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I loved this book. A perfect combination of in-depth history about all the people and events around Ruffian without the story being weighed down with minutiae. I could have lived without the description of Ruffian's conception -- I think non-horse people don't care about how horses are bred, and horse people already know how it works. But otherwise the story was amazing. And the ending... I won't spoil it, but it was a perfect way to honor Ruffian's life and close the story. A must-read for horse lovers, but be aware that it's terribly sad.

From a political standpoint, the story provides a convincing argument that our racing Thoroughbreds are too fragile in the pursuit of ever-increasing speed. Racehorses should not be inbred to fragile lines like Native Dancer -- Eight Belles is yet another a perfect example that while the resulting horses are amazingly fast, their legs are not made to support their weight in serious competition.