Description
Anyone who doubts this need look no further than Suffolk Downs, a once-proud racecourse graced in its glory years by boisterous throngs and champions such as Seabiscuit. Now the blue-collar East Boston track is one of the that have fallen on hard times. At the present time “Sufferin’ Downs” is where grizzled Thoroughbreds come to end their careers, hopeful young jockeys aspire against daunting odds to begin them, and diehard fans cheer, curse and gamble on all of the fascinating spectacle. These bit players don’t seem to be just cogs of a single, struggling horse track. They’re the unseen supporting cast for a 15 billion betting industry.
In fifteen years as a racing reporter and press box personality, T.D. Thornton gained access to remote corners of racetrack life off limits to most people. He got to know the raucously Runyonesque characters and the quirky personalities of the horses; he learned the tricks of the trade from trainers, owners, and jockeys; he witnessed the tragedies and small triumphs of racing lives lived below the radar. One latest season, he in the end made up our minds to write it all down.
Not by a Long Shot is a deeply textured portrait of an industry where even the best in the business lose 75 percent of the time.