Head to Head: Conversations with a Generation of Horse Racing Legends

Product Description
In
Head to Head, award-winning writer Lenny Shulman offers highlights from the best interviews he has conducted throughout his twenty-year career covering Thoroughbred horse racing. In that time, he has coaxed the innermost thoughts out of the sport’s most notable headline-makers. It was to Shulman that Helen “Penny” Chenery, owner of Secretariat, publicly revealed for the first time the mistakes she made with her superstar colt. Arthur Hancock III shared with him his feelings of being banished from his family’s Claiborne Farm, and his pride in succeeding on his own with the great Sunday Silence. Owner Paul Reddam poured out his hopes and fears to Shulman in the hour before realizing his dream of winning the Kentucky Derby with I’ll Have Another.

Shulman takes readers behind the scenes with industry legends, owners, trainers, veterinarians, and celebrities―touching on some of the greatest horses and greatest races the sport has ever seen. This engaging book serves as an important oral history of Thoroughbred horse racing as well as a guide for new generations of enthusiasts who are interested in learning from some of the sport’s most successful luminaries.
Review
“This compilation of interviews is a mixture of insightful information and entertainment. It represents Lenny Shulman at his witty best. He interviewed me on two occasions. Afterwards, I realized that I had revealed things I never knew about myself.
That’s a great interviewer.”―Tom Durkin, Hall of Fame track announcer

“Anyone who has read any of Lenny Shulman’s previous books and his features in the
Blood-Horse knows what an excellent writer he is, but here he demonstrates his uncanny skills as an interviewer. Shulman, with genuine interest in his subjects and an infectious sense of humor, has a knack for putting people at ease and bringing out the kind of candid comments that make this a must-read book for anyone who wants to get inside the minds of racing’s leading personalities.”―Steve Haskin, Hall of Fame turf writer and author

“As a turf writer, Lenny Shulman coaxed Penny Chenery to tell lesser-known stories and historical accounts about Secretariat. She always looked forward to her interviews with him, and enjoyed and respected his literary talents and insights into the sport.”―Leonard Lusky,
Secretariat.com

“A great interviewer is like a prospector hoping to glean a nugget or two. Lenny’s mastery of the conversation, and the respect his subjects have for him, result in the mother lode for horse racing aficionados and those that appreciate a master study in the art of the interview.  It’s pure gold throughout.”―Kenny Rice, NBC Sports

“Lenny Shulman has covered the Thoroughbred industry with passion and insight for more than 20 years. This fascinating collection of interviews with racing’s legendary personalities proves once again he is one of racing’s premier chroniclers.”―Ted Bassett, president emeritus of Keeneland

“Years from now,
Head to Head will be a resource for those attracted by racing’s history, as lived and made by some of turf’s renowned participants in the latter part of the twentieth century and the early part of the twenty first.”―
Horse Racing Business
About the Author
Lenny Shulman is an Emmy Award-winning writer in television and film as well as for magazines and newspapers. He has served as features editor for
BloodHorse magazine and is the author of
Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory and
Ride of Their Lives: The Triumphs and Turmoil of Today’s Top Jockeys. He lives in Versailles, Kentucky.