cover image Guess I'm Lucky: My Life in Horseracing

Guess I'm Lucky: My Life in Horseracing

Woody Stephens. Doubleday Books, $16.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-385-19568-3

Stephens, now in his 70s, has been one of thoroughbred racing's most successful trainers for many years, winning the Kentucky Derby twice and three consecutive Belmont Stakes, plus innumerable other stakes races. Here he retraces his career, including anecdotes about wealthy owners he has worked for, especially Harry Guggenheim and Henryk de Kwiatkowski, and jockeys who have worked for him, among them Lafitte Pincay, Angel Cordero and Eddie Maple. He explains the ways racing has changed since the 1930s, expressing concern about how TV will affect the smaller tracks with inferior horses and less generous purses. But, above all, he makes it clear that a horse trainer must train owners to realize they cannot run their own stables. Fans of the Sport of Kings will love it all. Photos not seen by PW. November 1