Dear
Readers,
Very exciting news came my way day
before yesterday. Castleton Lyons and the Doctor Tony Ryan Book Award have
announced the semi-finalists for the 2013 competition, and Casual Lies – A Triple Crown
Adventure has made it into the semi-finals of this prestigious international
literary competition.
I’m
including the full press release posted on the Castleton Lyons web-site; it
includes a short synopsis on all six of the great books that are being
considered for the finals.
Writing about Casual Lies, turned
into far more than a long winded recollection of a very heady experience. It brought back, in vivid color, Stanley’s electrifying
personality, character, and how powerful and contagious was his joie de vivre to
everyone who came into contact with him.
The epiphany, while writing the
memoir, was the realization that it was never just about an unlikely Triple
Crown adventure. But even today as I write this, it’s still difficult for me to
comprehend the way in which this wonderful horse came into my life and how he
changed it in so many ways. I marvel
that even with the whimsical nature of luck and circumstance that I was blessed
to be in the right place and at the right time, to have this special horse come
my way, and that is the true wonder.
Reaching the semi-finals of an award
dedicated to the recognition of entertaining stories about the wonderful world
of Thoroughbreds is extremely gratifying and I am honored.
Here is the press release from
Castleton Lyons;
2013
Dr. Ryan semi-finalists exceptional group
The
2013 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award competition has drawn the strongest slate of
semi-finalists in its eight year history to date, an impressive assortment of
well-penned histories, fiction, biography, and autobiographies—both human and
equine. In the end, the underdog theme ruled the day in this cycle of uniquely
award-worthy entries.
Launched in 2006 by the late Dr. Ryan, the
award, worth $10,000 to the winner, was the industry’s first to honor
full-length literary work focusing on racing. Dr. Ryan loved good writing as
much as he loved a good Thoroughbred, and thus placed few parameters on his
concept other than skill with the written word.
Three
2013 finalists will be revealed via press release on March 17 (see: http://www.castletonlyons.com/).
The winner will be announced during an invitation-only reception at the Ryan
family’s historic Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington on April 9.
Book Award Semifinalists:
Battleship: A Daring Heiress, A Teenage Jockey, and America’s Horse
Author:
Dorothy Ours
A
character-driven work based in the early decades of the 20th
century. Battleship centers on
enigmatic Marion DuPont of the famed chemical manufacturing family … her
battles against the gender limitations of her time, her marriage to a Hollywood
movie star, and most importantly, her undying love for horses—most specifically
her faith in a pint-sized son of Man o’ War, who, in 1938, packed her colors to
victory in the world’s most heart-testing race: England’s Grand National
Steeplechase.
Casual Lies: A Triple Crown Adventure
Author:
Shelley Lee Riley
The
feel-good narrative of a woman trainer who sees potential in a small,
nondescript bay colt and runs with it—literally—parlaying a meager $7,500
purchase price into $795,991 in career earnings. Under the name Casual Lies,
the colt took Shelley Riley on the ride of a lifetime, winning in graded
company and, more importantly, placing in both the 1992 Kentucky Derby and
Preakness Stakes.
Foinavon: The Story of the Grand National’s Biggest Upset
Author:
David Owen
Another
with the Grand National as a backdrop, this one provides an account of the 1967
renewal, unimaginably upset by the 100-to-1 title character, Foinavon. Owen
details how the winner and his companion, a white nanny goat named Susie,
thereafter charmed the British masses as they traveled the country on a
“victory tour,” while reminding one and all of the true meaning and glory of
the Grand National itself.
Jack: From Grit to Glory
Author:
Chris Kotulak
The
story of a living American legend, told via anecdotal material, interviews of
those who know him best, and through memories from the man himself. The
down-to-earth Nebraskan is a Hall of Fame horseman and himself the son of a
Hall of Fame trainer; and in the course of his nearly 60 years—and counting—on
the track, Van Berg has remarkably developed both racehorses and other trainers
of Hall of Fame caliber.
Other People’s Horses
Author:
Natalie Keller Reinert
The
only fiction entry among the finalists, this one brings back a pair of married
trainers, Alex and Alexander, from 2012’s Head
and Not the Heart. In this one, the husband is abroad on family business,
leaving Alex at Saratoga running the stable, battling sexism, dealing with a
naïve assistant, and falling hard for a crazy filly she thinks she can fix.
Ride the White Horse: A Checkered Jockey’s Story of Racing, Rage,
and Redemption
Author:
Eddie Donnally
Gut-wrenching
autobiography of a jockey on a road straight to hell, replete with race-fixing
schemes, batteries, and squandered dreams. Stalked by alcoholism, drug and
sex-addiction, and mental illness, we follow Donnally’s life as it descends
from nascent talent into hopelessness, homelessness, and total despair. Donnally’s
gritty mea culpa of a life not well
lived may be a tough read, but is ultimately, one of hope and redemption.
I’ll
try to get a chance to look over the entries for the San Felipe later today and
I will post them here tomorrow…hopefully.
Take care,
Shelley Riley, Author of Casual Lies – A Triple Crown Adventure
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