With the Super Bowl right around the corner, the time seemed right to take a look at how much the NFL season parallels the world of horse racing. If you watch football, play fantasy sports or bet on games, you know that the players have ups and downs and that coaches are constantly revising their playbook for the most important games of the season. The same holds true for racing, the horses (players), and their trainers (coaches).

The book “Better Lucky Than Good: Tall Tales and Straight Talk from the Backside of the Track” is the stunning result of a three-year project taken on by the Louisville Story Project. They like to partner with people whose voices are often unheard. It’s brilliant! They began on the backside of Churchill Downs in October 2016 spending time with the authors which led to the book launch in December 2019. Skillfully edited by Joe Manning, 32 authors tell their life stories. Thirty-two characters.