The most recommended horse racing books

Who picked these books? Meet our 44 experts.

44 authors created a book list connected to horse racing, and here are their favorite horse racing books.
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Book cover of Break In

Shelley Peterson Author Of Jockey Girl

From my list on the horse/human connection.

Why am I passionate about this?

I saw my first horse before I could walk or talk – a humble mare with flies in her eyes and a feed basket tied to her nose. I was drawn to her with a magnetic force, and that attraction to horses never diminished. Over the years I’ve presided over their birth, raised them, and conditioned them to various disciplines. When it exists, the bond between horse and human is undeniable. In my novels—through family disfunction, hardship, adventure, and mystery – I explore how this connection gives young people confidence and the courage to overcome any obstacles.  

Shelley's book list on the horse/human connection

Shelley Peterson Why did Shelley love this book?

I’ve always enjoyed Dick Francis’s hair-raising novels about steeplechase racing, crime, and intrigue, and it was difficult to choose only one. His inside knowledge of the sport and his connection with horses makes all his novels authentic and informative. Break In features the jockey Kit Fielding, who comes to the aid of his twin sister, Holly, when her racing stable owner husband is slandered by the newspapers. Kit has a telepathic relationship with his sister, which adds to the mystique of this fast-paced adventure.

By Dick Francis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Break In as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A thriller in which a champion steeplechaser puts himself into a perilous situation when a smear campaign in the gutter press threatens to ruin his twin sister's life.


Book cover of D Is for Derby: A Kentucky Derby Alphabet: A Kentucy Derby Alphabet

Miranda N. Prather Author Of Blue Blue Sea Finds His Cape

From my list on horse racing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before I could walk, horses were my passion and every thought. At five, Blackie came into my life a black Shetland stud and from there, I've never stopped enjoying a life with horses. Having been born in the 1970's I witnessed some of the horse racing greats from the television, and ever since the Thoroughbred racehorse has been my favorite breed. I've been involved in a variety of ways with the rehabilitation and transition of the thoroughbred from the track to new careers. My most beloved OTTB, Blue Blue Sea, overcame so much, and naturally, I had to memorialize his amazing life as a book. 

Miranda's book list on horse racing

Miranda N. Prather Why did Miranda love this book?

While learning letters youngsters can also learn about the most exciting two minutes in sports. Jaime Corum's illustrations are deeply moving and the action springs to life through them and the poetry that Helen Wilbur's words provide. Although a young reader wouldn't be able to read the book to themselves, that is actually a benefit. I love how the book demands that an adult sit down, slow time, and enjoy it with the youngster they are reading to. There is no more beautiful ride than that.

By Helen L. Wilbur, Jaime Corum (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked D Is for Derby as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuous sporting event in the United States. But don't call it just a horse race. This annual May event, known as "the most exciting two minutes in sports," is steeped in tradition and pageantry far beyond what happens on the track. Following the alphabet, D is for Derby: A Kentucky Derby Alphabet uses poetry and expository text to explain this world-famous event. Topics include famous jockeys, legendary horses, fabled Bluegrass farms and owners, as well as offering a behind-the scenes view of thoroughbred breeding and racing. Readers young and old, along with horse enthusiasts…


Book cover of Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby

Miranda N. Prather Author Of Blue Blue Sea Finds His Cape

From my list on horse racing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before I could walk, horses were my passion and every thought. At five, Blackie came into my life a black Shetland stud and from there, I've never stopped enjoying a life with horses. Having been born in the 1970's I witnessed some of the horse racing greats from the television, and ever since the Thoroughbred racehorse has been my favorite breed. I've been involved in a variety of ways with the rehabilitation and transition of the thoroughbred from the track to new careers. My most beloved OTTB, Blue Blue Sea, overcame so much, and naturally, I had to memorialize his amazing life as a book. 

Miranda's book list on horse racing

Miranda N. Prather Why did Miranda love this book?

Jimmy “Wink” Winkfield was an accomplished athlete of his day though his memory today has faded. Crystal Hubbard's powerful narrative and Robert McGuire's gorgeous drawings transport readers to another time and place and shine a light on the last African American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. I love how the story unfolds and shows a loving child growing into a determined young man overcoming every obstacle the world sets in front of him. The tale is timeless and the historical context provides an important learning point to open a dialogue between the old and young. 

By Crystal Hubbard, Robert McGuire (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

Born into an African American sharecropping family in 1880s Kentucky, Jimmy Winkfield grew up loving horses. The large, powerful animals inspired little Jimmy to think big. Looking beyond his family s farm, he longed for a life riding on action-packed racetracks around the world. Like his hero, the great Isaac Murphy, Jimmy Wink Winkfield would stop at nothing to make it as a jockey. Though his path to success was wrought with obstacles both on the track and off, Wink faced each challenge with passion and a steadfast spirit. Along the way he carved out a lasting legacy as one…


Book cover of Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Author Of Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink

From my list on twentieth-century Shanghai.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by history since I spent a year in Britain as a ten-year-old. I became hooked on novels set in ancient Greece and Rome and found it incredibly exotic to walk through old buildings and imagine the lives of the people who had walked through those same doors. In college, I began studying history in earnest and grew intrigued by China, especially Chinese cities during periods of upheaval and transformation. My first passion was Shanghai history, and I spent time there in the mid-1980s before the soaring Pudong skyscrapers that are now among its most iconic structures were built. I have since shifted my attention to Hong Kong, a city I had enjoyed visiting for decades but had not written about until after I completed my last book on Shanghai. My fascination with cities that are in China but enmeshed in global processes and are sites of protest has been a constant.

Jeffrey's book list on twentieth-century Shanghai

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Why did Jeffrey love this book?

Shanghai, which was once called the “Hollywood of Asia,” has always been a cinematic city par excellence, so a good way to describe the charms of this book is via movie terms. In one sense, it zooms in tightly on a specific day in the history of the city and what was happening in a single setting. It mixes close-ups of a horse race and some people who came to watch it, though, with wide-angle shots and flashbacks. The author, a skilled historian with deep knowledge of Chinese history and a stylish writer, moves effortlessly between Shanghai in the early 1940s as the Japanese military’s World War II era grip on the city and much of China was tightening and earlier points in its past. He also moves fluidly between the racecourse—a potent symbol, as during the height of the British imperial period, Britons would often build these to mark…

By James Carter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Champions Day as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

12 November 1941: war and revolution are in the air. At the Shanghai Race Club, the elite prepare their best horses and most nimble jockeys for the annual Champions Day races. Across the city and amid tight security, others celebrated the birth of Sun Yat-Sen in a new centre which challenged European imperialism. Thousands more Shanghai residents attended the funeral of China's wealthiest woman. But the biggest crowd gathered at the track; no one knew it, but Champions Day heralded the end of European Shanghai. Through this snapshot of the day's events, the rich and complex history that led to…


Book cover of To the Hilt

D. Marshall Craig, M.D. Author Of Cut to the Chase

From my list on thrillers twisted plots surprise endings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved reading fiction novels with a fast-paced plot and an unexpected ending that surprises me. In my own Dr. Kyle Chandler Thriller Series, I try to use this same thought-provoking pattern that also includes quick dialogue with an underlying sexual tension between the male and female protagonists to keep the readers’ interest. Using this, I feel I am conveying my passion for the characters and plot to the reader. I believe that this theme of fast-paced, twisting plots matched with surprise endings is shown with clarity in all five of the books I have recommended in this list.

D.'s book list on thrillers twisted plots surprise endings

D. Marshall Craig, M.D. Why did D. love this book?

As a skilled mystery/thriller author, Dick Francis always wrote stories with interesting protagonists fighting uphill against all odds, and this fascinating story is no different.

I personally loved this attention-grabbing plot set in the Scottish highlands about an offbeat young painter who gets drawn into a complex family drama. As the most unlikely character chosen to protect his ancient family heritage, I found the ever-changing story with an unexpected ending a sheer delight to consume rapidly.

By Dick Francis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked To the Hilt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time

'Great characters, twisting plot. One of the very best Francis novels' 5***** Reader Review
'Tense, puzzling and powerful . . . Francis is a consummate craftsman' 5***** Reader Review
______

Just after learning that his stepfather is gravely ill, artist Al Kinloch, returning to his remote home in the Scottish Highlands, is attacked by four men.

They ask one question - 'where is it?' - then leave him for dead . . .

Baffled and hurt, Al visits his stepfather and learns millions of…


Book cover of Bolt

Dawn LeFevre Author Of Racetrack Rogues: One Woman's Story of Family, Love, and Loss in the Horse Racing World

From my list on horse racing.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up, I was one of “those” horse-crazy girls who devoured every Black Stallion and Marguerite Henry book that I could get my hands on. At sixteen I began working at Atlantic City Racecourse in the summer and after I graduated college with a B.S. in Animal Science, I became a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. For thirteen wonderful years, I raced horses in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Due to my insider’s knowledge of the horse racing industry, I based my book selections on accuracy as well as story.

Dawn's book list on horse racing

Dawn LeFevre Why did Dawn love this book?

Actually, I could have chosen any of the Dick Francis mystery books for this list as they are wonderfully consistent in quality of writing and story. Plus, as a former steeple chase jockey, Francis knows horse racing. It’s surprising how many “horse books” out there get racing so wrong. I can’t count how many of his books I read while sitting in the barn waiting to race my own horses.

By Dick Francis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bolt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kit Fielding will do whatever it takes to stop the killing of racehorses. Not an easy task considering that the woman he adores is leaving him, an international arms dealer is threatening him, and Kit's nemesis has plans to knock him off the track—and plant him under it.


Book cover of Bloodstock Breeding

Avalyn Hunter Author Of Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold

From my list on thoroughbred horses and horse racing.

Why am I passionate about this?

An old photograph shows a little blonde girl trying to climb a fence separating her from a pasture full of broodmares near Louisville, Kentucky. That was me, and I have never lost my fascination with these creatures of beauty, courage, and magic. Combine that with an equal passion for books, research, and writing, and you have the path leading to four books and hundreds of magazine articles on Thoroughbred horses over the last twenty years, with a fifth book due out next spring. The five books I’ve recommended are just a few of those that have provided touchstones and inspiration for my journey as a writer.

Avalyn's book list on thoroughbred horses and horse racing

Avalyn Hunter Why did Avalyn love this book?

A book centering on England’s Derby Stakes may seem like a strange place to launch an interest in American Thoroughbred racing, but I first read Bloodstock Breeding when I was fifteen.

Decades (and many rereadings) later, it became the inspiration for my first book. Sir Charles’s understated yet obvious love for these magnificent animals sparked my budding interest in Thoroughbreds as I read through his blend of racing history (complete with odd details and memorable tidbits about individual horses) and practical assessment of breeding practices and horse management.

I still have this book on my bookshelf today, and I probably always will.

By Charles Leicester, Howard Wright,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bloodstock Breeding as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When 'bloodstock breeding' was first published in 1957, it was hailed as a standard reference work by an authority on the subject. This completely revised and up-dated edition is an acknowledgement that it should remain so, since it takes account of all the significant changes brought about in the last 25 years, which have seen more progressive alterations made to the running of racing than in any other similar period. Changing patterns in an international trade and economies have had a profound effect on breeding thoroughbreds to race. Yet while the international aspect continues to expand, there is still room…


Book cover of Stravaganza City of Stars

Jordan H. Bartlett Author Of Queen's Catacombs

From my list on making you say: yas, queen!.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an award-winning New Zealand-born Canadian author with a love of fairy tales and female empowerment. I grew up reading books about boys for boys and found it hard to find a strong female heroine I could relate to. I wrote Contest of Queens, Queen's Catacombs, and Queendom Come to give young readers that character I so longed for as a child and set the series in a world where gender norms are reversed to expose some of the silly gender norms we adhere to in our own lives. I hope to make my readers think while also shining a little more kindness into their lives.

Jordan's book list on making you say: yas, queen!

Jordan H. Bartlett Why did Jordan love this book?

This one I read when I was much younger and think about often.

Georgia, a tomboy with an awful stepbrother and a serious lack of parental support, makes friends with an old man in an antique store who gives her the key to traveling to another world.

What sticks with me most about this book is that she spends the majority of it ashamed of her own skin, hiding who she is, dressing as a boy, and shrinking from who she truly is. Throughout the course of the novel, she finds her voice, discovers her strength, and claims the beauty what she has to offer the world.

This was such an important book when I was a teenager, as I felt incredibly uncomfortable in my rapidly changing body. To read about a girl who earns her own love was truly empowering.

By Mary Hoffman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stravaganza City of Stars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Sequel to City of Masks, the setting is again Talia, the parallel world very similar to 16th-century Italy, but the main character in this book is Georgia - who has a love of horses. She is desperate to buy a little, dusty winged horse that has appeared in a local antique shop. This tiny, winged horse proves to be the talisman that transports Georgia right into the rivalries and the high-octane excitement of the hugely competitive Stellata horse race. Mary Hoffman proved herself a mistress of a narrative tour-de-force with City of Masks and this sequel will not disappoint. Fans…


Book cover of Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Avalyn Hunter Author Of Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold

From my list on thoroughbred horses and horse racing.

Why am I passionate about this?

An old photograph shows a little blonde girl trying to climb a fence separating her from a pasture full of broodmares near Louisville, Kentucky. That was me, and I have never lost my fascination with these creatures of beauty, courage, and magic. Combine that with an equal passion for books, research, and writing, and you have the path leading to four books and hundreds of magazine articles on Thoroughbred horses over the last twenty years, with a fifth book due out next spring. The five books I’ve recommended are just a few of those that have provided touchstones and inspiration for my journey as a writer.

Avalyn's book list on thoroughbred horses and horse racing

Avalyn Hunter Why did Avalyn love this book?

When I first picked up Seabiscuit, I was dubious; I had already read too many stories of champion racehorses that were either dry histories or overblown hero-worship.

A hundred pages later (where did the time go?) I was completely engrossed and headed for an all-night read. In Hillenbrand’s hands, carefully researched history became the foundation for a sweeping story of a great horse, the incredible cast of people who gave him what he needed to become a legend, and the world of horses, horse racing, and American life in the 1930s.

If I ever write anything half as good, I will be well content.

By Laura Hillenbrand,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Seabiscuit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend.

Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes:

Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to…


Book cover of Hopeland

Shimon Edelman Author Of The Consciousness Revolutions: From Amoeba Awareness to Human Emancipation

From Shimon's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Professor Consciousness cultivator Swimmer Hiker Reader

Shimon's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Shimon Edelman Why did Shimon love this book?

Hopeland is a masterpiece of magical realism: only a magician could have crafted such a book, and McDonald’s protagonists are thoroughly human and relatable, which makes them very real, their occasional electromancy and stormtalking (breathtakingly described) notwithstanding.

They live, love, grieve, and help save the world from the climate catastrophe (which, incidentally, is the reality that we are living right now), all the while revealing to you why the world deserves saving.

Beware: you, too, will weep, laugh, love, and end up wanting to help save the world.

By Ian McDonald,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hopeland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hopeland is not a nation. It is not a cult. It is not a religion.

Hopeland is a community. It is a culture. It is a family.

When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne - tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace - in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents and a series of events which will change the world.

Amon falls in love in that moment of chaos, but being loved by him can have…