Since all the featured jockeys (except Chris Antley) are still active riders, the book gives the reader a thorough look back at perhaps the last twenty years of racing in North America. We see the 1996 Breeders' Cup through the eyes of Corey Nakatani, winning two races on the card just a month after his sister was murdered. Jerry Bailey brings back the memories of Cigar's run of sixteen consecutive wins and Arcangues' 133-1 upset of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Laffit Pincay relives the experience of winning his 8,834th race aboard Irish Nip at Hollywood Park, pushing him ahead of Bill Shoemaker's record.

Some personal stories are told too. Pat Day tells us how his life changed from rodeo bull rider to racehorse jockey, and then from drug and alcohol abuser to born-again Christian. Kent Desormeaux walks us through the lowest point in his career when he stood up too early in the 1993 Japan Cup aboard Kotashaan and lost, fueling the opinion that he wasn't riding horses out. Pat Valenzuela's problems with cocaine abuse, marital problems, suspensions, and injuries are well documented.

This reviewer strongly recommends this book to all fans of racing, new and old. The fourteen jockeys' backgrounds, lives, and personalities are so different yet they all share a common goal of winning horse races. Race fans get a better appreciation of how tough it was to get to where they are after reading their life stories. As Tom Hammond writes in his foreword, "Small in stature, large in heart, they put their lives on the line in every race. The best jockeys are among the most gifted of athletic performers."

Want to win a copy of this book? Just register here for two copies to be given away courtesy of Eclipse Press and Horse-Races.Net. Entries close on July 13th.