Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award

Kim Wickens has been named the winner of the 2023 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature for her biography of the great 19th century stallion, Lexington. The book, Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse, creates a vivid time capsule back to the pre- and -post Civil War era. This was the second straight year a book about the peerless sire was honored, following Geraldine Brooks's 2022 win for her novel, Horse. Lexington is the first book authored by Wickens, a...

Old Friends will host this year's finalists for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for a book signing held Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 12:30-2:30 p.m. at the Josephine Abercrombie Center located at 1841 Paynes Depot Road, Georgetown, KY. The finalists include: Katherine Mooney (Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey), Kim Wickens (Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse) and Curtis Stock (The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty). One semi-finalist will also be available for signing: John Paul Miller...

A trio of authors have been selected as finalists for the 19th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award with the winner being selected on Thursday, Nov. 7 at Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, the farm said in a Friday morning release. This year's finalists are: Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey by Katherine C. Mooney Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America's Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty by Curtis Stock The winner will receive...

With a $10,000 prize to the winner, the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award named its semi-finalists, the competition said in a Thursday release. Inaugurated in 2006 by the late philanthropist and global executive Tony Ryan, and sponsored by his family's Castleton Lyons Farm near Lexington, Ky., the award honors the best writing related to the Thoroughbred industry published in 2023. Three finalists will be revealed this summer, with the winner announced during a reception at Castleton Lyons later in the year. The semifinalists are (in alphabetical order, by author name):...

Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse: A Novel, Nov. 9 was awarded first prize in Castleton Lyons's 17th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, the sponsor of the prize said in a release Friday. The work of fiction tells the story of 19th century racehorse and sire Lexington by moving back and forth through time and space from the antebellum South to modern day New York and Washington D. C. At a reception held at Castleton Lyons outside of Lexington, Brooks received a check for $10,000 and a Tipperary...

An extraordinary time-hopping, historical novel; a compelling biography of potential greatness and a life cut short; and a powerful, category-bending work of fiction told as the oral history of a hard-luck horsewoman. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks, Landaluce: The Story of Seattle Slew's First Champion, by Mary Perdue, and Kick The Latch, by Kathryn Scanlan are the three finalists for the 17th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, decided upon by a panel of racing and literary judges. "The 2022 nominees included a refreshing group of voices new to this Book Award,...

Three finalists, selected by a panel of judges from nearly two dozen submissions, have been announced for the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. The finalists are: Death by Equine, a fictional mystery about a young racetrack veterinarian named Jessie Cameron who fills in for her vacationing mentor, only to be faced with his sudden and startling death, written by Annette Dashofy; Racetrack Rogues: One Woman's Story of Family, Love and Loss in the Horse Racing World, a fictional story of loss, love, and redemption, written by Dawn LeFevre; and...

Six semifinalists for the 16th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of judges and were split evenly this year between fiction and non-fiction. The semifinalists were chosen from nearly two dozen submissions. The six semifinalists for books published in the 2021, listed alphabetically by title, are as follows: Death by Equine, by Annette Dashofy Dinky Becomes a Racehorse, by J. M. Chodkowski Head to Head, Conversations With a Generation of Horse Racing Legends, by Lenny Schulman Racetrack Rogues, One Woman's Story of Family, Love,...

The entry deadline for the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented annually by Castleton Lyons, is Dec. 31. The award is given to the author of the best book--as judged by a panel--on any aspect of Thoroughbred racing for work published this past year. Named for the late Castleton Lyons owner, the award rewards the winner with $10,000 and a Tipperary Crystal trophy. For further details, including the entry form, visit castletonlyons.com.

Edited Press Release Veteran turf writer Mark Shrager has won the 15th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by Castleton Lyons, for Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle. The winner was announced on May 10 via Zoom conference for the second straight year due to pandemic concerns. Shrager, a previous Book Award finalist for The Great Sweepstakes of 1877, took top honors for his biography of Crump, who represented the face of hope for aspiring young women in the Sport of Kings in the late 1960s. She...

A trio of finalists have been announced for the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. The three finalists are Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle, by Mark Sharger; Good Things Come, by Linda Shantz; and Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop, Had a Way With Horses, by Vicki Moon. "This was the year of debut authors, including the fiction finalist [Vicki Moon]," said judge Kay Coyte, a former Washington Post and racing publications editor. "Part of the mission of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award is to encourage new...

For the first time in its 14-year history, the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award has gone to a multi-collaborative effort. The winner for works published in 2019 is "Better Lucky Than Good: Tall Tales and Straight Talk from the Backside of the Track," published through the Louisville Story Program and edited by Joe Manning.    The book features perspectives and pieces from a diverse cast of racetrackers based at Churchill Downs including exercise riders, grooms, assistant trainers, hotwalkers, outriders, security guards, silks makers and touts. "'Better Lucky Than Good' is a...