing sprint down the homestretch of the second fastest Derby in history in the company of a crowd of Kentuckians driven mad with "Derby Fever."

About this title

About the Author:

Jim Squires has been breeding and raising horses in Kentucky since 1990. From 1981 to 1989, he was the editor of the Chicago Tribune. He is the author of two previous books. A Tennessee native, Squires lives with his wife Mary Anne at Two Bucks Farms in Versailles, Kentucky.

From AudioFile:

After losing his job as the editor of the Chicago Tribune, Jim Squires turns his successful sideline of raising horses into a full-time enterprise. At first, the reading reminds us that author/editor Squires is not a professional audiobook performer. He sounds uneasy; the way a nonactor does when confronted with lines. Yet, as he relaxes into this fascinating, entertaining look at thoroughbreds and the singular folk involved in horse breeding and racing, his natural enthusiasm connects. With great good humor, Squires describes disappointing horse auctions, careful breeding practices, those afflicted with "the dreaded social disease, Derby Fever,'" and the business of raising Monarchos, a Kentucky Derby hopeful. Finally, we experience with Squires his unbridled delight when the gray colt wins "the most exciting two minutes in sports." S.J.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1586481800
• ISBN 13: 9781586481803
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 339