New Book~Headless Horseman

[samyn on the green]

Full Review Of Headless Horseman

Jim Squires, the Pulitzer Prize winning Chicago newspaper editor-turned- horse breeder who bred 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos at his Two Bucks Farm goes sour on racing in his book Headless Horseman a take of Chemical Colts, Subprime Sales Agents, and the last Kentucky Derby on Steroids. Squires takes on the powers in racing in what has the potential to be a popular book. Squires echoes the popular sentiments on what ails the industry often shared on the Internet. As a noted industry progressive Squires advocates more government regulation, more transparency and less drugs. While the book is long on complaints and short on solutions it is an informative must-read. Squires is not afraid to go after people in high places. There is no doubt that racing has been crashing in key economic indicators and the crash in the "sales horse" segment of the industry has hit Squires' breeding operation hard. Handle is down, way down and the last few Kentucky horse sales have seen precipitous declines in all indicators. Squires links this crash to the "Bush Economy" and states that the horse industry has popped its own subprime bubble just like the real estate market and the stock market.

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From "Talkin' Horses" May 2008:
"Paris, KY:
Our business sorely lacks capable spokesmen - as evidenced by their disarray after Eight Belles accident. Would you favor forming some kind of new organization to take over work the NTRA was formed to do, but has flubbed entirely; would you be willing to lead it? If not, why not?

Squires:
I have given up on organizations and am suspect of any that would have me as a member. Fortunately, I long ago came to prefer the company of books and horses to people who strive to lead organizations. But I do believe this industry needs someone with a skill I learned in 30 years of Fortune 500 corporate politics—how to accomplish something and let everyone else who needs to get the credit for it."