The Big Horse

by Joe McGinniss

An insider's look at the 2003 racing season at Saratoga Racecourse considers the impact of the book and film "Seabiscuit," the scandals that implicated the New York Racing Association, the unexpected rise of Funny Cide, and other events.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horses, Horse Racing, Animals, Sports

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Joe McGinniss was an American journalist, non-fiction writer and novelist. He first came to prominence with the best-selling The Selling of the President 1968 which described the marketing of then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon. It spent more than six months on best-seller lists. He is popularly known for his trilogy of bestselling true crime books — Fatal Vision, Blind Faith and Cruel Doubt — which were adapted into several TV miniseries and movies. Over the course of forty years, McGinniss published twelve books.

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's hard to believe that this is the same author of the dynamic, tension-filled Fatal Vision. This book is absolute crap. The blurb states this book is "heartwarming" -- only if you count GERD as heartwarming. The Big Horse is a grim look at the world of thoroughbred racing in 2003 with a specific focus on the cranky PG Johnson, the owner/breeder/trainer of 2002 Breeder's Cup Classic winner Volponi and his rather less-than-stellar 2003 campaign. So this is a look at Volponi in 2003 and NOT the far more interesting campaign in 2002. This is Volponi:



Also dwells on McGuiness' personal relationship with horse racing. Actually, if he'd only written about that, it would have been a much more interesting book. The horses are merely pawns in a game played by (mostly) greedy bastards.



No mention is made of what happens to these horses after they're done racing (usually they are put down or go on to a slaughterhouse.) Volponi himself is now mostly forgotten on a stud farm in South Korea.

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

An oddly written book, although I understand what the author tried to do.

The book is written in chapters that bounce back and forth. One chapter deals with the present moments and the life and times of Volponi. Then the next chapter goes back in time to show moments of the horse's trainer and how his life influenced the present moments in the next chapter.

It was o.k.... and especially getting close to Derby time it was a good, and fairly quick read. I would recommend it for horse racing fans looking for a book on the subject around the time of the Breeder's Cup in October.

For a guy who bet and won on Volponi, this book wasn't as good as I hoped it would be.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I found P. G. Johnson an original, one of a kind individual. His experience as a trainer and owner of Volponi as well as his wit made this an informative read. McGinniss did a great job.

[Jim Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read on horse racing.

[D'Arcy L. Demianoff-Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for any equine enthusiast who follows the horse industry.

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Tagg seemed an appealing guy. He way cynical, pessimistic, dour, irritable, sardonic, acerbic, and hot-tempered: all the qualities I most admire in a man" (p. 59).

"But some of these horses are totally no good. Absolute losers. I can't help it. I have found, nine out of ten times, the bastards run to their pedigree. If they run at all. Some of them simply can't run" (P.G. Johnson, trainer, p. 126).

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to know about the races since the 1920s, especially tose at Saratoga, or if you are interested in the life of PG Johnson, you will like this book. If you are interested in the horse, Volpini you won't find much here.

The writing is fragmented between parrts of the life of Joe McGinnis, the author, Johnson, and the racing industry - back and forth, back and forth.