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Racing Days
Photographs and brief essays offer a behind the scenes look at the horses, owners, jockeys, bettors, horse auctions, and races
157 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 15, 2026
This is a review of the second edition from 1995, although the photographer states that this is the third edition. Although the text is unchanged from the original 1987 edition, some of the photos were changed. This leads to some awkward moments, as when a photo of a horse and groom is described in the text, but the accompanying two photos are of empty starting gates. The cover is different than the one shown here at Goodreads.
This is more of a 2.5 than a 3 star book, so I rounded up.
The book started out as a collection of photos by Henry Horenstein. A few years into taking, cropping and selecting the photos in his free time, Brendan Boyd convinced him that the book would more easily get a publisher if it was a collaboration.
So, the bulk of this book winds up being Boyd's text, with Horenstein's photos as an afterthought. There are some very good photos ... but also some very ho-hum, pedestrian ones. Although a very few jockeys and I think just one trainer was identified, no other track worker, groom, owner, bettor or horse was identified. The two photos of Steve Cauthen at 17 were particularly good.
There were more photos of people than horses in this book, which annoyed me. To me, people are common as muck. I wanted to see horses.
This showed plenty of the dark side of racing, such as a breakdown during a morning workout, and a horse corpse. Essays frankly admitted that racing is often fixed, and cruel to horses ... but gee, don't you just LOVE the sport of it all?
The bulk of the book is about bettors at the tracks, at least five of which are now closed. The author pontificates endlessly about gambling addicts ... without ever calling them gambling addicts. He is blunt that there is no way you can make a living betting horses, and thinks old jockeys should never visit ir work at a racetrack, because it makes him feel bad. Aw, poor baby.
He also just gets some easy to look up shit wrong. Marguerite Henry's book was called King of the Wind, NOT The Godolphin Arabian. No other breed or half-breed is allowed to participate in Thoroughbred races. Mechanical hot walkers are NOT cruel to horses. And you can make far more money (VERY occasionally, not consistently) on combination bets like Daily Doubles or Trifectas than just betting on a horse to win.
The book is out of date. At least five of the tracks featured have shut down. Lip tattoos have given way to microchips in identifying horses. And online betting has completely revolutionized the racing industry ... and made it unnecessary to track down a Form, or worry about getting to the track before the first race, or get in lines at the windows that never move fast enough. As the introduction to the new edition states, this is just a snapshot of the racing scene in America in 1987.
The last day I bet was New Year's Day, 2022. Hopefully, it will remain the last day I bet until I die. If there is a Hell, I'll go there for supporting such a cruel industry for so long.
But reading about racing is still good.
This is more of a 2.5 than a 3 star book, so I rounded up.
The book started out as a collection of photos by Henry Horenstein. A few years into taking, cropping and selecting the photos in his free time, Brendan Boyd convinced him that the book would more easily get a publisher if it was a collaboration.
So, the bulk of this book winds up being Boyd's text, with Horenstein's photos as an afterthought. There are some very good photos ... but also some very ho-hum, pedestrian ones. Although a very few jockeys and I think just one trainer was identified, no other track worker, groom, owner, bettor or horse was identified. The two photos of Steve Cauthen at 17 were particularly good.
There were more photos of people than horses in this book, which annoyed me. To me, people are common as muck. I wanted to see horses.
This showed plenty of the dark side of racing, such as a breakdown during a morning workout, and a horse corpse. Essays frankly admitted that racing is often fixed, and cruel to horses ... but gee, don't you just LOVE the sport of it all?
The bulk of the book is about bettors at the tracks, at least five of which are now closed. The author pontificates endlessly about gambling addicts ... without ever calling them gambling addicts. He is blunt that there is no way you can make a living betting horses, and thinks old jockeys should never visit ir work at a racetrack, because it makes him feel bad. Aw, poor baby.
He also just gets some easy to look up shit wrong. Marguerite Henry's book was called King of the Wind, NOT The Godolphin Arabian. No other breed or half-breed is allowed to participate in Thoroughbred races. Mechanical hot walkers are NOT cruel to horses. And you can make far more money (VERY occasionally, not consistently) on combination bets like Daily Doubles or Trifectas than just betting on a horse to win.
The book is out of date. At least five of the tracks featured have shut down. Lip tattoos have given way to microchips in identifying horses. And online betting has completely revolutionized the racing industry ... and made it unnecessary to track down a Form, or worry about getting to the track before the first race, or get in lines at the windows that never move fast enough. As the introduction to the new edition states, this is just a snapshot of the racing scene in America in 1987.
The last day I bet was New Year's Day, 2022. Hopefully, it will remain the last day I bet until I die. If there is a Hell, I'll go there for supporting such a cruel industry for so long.
But reading about racing is still good.
February 25, 2016
"I'm down to my last buck, pal. Wanna split a bet with me?"
"On which horse?"
"I don't care."
"On which horse?"
"I don't care."
May 21, 2025
The most beautiful combination of photography and journalism ever compiled. I own two editions of the book and have given many as gifts to friends and family who love the track.
Even those who do not enjoy horse racing or have never experienced live racing themselves will enjoy this amazing work of art.
Even those who do not enjoy horse racing or have never experienced live racing themselves will enjoy this amazing work of art.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews