Women in Racing: In Their Own Words

by John McEvoy, Julia McEvoy

Women in all facets of this industry share their stories.

Genres: Horse Racing, Nonfiction, Horses

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

John McEvoy, former editor and senior correspondent for Daily Racing Form, is the author of five non-fiction books on thorougbred horse racing, including the award-winning Great Horse Racing Mysteries. Photo Finish is his fifth mystery novel and fourth featuring the adventurous Jack Doyle. One of McEvoy's earlier novels, Riders Down, won a Ben Franklin Award. He and his wife Judy live in Evanston, Illinois.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dec 29, 220pm ~~ This is the final official book of 2022. And thanks to a sleepless night I have finished it earlier than I expected. I'll be catching up with a pile of magazines the next couple of days to keep from hitting the 2023 piles of books too early. lol

So, I have finished the year with a mini horse book fit, mainly about horse racing. This book was an interesting collection of essays profiling various women involved in the sport. Some I have heard of (even seen on tv!) and others who were completely new to me and doing jobs I knew nothing about.

Jockeys, trainers, grooms, paddock judges, sportscasters, chart callers, photographers. There are many different careers around a race track, and women are quite capable of doing all of them, especially if their work ethic matches their love of horses.

I was impressed, and will spend a few hours seeing what everyone is up to now, because this book was published in 2001, and I would love to see what has happened since then!

[Cheryl L.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories, many I didn't know. Also interesting to see how much the thoroughbred industry has changed in just 20 years--some of these tracks are gone now. Though they were focusing on racing and not breeding, interviewing Sandy Hatfield would have been a tremendous asset to this book.

[Valerie Ormond · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Women in Racing" tells the story of eighteen women involved in different aspects of the thoroughbred racing industry. I liked the variety of people the authors chose to intereview and found the stories interesting. I also learned more about some of the jobs those visiting the racetrack may not think about, for instance, the person who writes the summaries for the races.
However, it took me awhile to adjust to each chapter being written in a different voice - the voices as varied as the people. The authors' narration and introductions helped pull the book together and ensure that a full picture of each woman was portrayed, often explaining things that the women themselves probably didn't want to say about themselves.
I am glad these authors captured this time in history when women were almost a novelty at the track. I also appreciated the women's spirit and can-do attitudes. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those who want to learn more about some of the women who helped pave the way for the women involved with the racetrack today.