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(More customer reviews)If you enjoyed "Seabiscuit" or have been following the saga of the jockey José Santos as he attempted to ride Funny Cide to a Triple Crown (alas it was not to be), then you might be interested in learning more about today's top American flat-racing jockeys.
There were several unexpected retirements this year, including Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron, and Ironman, Laffit Pincay, Jr., so the list of top jockeys who are still race-riding is a bit out-of-date in "Ride of Their Lives." However, it is still a very interesting 'ride.'
If you think "Seabiscuit's" jockeys had a rough time of it during the Great Depression here in America, read the story of Jorge Chavez who was born in a Peruvian slum, never had a real family (he thinks he might have a dozen brothers and sisters, but knows of only three), slept on the street, and worked any job he could get. At age nineteen he visited a race track one day and fell in love with the horses. He didn't get to ride right away, though. He started out by mucking stalls and had to work his way up the ranks to acquire his jockey's license. He became the top rider at the Hipodromo Monterico in Peru, then decided to try his luck in America. It took Jorge roughly ten years in the States before he started to get the top horses. Nowadays, if you watch any of the big grade-one races, you're almost sure to spot Chavez, whose unique riding style has earned him the nickname, 'Chop Chop.' His first Derby winner was Monarchos, so if you'd like to learn more about Chavez, read "Horse of a Different Color" by Jim Squires.
The tragic story of Chris Antley opens this book, balanced by the more hopeful and unfinished story of Pat Valenzuela, who has come back out of the hell of addiction and is riding top horses once more. Good luck, Pat!
Lenny Shulman tells the stories of fourteen top jockeys in all: Chris Antley; Jerry Bailey; Russell Baze; Jorge Chavez; Pat Day; Eddie Delahoussaye (Patient Eddie is one of my all-time favorites); Kent Desormeaux; Mark Guidry; Chris McCarron; Corey Nakatani; Laffit Pincay, Jr.; Mike Smith; Gary Stevens; and Patrick Valenzuela. Reading these biographies will give you an appreciation of the physical suffering these jocks go through to stay at the top of their game. I personally feel they are the best, bravest professional athletes in the world---they and their Thoroughbred mounts.
I had one minor problem with this book in that it didn't spend enough time on the horses. I would have liked to hear all of the top jocks talk about their best mounts. Some do, but not all, and not in enough detail to get a flavor for what it's like pounding down the track at thirty-five miles an hour, balanced on the tips of your riding boots, and trying to squeeze your thousand-pound mount into a hole between two other horses whose jockeys don't want to let you through.
Whew! Even without those added details, "Ride of Their Lives" is well worth reading.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Ride of Their Lives: The Triumphs and Turmoil of Today's Top Jockeys
Pat Day, Jerry Bailey, Corey Nakatani, and other jockeys reveal how they deal with the pressure of riding horses at top speeds day in and day out, the reality of injury, and the issue of weight.
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