Travel World guide

This book is one of the best horse racing books available right now–don’t hesitate to go get it today.

It is superb.

There are many horse racing books coming out in the market right now, but very few of them have the insight at the sports highest level that “A Perfect Ride” does. It is an amazing story told without interuption by the man who lived it and it sincerely can’t be beaten.

New racing fans will meet the cast of characters that make up this great sport and seasoned racing veterans will enjoy the details and inside information.

Others to read:
“The Race for the Triple Crown”
by Joe Drape

“Cigar: America’s Horse “
by Jay Hovdey

I remember seeing Gary ride back at Longacres. Some of the people and horses he talks of in this book were jogged to memory. There’s an incredible story of the reality of race riding, and the business, that Gary tells as if sitting across from you. Some of the greatest names in Thoroughbreds and the incredible highs and lows that come with “the game” are there on the page. He doesn’t assume the reader knows terminology but doesn’t talk down to the reader either. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely encourage racing fans especially to get this book.

If you love thoroughbred horse racing and are hungry for an inside look this book is for you. Gary Stevens discusses the great horses he has ridden and the great trainers he has worked for. At the same time he is still a working jockey and I believe he went to great lengths to not offend anyone. It is a shame because you can’t help but believe that Gary has a strong opinion on just about everything in his industry. He avoids saying much about his fellow jockeys except for kind words regarding Bill Shoemaker and Pat Day. And Chris Antley is discussed in detail.

What does it take to make it as a jockey? How does it feel to ride a champion? For the answers to these questions and many more, pick up a copy of Gary Stevens; memoir, THE PERFECT RIDE. Co-author Merv Kaufman does an excellent job of capturing Stevens’ voice and chronicling his rise from Idaho farm boy to champion race rider. There’s a lot of great stuff in here from an inside view of the jock’s room to fascinating stories about racing from around the globe. This isn’t just another sports star memoir. It’s a story of triumph over adversity, packed with scores of anecdotes about the jockeys, trainers, owners and horses who make the game great.

As Gary’s literary agent, I’ll admit to being far from unbiased. Having just started following the sport of horseracing, I found the book to be a great introduction to the sport–the owners, the trainers, the history, and the relationship between horses and jockeys. Gary is a great story-teller and his passion for the sport and his spiritual relationship with horses made for an incredible read. It’s the kind of book that you can read in one sitting. I know first-hand that Gary put his heart and soul into the book, and it shows.

If you are a racing fan this book will take you along on a fun ride with one of the toughest riders to ever hit the track. Find out which horses Gary thought were his best mounts and what lessons he learned during his excellent career.

I was fortunate enough to meet Gary and have him sign my book.
Really enjoyed his life story and all he over came to become one of the Best jockey ever.

The perfect ride is a very well written book about the life of one of our greatest riders. Gary has the ability to describe a race to bring the rider alongside his horse and experience the race in one’s mind. He aparently has the touch it takes to have a horse do what the rider wants it to do without unessary force but with a tender hand. He also goes into great detail about things the general public would not be aware of but he explains in terms a layman can understand. I would recommend this book to any horse lover or anyone interested in reading a really good book.

If you enjoyed “Seabiscuit” or have been following the saga of the jockey José Santos as he attempted to ride Funny Cide to a Triple Crown (alas it was not to be), then you might be interested in learning more about today’s top American flat-racing jockeys.

There were several unexpected retirements this year, including Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron, and Ironman, Laffit Pincay, Jr., so the list of top jockeys who are still race-riding is a bit out-of-date in “Ride of Their Lives.” However, it is still a very interesting ‘ride.’

If you think “Seabiscuit’s” jockeys had a rough time of it during the Great Depression here in America, read the story of Jorge Chavez who was born in a Peruvian slum, never had a real family (he thinks he might have a dozen brothers and sisters, but knows of only three), slept on the street, and worked any job he could get. At age nineteen he visited a race track one day and fell in love with the horses. He didn’t get to ride right away, though. He started out by mucking stalls and had to work his way up the ranks to acquire his jockey’s license. He became the top rider at the Hipodromo Monterico in Peru, then decided to try his luck in America. It took Jorge roughly ten years in the States before he started to get the top horses. Nowadays, if you watch any of the big grade-one races, you’re almost sure to spot Chavez, whose unique riding style has earned him the nickname, ‘Chop Chop.’ His first Derby winner was Monarchos, so if you’d like to learn more about Chavez, read “Horse of a Different Color” by Jim Squires.

The tragic story of Chris Antley opens this book, balanced by the more hopeful and unfinished story of Pat Valenzuela, who has come back out of the hell of addiction and is riding top horses once more. Good luck, Pat!

Lenny Shulman tells the stories of fourteen top jockeys in all: Chris Antley; Jerry Bailey; Russell Baze; Jorge Chavez; Pat Day; Eddie Delahoussaye (Patient Eddie is one of my all-time favorites); Kent Desormeaux; Mark Guidry; Chris McCarron; Corey Nakatani; Laffit Pincay, Jr.; Mike Smith; Gary Stevens; and Patrick Valenzuela. Reading these biographies will give you an appreciation of the physical suffering these jocks go through to stay at the top of their game. I personally feel they are the best, bravest professional athletes in the world—they and their Thoroughbred mounts.

I had one minor problem with this book in that it didn’t spend enough time on the horses. I would have liked to hear all of the top jocks talk about their best mounts. Some do, but not all, and not in enough detail to get a flavor for what it’s like pounding down the track at thirty-five miles an hour, balanced on the tips of your riding boots, and trying to squeeze your thousand-pound mount into a hole between two other horses whose jockeys don’t want to let you through.

Whew! Even without those added details, “Ride of Their Lives” is well worth reading.

I loved this book. Not just a book for horse people and racing fans, but a true human interest story. He dosen’t leave out any of the glory or the agony a rider of his caliber endures. I felt like I was in the race myself, following his narration. Stevens dosen’t pull any punches. It is a very honest and inspiring tale.

Gary Stevens, with his co author Mervyn Kaufman have done a great job with this book. The material is well presented, concise and very informative. Stevens clearly loves what he does, has a great respect and appreciation for the many horses he has ridden. He’s also overcome many injuries and a childhood disability to pursue his dream of riding throughbreds. I came away from this book learning a lot about the life of a jockey and the horse racing business in general.

This book captures what I love about sports in general and particularly horse racing. It is written to expose the personal side of the jockeys that make horse racing such a great sport. After reading the book, I feel that I have insight in to what the individual riders are about as people as well as their career accomplishments. It will make each of my many trips to the race track more meaningful as now I feel that I “know” the riders.

After reading The Perfect Ride, I felt so much respect and admiration for Gary Stevens. He describes the athletic demands jockeys must meet and the injuries they must endure with grace. His determination and humanity come through when he writes about his personal life. I also liked his sensitivity to the horses he rides. It’s a great read for an inner glimpse at jockey life.

I’ve been a Stevens fan since he brought Thunder Gulch home at 24-1 in the 1995 Derby. This book however, is just average at best, even for a Stevens fan. Sure it details his rise to the top of the industry, but it just doesn’t flow very well and doesn’t have much personality.

I have long held a great measure of respect for Gary Stevens as a professional racehorse jockey. I’ve watched him ride some great races on television (having grown up in an area with almost no horse industry at all, I have not had the fortune to see one of his races live). My respect for the man only grew when I saw the movie Seabiscuit (where he plays jockey George Woolf, who rode Seabiscuit in his famous match race with rival War Admiral) and realized he had a bit of acting talent as well. So when I saw his autobiography in the store, I snatched it up right away and am certainly glad I did. Reading it, my estimation of this great athlete went even higher.

Stevens begins with his early childhood, living in Idaho. His father worked with Appaloosas, then moved on to Quarter Horse racing, and later to Thoroughbreds. Gary’s older brother Scott began a career as a jockey, and Gary soon followed in his footsteps. He was riding Quarter Horses in races (under Scott’s name) before he was legally old enough to obtain a jockey’s license. The boy fell in love with the sport, and soon made the switch to riding Thoroughbreds. At seventeen, he left home for California, rode a dismal season, and returned to Idaho. There he got married, and over the next few years his career began to take flight and the book describes all his significant wins, losses, and other experiences.

Though his career soared over the years, Stevens talks of his constant battle with pain. A series of riding accidents over the years left him with terrible knees, requiring frequent surgery. He endured many breaks from riding in order to undergo rehabilitation, and often returned to the track prematurely, riding despite the pain. He even retired for a short time and tried his hand at training, but found he just couldn’t stay away from riding. Stevens’ frank discussion of his pain is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever read. No matter how much he was hurting, he kept pushing forward, and made more than one amazing comeback in the sport.

In addition to race riding, Stevens discusses other major events that helped shape his life – his children, his divorce, his remarriage, and the death of a fellow jockey and close friend, Chris Antley. He also talks of his relationships with various trainers and jockeys; how he makes decisions on which mounts to accept, how to ride his races, and what directions to take with his career; and he evaluates some of the great horses he has ridden, including Thunder Gulch, Point Given, Winning Colors, Serena’s Song, Silver Charm, and others. He talks about his struggle with weight, and how he has managed to stay in shape for riding. Stevens has ridden in the United States, Hong Kong, and Great Britain, and he compares the atmosphere and racing procedure in these very different places. All in all, this book is an excellent inside look at the life of a top racehorse jockey.

The epilogue touches briefly on Stevens’ acceptance of a role in Seabiscuit, the new movie based on author Laura Hillenbrand’s best-stelling book. He mentions a few things about the early stages of filming – what it was like to act for the first time, to work with co-star Tobey Maguire, to see an inspiring true horse story come to life on film, etc. My one criticism here is that he does not tell us enough. I really wish he had delayed the publication of this book another year so that he would have been able to include more about his work on the movie.

A few reviewers here have commented on a lack of accuracy in the book. Stevens himself tells us early in the book that his accounts are based largely on his own memories, which are fallible. He acknowledges the fact that he may have made some mistakes in his recollections. I don’t really hold this against him. I suspect that any autobiography will contain some inaccuracies. The author is relying largely on personal memory, spanning a very large period of time. Stevens’ goal here wasn’t to provide us with a data sheet on the races he’s ridden; he wanted to share the experiences of his life – to show us what’s brought him to where he is today. And I think he’s done an excellent job at just that. Having a date off by one year here, or not being entirely clear on the legalities surrounding building rights on a certain racetrack there don’t detract from the messages the book has to offer. I would highly recommend this book to any horse racing enthusiast.

As I read further into the book, I find additional factual errors (I already submitted one review regarding this, but it hasn’t shown up yet.). This book could use a good fact checker. Gary states at one point that he returned to Longacres in 1991 to ride Lois Cyphre (I believe the horse’s name was actually Louis Cyphre) in the final Longacres Mile at the old Longacres racetrack before it was closed. Yes, he did win the Mile on Louis Cyphre in 1991, however Longacres did not close until the end of the 1992 season and Gary won the very last race ever run there. While these mistakes are probably only recognized by horse-racing fans from the Seattle area, it makes me wonder how many other things in the book are not quite factual.

I am enjoying the story and the “behind the scenes” information. It is an interesting and enjoyable book. I just wish it had fewer mistakes.