Death of a Racehorse

An American Story

By: Katie Bo Lillis, Katie Bo Lillis - introduction

Narrated by: Stephen Graybill

Named one of Financial Times’s Best Books of 2025

The inside story of the crisis within the country’s most classic sport—horseracing—and why money is killing thoroughbreds at the top of their game.

Every year, hundreds of horses die on the racetrack. Why?

In this deeply reported and propulsive narrative, CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis shows how two high-profile cases lay bare the ills facing the sport: the abrupt, industry-rocking indictments of top trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, and the untold story of Bob Baffert, the most successful and recognizable horse trainer in modern history, and the allegations he faced after a string of mysterious horse deaths and the high-profile disqualification of his latest Kentucky Derby winner for a failed drug test.

Death of a Racehorse delves deep into the horse racing world, offering intimate access to dozens of top trainers, owners, breeders, veterinarians, lab specialists, and more. The mainstream perception has been that rampant drug use is forcing these horses to run past their natural ability, resulting in heart attacks and broken legs. But this doesn’t paint the full picture.

That picture is driven by class tension between the affluent old stables and an ambitious new guard. This upstairs-downstairs drama shows blue-blooded families on a quest to restore horse racing to the good old days that never existed, versus those like Bob Baffert who are still viewed as outsiders—fantastically successful, but coming from less pedigreed backgrounds and experience. The privileged few, determined to save the sport, seem to hold a powerful suspicion that the sport’s brash, pioneering working class could not possibly be doing so well on their own.

Lillis shows how the breeding industry prioritizes making millions over breeding a sound, durable horse. A disjointed race schedule, created by racetrack operators that are trying to maximize betting opportunities, makes it impossible to manage a horse’s athletic career safely. In this purely capitalistic industry, the brute force of winning and the money that follows has taken the place of a responsible husbandry of the animal that is its beating heart.

Death of a Racehorse is a cutting, on-the-ground investigation into the morally ambiguous behavior at the industry’s glamorous center, raising nuanced questions about the relationship between animal and human—and offering a hopeful path forward for one of America’s oldest and most treasured sports.

A compelling story. I learned so much!

I loved it! I A compelling story, written by a gifted journalist. This story was a thorough and even-handed examination of some of the stories behind the headlines about the racing industry. I sure came away with a far different understanding of issues that had been reported with soundbites and sensationalism over the years. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone even moderately interested in racing, horses, and our relationship to animals.

Fantastic, well written listen.

This was a very factual, well written story of the racetrack, and all the layers and intricacies of the world of horse racing.

Great Reporting, Horrible Industry

Ms. Lillis, who has a background with horses, does a fabulous job of reporting on horse racing. It's just that after positive drug test after positives, you get overloaded and it's clear the Industry should go the way of dog and chicken fighting, and be banned. It's impossible to regulate it. Her storytelling is top level, as is her writing.

Eye Opening

Compelling read about an industry that must reform immediately or risk not exiting in the future.

Bluntly tells it like it is.

Wow. Even for someone who lives and breathes Thoroughbred racing this is an eye opener. I think everyone should read this book, whether you just watch the Kentucky Derby and no other race or you spend every day of your life at the racetrack.