The winter holidays are defined by the joys and challenges of finding gifts for family and friends on your list. For many, a book is a treasure they look forward to unwrapping, one they can snuggle up with on cold winter days. Each year brings a new slate of books to add to your library, stories that immerse readers in names and places both old and new.

For the horsey sort, 2023 brought a long list of new books on the sport as we celebrate one epic anniversary and look forward to another in the new year.

Fiction or non, these titles share stories for readers of all ages, exploring tough topics and honoring more than a century’s worth of champions, all worthy of gifting this holiday season.

Broken: The Suspicious Death of Alydar and the End of Horse Racing’s Golden Age, by Fred M. Kray

Alydar’s sudden injury and then death in 1990 shocked the sport with questions about the circumstances arising in the aftermath. In “Broken,” Kray shares the career of the famed sire and racehorse while also examining the stallion’s fatal injury and the trial that followed. As a former lawyer who specializes in animal rights law, the author approaches this subject as both an admirer of the horse and an experienced legal eye.

Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold, by Avalyn Hunter

Marguerite Henry’s “Black Gold” inspired generations of young readers with the story of Jaydee and his connection to the titular racehorse. Avalyn Hunter shares the true story behind Black Gold, his Osage owners, and the trainer and jockey who defined the career of the 50^th Kentucky Derby winner. Hunter explores the world that Black Gold inhabited, from the heightened racial tensions of the 1920s to the sport still recovering from its near-death experience a decade earlier. “Dream Derby” is a fitting tribute to the horse whose story still moves racing fans a century later.

False Riches: There’s Only One Sure Thing, by John Paul Miller

Miller’s novel fuses his admiration for horses with a crime story centered on a fictional Texas racetrack. When exercise rider Amos Moon makes a bet that changes his life forever, he has to find a way out of trouble while private investigator Rixie Ricksland aims to find the perpetrators at the heart of a race-fixing and horse-drugging scheme. A horseman himself, Miller shares his love for the equine while crafting a crime/love story aimed to captivate readers of all stripes.

Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey, by Katherine C. Mooney

Katherine C. Mooney’s first book “Racehorse Men” examined the legacy of formerly enslaved horsemen who navigated the tenuous transition from slavery to freedom in an era that both coveted their skill sets and rankled at their success. She follows that up with her look at the life of the famed Black jockey Isaac Murphy, an examination that shares the delicate balance that Murphy and his peers had to maintain in the decades after the Civil War. She analyzes his public persona while also using contemporary sources to seek out the man inside, fleshing out the man behind the immortal.

Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse, by Kim Wickens

Wickens’s book tackles the life behind the legend that is Lexington, regarded as the greatest racehorse of the antebellum era. This son of Boston appears in the pedigrees of most American Thoroughbreds, including 12 of the thirteen Triple Crown winners. The author traces this historic horse’s origins on a Kentucky farm through his record-breaking races to his influence in the breeding shed and beyond. Against the backdrop of the Civil War, Lexington’s story explores horse racing from its antebellum days through the ravages of war, sharing a new perspective on the sport we love.

No Snail, by David Owen

From England comes Owen’s book about L’Escargot, the steeplechaser who was a winner on both sides of the Atlantic, taking two Cheltenham Gold Cups and famously defeating Red Rum in the 1975 Grand National. Owned by American Raymond Guest, the hard-trying chestnut gelding was a winner in the United States before crossing the Atlantic to win both in England and Ireland. Overshadowed by three-time Grand National victor Red Rum, L’Escargot’s name might not be as familiar to racing fans, but Owen’s exploration of this champion’s career should jump right into your cart this holiday season.

Secretariat’s Legacy: The Sons, Daughters, and Descendants Who Keep His Legend Alive, by Patricia McQueen

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown, Patricia McQueen published this magnum opus, a coffee table book that shares the sons and daughters that carried on their famed sire’s winning ways. The book is full of beautiful photographs of horses like Lady’s Secret, Risen Star, Terlingua, Six Crowns, and others as she chronicles their achievements on the track and in the breeding shed. This oversized compendium is a fitting tribute to the horse that captivated the sport a half-century ago and then continued that success through the progeny he left behind. This book is a must-have for Big Red fans.

The First Kentucky Derby: Thirteen Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn’t Supposed to Win, by Mark Shrager

We all know the name of the first Kentucky Derby winner, Aristides, and the year that first historic race happened, 1875, but beyond that, the details are scarce for most racing fans. Tony Ryan Book Award winner Mark Shrager brings us the rest of the story, filling in the context for Aristides’s win in that inaugural run for the roses. Not only do we meet Henry Price McGrath, the prolific gambler who was not afraid to tell his jockeys to allow the other horse to win, but we also learn about the 13 Black jockeys in the saddle on that May day, men who represented an entire population of horsemen that would be systematically excluded for the sport within two decades. Shrager’s book is a fitting way to jumpstart your celebration of next year’s 150^th Kentucky Derby.

The Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, and the Quest for the Triple Crown, by Jennifer S. Kelly

William Woodward’s childhood goal was to win the Epsom Derby and he bent both his considerable wealth and personal determination toward that end. In the process, the man behind Belair Stud created a breeding and racing operation that would dominate a decade and continue building the stature of the Triple Crown in American racing. Together with Hall of Fame trainer “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, Woodward raced both Gallant Fox and Omaha, sire and son, whose respective careers set records and set a standard for the immortals that followed. “The Foxes of Belair” is the first book to chronicle the life and career of both horses and examine how they helped make the quest for the Triple Crown the measuring stick for generations to follow.

The Jockey and Her Horse (Once Upon a Horse #2), by Sarah Maslin Nir and Raymond White

Cheryl White has a dream: to be a jockey. As a Black girl in the late 1960s, she faced both the challenges of her ethnicity and of her gender in the pursuit of her goal of riding racehorses. Nir and White focus on inspiring readers of all ages to see that they can achieve their dreams regardless of the impediments the world puts in their way. We go along for the ride as Cheryl learns about herself and those who came before her as she works toward her moment in the winner’s circle.

The Long Shot, by Chris Carpenter

Former professional baseball player Chris Carpenter and illustrator Dave Papa bring the story of one longshot filly’s day at the races in “The Long Shot.” Based on the story of Benbang, the stakes-winning filly owned by Carpenter and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, this beautifully illustrated book follows the filly through her first race day at Saratoga as she wins her debut race. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of “The Long Shot” goes to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to provide a sanctuary for rescued and retired Thoroughbreds.

The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty, by Curtis Stock

Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte is best known for his partnership with Triple Crown winner Secretariat, but he was just one of five Turcotte brothers that pursued riding as a career. After Ron found success in both Canada and the United States, Noel, Rudy, Roger, and Yves all followed in his footsteps, seeking to make their own mark on the sport. Using interviews and other sources, Stock explores the careers of each brother from their humble beginnings in New Brunswick through the trials and travails of life in the saddle. “The Turcottes” shares an epic story of one family that the author prefaces with, “It couldn't happen. But it did.”

Unnatural Ability: The History of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Thoroughbred Racing, by Milton C. Toby

Performance-enhancing substances are not new to the world of sport. Track and field, horse racing, cycling, and more have wrestled with the effects these have had on the integrity of competition as the depth and breadth of each scandal demonstrates just how far some will go to gain an advantage. The late Milt Toby’s final book traces PEDs in the sport of horse racing from the latter half of the 19^th century through the 21^st century and shares how “dope” itself not only has evolved but has forced both detection and enforcement to evolve with it. Toby brings his patient and practiced approach to this topic, making the history of PEDs accessible to readers as the sport continues to grapple with their perception and presence in the modern racing industry.

As the festive season approaches, what better way to delight the racing aficionado than with this carefully curated selection of books that gallop through all corners of the world of horse racing? From riveting tales of legendary racehorses to insightful glimpses into the sport itself, this collection of new titles promises to transport readers into the heart-pounding excitement of the track. Whether they are seasoned turf experts or newcomers to the sport, these books are bound to captivate and entertain, the perfect equine-inspired gifts that will leave a lasting hoofprint on their literary adventures.