2024 Book Award Finalists
A panel of judges has selected three finalists for the 19th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, each representing excellence in thoroughbred sports literature published in 2024. The three authors — Arthur B. Hancock III, John Perrotta and Josh Pons — all have extensive background in the thoroughbred racing industry, in addition to demonstrated skill as writers. Two of the titles, Hancock’s “Dark Horses: A Memoir of Redemption” and Pons’ “Letters From Country Life: Adolphe Pons, Man o’ War, and the Founding of Maryland’s Oldest Thoroughbred Farm” are biographies steeped in their families’ thoroughbred history. Perrotta, a lifelong horseman who has been a racetrack and stable manager, jockey agent and radio executive, joins the group with “A Beggar’s Ride,” a mystery/thriller tale that spans racetracks from California to Ireland, the author’s current home.
“These finalists have much in common: men who have devoted their lives to thoroughbred racing but also have nurtured their creative sides,” said Book Award judge Kay Coyte. “They did so not only through these books but also through journalism, songwriting or screenwriting. Oh, the stories they can tell.”
Semifinalists also included “The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects,” by Kentucky Derby Museum and Jessica K. Whitehead; “Jockey Queen: Lillian Jenkinson Holder, Horse Racing’s Fearless Lady,” by Roger Peach; and “What Horses Do After Racing: The Story of Good Carma,” by Jay Privman.
These titles were among nearly 20 submissions that illustrated the scope of the Book Award, including children’s books, history, romance and, in a first, horror (set in 19th century Saratoga). With a $10,000 winner’s prize, this competition has for nearly two decades ranked among the most lucrative in publishing. The late businessman/philanthropist Dr. Tony Ryan launched it in 2006 as the Castleton Lyons/Thoroughbred Times award, to recognize a long-overlooked segment of race-writing: the book. After Dr. Ryan’s passing a year later, his son Shane carried on, while changing the name of the award to honor his late father.
The winner’s ceremony will be held in the loft above the historic stallion barn at the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington, Ky., on Thursday Nov. 6, 2025. In addition to the $10,000 winner’s check, the Book Award will present $1,000 to the other two finalists; all will receive Tipperary crystal trophies.
The 2024 judging team included Coyte, an Eclipse Award-winning former Washington Post editor; Caton Bredar, an Eclipse-winning television on-air host and handicapper; Kim Wickens, winner of the 2023 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for “Lexington,” and former Boston Globe columnist Diane White, a director of the Old Friends thoroughbred retirement farm.
Following is a synopsis of the finalists published during the 2024 calendar year, listed alphabetically by title.
A Beggar’s Ride
by John Perrotta
Author Perrotta’s latest mystery is a sequel to his 2015 novel If Wishes Were Horses, in which he introduced runaway teenager and New York backstretch worker Hamilton Greer. In A Beggar’s Ride, Greer is ten years older and still learning the hard lessons of life. The nomadic young man eventually lands in Europe, where he finds love and adventure both on and off the racetrack—not all of it good. Along the way, Greer becomes unwittingly involved with a shady group of characters, including smugglers, killers, and drug dealers, which makes for a rollicking, albeit dangerous, romp to the dark side.
Dark Horses: A Memoir of Redemption
by Arthur B. Hancock III
Dark Horses is the story of a pre-eminent racing family, a legendary Thoroughbred farm, a personal and profound fall from grace, and, ultimately, a triumphant redemption—one that propelled Arthur B. Hancock III to the heights of the Thoroughbred industry. It is told from the heart and with sometimes painful vulnerability by the man himself, who seems to hold nothing back as he chronicles his wild-child youth filled with boozing, fighting, and debt, to the point where he walked away from his family’s historic Claiborne Farm and rebuilt his life on his own terms. Eventually, Hancock would establish his own very successful Thoroughbred operation at Stone Farm and became the first of his family to be the breeder and owner of a Kentucky Derby winner. Throughout the memoir, Hancock bares his soul in the country music lyrics he penned, a passion that continues today.
Letters From Country Life: Adolphe Pons, Man o’ War, and the Founding of Maryland’s Oldest Thoroughbred Farm
by Josh Pons
Josh Pons is a two-time Eclipse Award-winning writer, third-generation horseman, and co-owner of Maryland’s famed Country Life Farm. In 2016 he uncovered a treasure trove of letters in the century-old farmhouse basement—trunks packed with correspondence to his grandfather Adolphe Pons. Those letters provided a rare glimpse into the life of a special man, told by voices from the deep past. The elder Pons, who founded Country Life during the Great Depression, had served as personal secretary to August Belmont II, and had a hand in the breeding and eventual sale of a yearling named Man o’ War—among many other contributions to the sport. Who wouldn’t want a peek inside the letters that came his way? Even better, the author shares his own erudite thoughts on the wisdom and joy gleaned in discovering this long-ago family history.
For additional information, contact Kerri Cahill at kcahill@castletonlyons.com
About Castleton LyonsCastleton Lyons is a full-service thoroughbred facility located on historic property near Lexington in the heart of Blue Grass country. This limestone rich acreage, once owned by 18th century statesman John Breckinridge and later by Wall Street financier James R. Keene, has produced some of
America’s most notable racehorses—from Racing Hall of Fame champions Domino, Commando and Colin to present-day Eclipse Award-winning Ryan family homebred Gio Ponti, plus multiple other stakes-winning colts and fillies over the last two decades.
