{"product_id":"death-of-a-racehorse-an-american-story","title":"Death of a Racehorse: An American Story","description":"Named one of Financial Times’s Best Books of 2025\n\nThe inside story of the crisis within the country’s most classic sport—horseracing—and why money is killing thoroughbreds at the top of their game.\n\nEvery year, hundreds of horses die on the racetrack. Why?\n\nIn this deeply reported and propulsive narrative, CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis shows how two high-profile cases lay bare the ills facing the sport: the abrupt, industry-rocking indictments of top trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, and the untold story of Bob Baffert, the most successful and recognizable horse trainer in modern history, and the allegations he faced after a string of mysterious horse deaths and the high-profile disqualification of his latest Kentucky Derby winner for a failed drug test.\n\nDeath of a Racehorse delves deep into the horse racing world, offering intimate access to dozens of top trainers, owners, breeders, veterinarians, lab specialists, and more. The mainstream perception has been that rampant drug use is forcing these horses to run past their natural ability, resulting in heart attacks and broken legs. But this doesn’t paint the full picture.\n\nThat picture is driven by class tension between the affluent old stables and an ambitious new guard. This upstairs-downstairs drama shows blue-blooded families on a quest to restore horse racing to the good old days that never existed, versus those like Bob Baffert who are still viewed as outsiders—fantastically successful, but coming from less pedigreed backgrounds and experience. The privileged few, determined to save the sport, seem to hold a powerful suspicion that the sport’s brash, pioneering working class could not possibly be doing so well on their own.\n\nLillis shows how the breeding industry prioritizes making millions over breeding a sound, durable horse. A disjointed race schedule, created by racetrack operators that are trying to maximize betting opportunities, makes it impossible to manage a horse’s athletic career safely. In this purely capitalistic industry, the brute force of winning and the money that follows has taken the place of a responsible husbandry of the animal that is its beating heart.\n\nDeath of a Racehorse is a cutting, on-the-ground investigation into the morally ambiguous behavior at the industry’s glamorous center, raising nuanced questions about the relationship between animal and human—and offering a hopeful path forward for one of America’s oldest and most treasured sports.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 1668017016\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: DBV.1668017016.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Lillis, Katie Bo\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly!  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dream Books Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41516222775354,"sku":"DBV.1668017016.G","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/6011\/0138\/files\/1668017016-0.jpg?v=1783723401","url":"https:\/\/shop.dreambooksco.com\/products\/death-of-a-racehorse-an-american-story","provider":"Dream Books Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}