[.ca] Wild Ride: Updated With A New Afterword (ISBN 0805042423)

Wild Ride: A Wild Read:
An intriguing, non-fictional tale of corporate greed and thoroughbred racing in the 1980's against the backdrop of the history of the great Kentucky racing stable of Calumet. The characters include a multi-million dollar race horse,Alydar---famous for being second to 1978 Triple Crown Winner Affirmed, heirs of Warren Wright who took their inheritance for granted and ignored the source of their riches---Calumet, the banks who continued to loan millions of dollars to Calumet solely on the value of their star stallion Alydar. Even if you are not a fan of thoroughbred horses, the story is as much a moral tale for the 90's as it was for the 80's. The story moves fast, and is particulary fascinating when the author flashes back to the heydey of Calumet. The antidote retold by the author describing how Alydar was named is particularly amusing. The painstaking research into the where to's and how to's of syndicating breeding shares to star stallions and borrowing money against shares can be dull reading if you are not interested, but can be skimmed over since this is not the focus of the book. Highly recommended.

Wild Ride is a winner:
Obviously, this book has been out for a number of years, but it is a snapshot of horse racing history that should not be missed. Anne Auerbach has a crisp narrative style that befits her newspaper background. And maybe because of that background, she does an exquisite job in researching this most amazing story. She grabs the reader in the first chapter with the tragic account of what happened to Alydar, the superstar horse that ran a close second to Affirmed in all three triple crown races. And while Alydar is the subplot to much of the book, the story Auerbach is able to gather takes the reader from the early days of Calumet baking soda all the way through to the dreadful financial end of Calumet Farm, THE predominant horse racing and breeding farm in the bluest of bluegrass Kentucky. Her citations at the end of the book read like those from a scholarly work, which this most certainly is. Well researched. Well written. And an excellent read, even if the reader doesn't care a thing for horse racing - but especially so if the reader does!

Too much financial mumbo-jumbo:
I purchased this book after reading "Seabiscuit" and expected to get the same type of biography. However, my enjoyment was hindered by Auerbach's excessive use of financial jargon regarding the Wright family's trust as well as the battles and litigations that ensued. I do have to commend the author for digging down into the nitty-gritty, though I did sometimes wonder about some of the finer details and their credibility. I'd recommend this book to anyone who really wants to know the story of Calumet Farm, as long as they don't mind drudging through pages and pages of boring and often confusing jargon.

Review of Wild Ride:
Ann Auerback's investigational story is a compelling journey into a rarely discussed aspect of horse racing. Auerbach details the history of Calumet Farm, once America's most famous Kentucky horsefarm. The author's love of horses is evident in her detailed account of events. It took much courage for Ann Auerbach to uncover and discover the truth about Calumet's fall. It will also take some backbone for Alydar fans and horselovers to read the facts presented. I read this book for two reasons. I wanted to understand how a farm like Calumet could go from the best to the worst.I also needed to know what happened to Alydar after his racing fans were no longer watching him. Wild Ride answered both of my questions in a methodical and journalistic style.

Brilliant. This is a GREAT story.:
This book is amazing. Sure it's a fun tale, brilliantly told, of one of the most famous horse farms in history. But it's so much more. It's also a fantastic insight into excess and fraud and how businessmen commit it. Read it for the blood and guts and glory of horse racing. The story of Calumet is wonderful. But hang onto your hats. Auerbach's indepth investigative journalism shows the anatomy of a swindle. How J.T. Lundy, owner of Calumet, and his cohorts turned the most beautiful animals in the world into cash machines. How they debased the tradition of one of the noblest sports. Auerbach is undaunted by the complicated financial shinnegans that these people concocted to billk banks out of millions. In fact, I believe that her reporting is the reason that Lundy wound up getting indicted and convicted. And she tells it in such a compelling way that even someone who can't add 2 plus 2 can see how the rich sometimes get richer at our expense. Read it and weep. But know that in the end, justice was done.