True Grit: Tales From 25 Years On The Turf

'For me racing is not your conventional industry. It's an addiction, a romantic quest, a culture and a certain sense of humour; it's loaded with danger, physical and financial, and comes with a hint of conspiracy.'

Les Carlyon is Australia's Damon Runyon. The racetrack is his world: the laconic banter of the trainers, the bustle of the mounting yards, the dawn rituals in Saratoga and Hong Kong, the thrilling wins of unpredictable racehorses from Kentucky to Caulfield.

Spanning more than twenty-five years, 'True Grit' is a passing parade of people and horses, winners and losers: from Carbine and Phar Lap to Vo Rogue and Kingston Town, Empire Rose, Schillaci, Saintly, Sunline, Octagonal, Might And Power, and Northerly. Venture inside the world of T.J. Smith, Mick Dittman, Damien Oliver, Shane Dye, Vic Rail, Bart Cummings, Gai Waterhouse, Lee Freeman, Jack Denham, the Ingham brothers, and Colin Hayes.