To celebrate World Book Day, members of team America’s Best Racing shared their favorite book about horses and racing. From children’s classics to horseplaying guides, our team gives their recommendations for a perfect racing read.

Christina Moore: “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” by Laura Hillenbrand

One of the greatest underdog stories in sports, it’s impossible not to be moved by this Depression-era tale that shows us the impossible can in fact be achieved. It was later made into an Oscar-nominated movie, but the book gives so many more details and truly brings the characters to life. It’s a non-fiction book that reads like a gripping novel.

Mike Curry: “The Kid: The Inside Story of Steve Cauthen's Spectacular Ride to Stardom,” by Pete Axthelm

One of the benefits of working for Thoroughbred Times from 2005 to 2012 was access to a terrific library with a wide array of information on horse racing: reference volumes, stud books, novels, biographies, etc. My favorite book that I picked up during my tenure was “The Kid,” the story of jockey Steve Cauthen. His ascent to superstardom was just before my time, so I was riveted by this story of a child prodigy from an incredibly humble family with the gift of connecting on another level with racehorses.

Dan Tordjman: “Not By a Long Shot,” by T.D. Thornton

This is one of the most vivid accounts of the history of Suffolk Downs in East Boston, which was once one of the most important and best-known racetracks in the country. In describing the decline of the track, T.D. does an incredible job of bringing to life the people, places, and moments that were a part of Suffolk Downs' history.

I love this book because it’s so raw, so authentic. Despite the fact that it isn't entirely uplifting, it still fills me with a lot of the emotions that bring me back to why I love racing. More than anything, I've always loved hearing, sharing, and reading the stories of the people at the track. It's always fascinating to think about the various paths that lead one to become a horse owner, a trainer, a gambler, a mutuel clerk, or any of the roles one might play on the stage that is the racetrack.

Patrick Reed: “How to Win at the Race$: The Education of a Horseplayer,” by Sam Lewin

The world of horse racing lends itself to the written word better than any other sport, in my humble opinion, and there are many great racing books to digest. I’ll highlight one I bought in a used bookstore for something like 50 cents 15 or so years ago, which collects the thoughts of one of the most well-known handicappers of the mid-20th century, Sam “The Genius” Lewin. It’s a very fast and easy read and truthfully there’s nothing mind-blowing about Mr. Lewin’s handicapping analyses, but its main appeal to me is how Lewin's tales of the owners, jockeys, and horses he knew evoke a bygone era where Thoroughbred racing was, along with baseball and boxing, at the center of American sporting life.

Penelope Miller: “The Black Stallion” by Walter Farley

As a horse-crazy kid, the story of Alec and The Black checked all of my boxes: a half-wild horse and a boy are stranded on a deserted island and have to rely on each other to survive; once rescued, the unlikely duo sticks together, goes into training, and manages to win a horse race against impossible odds. This is the book that made me fall in love with horse racing, so it’ll always be my favorite for that reason. (This book also made me want to go on a doomed transatlantic cruise so I could find my own Black to befriend, but I was a kid and I don’t think I understood how tragedies at sea usually work.)