by Jane Smiley
First published 2001
The starting gate opens and the horses thunder down the track, but the real drama unfolds in the barns, betting windows, and backstretch dormitories where racing lives are made and broken. Trainers juggle temperamental owners and fragile horses worth millions. Jockeys risk their necks for a shot at the winner's circle. Gamblers study form sheets like sacred texts. Track children grow up surrounded by hay and hope. Over two racing seasons, these interconnected lives collide and separate as horses are bought, sold, injured, and retired. Some find their dreams in the stretch run while others watch their fortunes fade. The racetrack becomes a world unto itself where human ambition mirrors the raw competition of the sport, and everyone bets everything on the next race.
Genres: fiction, animals, 20th-century, horses, horse-racing, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Period: 20th-Century, 21st-Century
915 pages · Paperback · Thorndike Pr