Thank you NetGalley and Live Oak Press for accepting my request to read and review Broken The Suspicious Death of Alydar and the End of Horse Racing’s Golden Age.

Genre: Nonfiction/True Crime

Stars: 2.5

As a voracious reader actively seeking non-world War II subject matters with historical elements and some true crime content dispersed throughout, I thought Broken would be a nice fit. And, being a self-proclaimed racetrack enthusiast the deal was sealed.

Unfortunately the information available was limited. A winning racehorse with an incredible staff that catered to him died unexpectedly. There is an investigation, loads of money is at stake and there is life insurance. There are only a handful of people that can get close enough to his stall to hurt him. The investigation doesn't match the physical injuries and the author chooses to write Alydar's 'memoir.'

There were too many repetitive pages of text. The incident was repeated over and over as more people were questioned. The same questions were asked over and over. The names around Alydar and the Farm where he lived were repeated over and over.

While not in transcript format, it certainly felt as if I was reading a transcript where 15 people saw the same thing and most of what they see is agreed upon. It's the differences that change the narrative. In Broken these changes were limited.

I staved off boredom reminding myself of the good times I had at tracks (greyhound and horses) and the animals and people deserved better. I would have retained more in a condensed format as opposed to play-by-play.

Fred M. Kray wrote this story incredibly. It's clear he really did his research and delivered this story beautifully. I would definitely be interested in reading some more true crime stories by him.

"Broken" is about a murder with the most unthinkable victim at the most unthinkable venue. Amid the great farms of Kentucky's blue grass racing heritage, Calumet was one of the greats. And at that barn, one of the prides not only of the family who owned it, but also of the entire Thoroughbred racing community, was Alydar, a stallion best known for showing unbreakable heart in racing neck-and-neck with Affirmed in the Triple Crown. One terrible night, Alydar is found in his stall with his leg broken--a devastating injury. The initial story put out, essentially, that he'd just kicked his stall door in the wrong way.

Unfortunately, however, there were reasons to wonder. As Kray shows, Calumet's financial situation was in the hands of a man best described as an incompetent seemingly determined to milk the once-great farm of its last penny; at the moment, the farm was teetering on the edge of all of the financial misbehaviors coming to light. And there were many coincidences that merited another look.

Kray, a lawyer specializing in animal care cases, builds a case in "Broken" that what happened that night at Calumet reflected a horrific broader occurrence of insurance scams and equine murders. Moreover, he shows the guardians of racing's heritage failed universally to consider the unthinkable, and in so doing, terribly failed Alydar.

What's good: Kray's writing is clear and his research impeccable. His attempts to interview all parties are evident and his passion for the project undoubtable. What I found most admirable is how he kept coming back to justice for Alydar as a unique horse--we learn that Alydar loved TV, that he had an extremely high recall for humans he'd met, that he would paw his floor when he wanted attention, that he enjoyed racing Affirmed in their paddocks in retirement. (One wonders who won those matches!) We learn that he was playful and could be grabby, but for the most part a horse who could be handled easily by those he trusted. When witnesses attempted to spin Alydar as an excitable horse who threw tantrums and frequently kicked his stall, the author consistently pushes back with the testimony of all who actually interacted with Alydar. What could have been dismissed coldly--a tragic accident of a fractious animal--is shot down by the author with the consistent comments of those who knew the horse. And in its place we are left with a sickening suspicion, for which Kray brings a significant amount of evidence.

Kray provides a closing argument but also allows the reader to fill out their own jury slip. After reading this book, I have no doubt about how I'm voting.

With gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read an ARC of this book.

As a former equestrian I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very detailed and the author left no stone uncovered in his quest to piece together what happened to Alydar. He attempted to speak to every person who had ever worked with the horse (some would not speak to him) and he dug up photos of Alydar's stall that were thought to be lost. The majority of the book is a very detailed and technical explanation of what happened to Alydar. Without spoiling it I will tell you that the last chapter is extremely interesting and gives a link to an online activity you can participate in as well. Anyone with an interest in horse racing and true crime would have an interest in this book.

A valuable racehorse injured himself in his stall and was ultimately put down….was it a tragedy, or something more sinister?

It is not often that the horse who comes in second at each of the Triple Crown races remains as well-known as the horse that beat him, but in 1978 that is exactly what happened. Alydar, from the storied Calumet Farm in Kentucky, was a fan favorite who won many races quite convincingly but was bested in those three most important races (once by just a neck) by Affirmed. Alydar was much admired within the horse world, and when he retired from racing in 1979, like most successful thoroughbreds he embarked upon a new career as a stud, commanding fees in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for each mating and siring many subsequent champions. That came to an end in November of 1990 when he was found in his stall in the stallion barn at Calumet Farm with a broken hind leg. For most horses a broken leg is a death sentence, but this was Alydar….famous and valuable, with a stud career that was far from over, so his owners requested “heroic measures” to try to save the stallion. He underwent surgery, but a subequent fall within 24 hours sealed his fate and he was put down. That would have been a tragic end to a horse who had won the hearts of the many fans that had seen him race, and who generated a substantial amount of income for Calumet Farm. When in less than a year Calumet Farm was forced to declare bankruptcy, and the staggering amount of unpaid bills and overdue bank loans they had incurred came to light, what had initially been accepted as an accidental death came under new scrutiny. Insurance claims on Alydar’s death were a whopping $36.5 million, paid out primarily to the banks who held the loans. Suspicion grew within the racing world and the horse breeding community. Ultimately, an assistant US attorney together with a young FBI agent started investigating, and a few people were convicted of corollary crimes….a night watchman for lying in court, a banker and the head of Calumet for bank fraud and bribery. But they were never able to prove that Alydar’s death was a deliberate act done for financial gain. Over the ensuing years, magazine articles and books were written about the many scandals in the horse racing world of those years, and about the death of Alydar. Different theories were offered, but in the end no one was able to say how Alydar received his injuries at the hands of another, nor who could be proven to have done it. It remained the unsolved mystery of a suspicious death.

Two decades later, a retired trial lawyer who specialized in animal law named Fred M. Kray decided to pick up where others had left off. He was one of those fans who had watched Alydar race back in the late ‘70’s and was awed by the abilities and presence of the horse. Having built his career on being the voice of animals who had been wronged by man, the case was a natural match for Mr. Kray. Clearly someone was responsible for Alydar’s death, but justice had yet to be served; Mr. Kray set out to right that wrong. He spent several years both combing through court records, notes, interviews, and articles to start building his “case”, and setting out to interview as many of the witnesses and others who figured in the handling of Alydar’s death. He spoke with former grooms and night watchmen, breeders, insurance agents, equine veterinarians, writers, and anyone else whom he found who might be able to provide information t0 point hm to a conclusion. He asked questions that others had not thought of or bothered to ask, followed up on inconsistent statements, and pushed back on people who insisted that the injury to Alydar was an accident when those who knew the horse, the stall in the stable where it happened, and equine injuries swore that it couldn’t have happened the way these people said that it did. Conspiracy? The pressures of an elite and insular world? Ego? Mr. Kray worked to break down these barriers to get at the truth, and to get justice for a magnificent animal…Alydar.

I am not a horse fanatic, and while I have watched the Kentucky Derby a few times and know only a tiny bit about horse racing I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I had similarly been attracted to Laura Hillenbrand’s iconic “Seabiscuit” back when it first came out, and “Broken” certainly has many of the elements of that book. But in addition to the story of Alydar…his career, his personality, and his famed rivalry with Afflirmed…this is also a true crime story and a legal thriller. In that, it reminds me of Jonathan Harr’s book “A Civil Action” (made into a movie with John Travolta) about a class action lawsuit by families in a community where a cancer cluster had developed against the corporation whose business had contaminated the local water supply. If you read and enjoyed either of those books, have a love of horses and/or horse racing, or appreciate the pursuit of justice for those who haven’t a voice, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of “Broken”. I found it a fascinating read, and thank NetGalley and Live Oak Press for the opportunity to read and advanced reader’s copy of Broken.

Fred M. Kay, a fan of the world of horse racing and lawyer turned advocate for the animals, takes you into the saga and the mystery that still surrounds the unusual and untimely death of Alydar.

Alydar, the premiere breeding stud in the world of horse racing, was found in his stall, with a broken rear leg that no one could explain. Who would have known that after surgery, Alydar would then come up with his front leg broken. Unbelievably, within two days times from the initial broken rear left leg, the foremost stud, the mighty Alydar, would be put down.

Scrutiny and mystery still surround the unfortunate and horrible demise of this magnificent race horse, Alydar. It makes you question all parties involved, and was Alydar, no matter his history and magnificence, worth more dead than alive. The investigation and the trials, which there were several, will still leave with the question of what really happened that November night in Alydar’s stall at Calumet Farms.

Thank you to Live Oak Press and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to read this interesting book written by Fred M. Kay, and for the chance to review and provide me honest and unbiased feedback.

Broken is the perfect title for the forces behind the murder of Alydar. Fred Kray, a fan of Alydar, sets out to review the history of the investigation, hoping to finally answer the question of who killed this magnificent race horse. Fueled by greed, bankers, insurance investigators and the decision makers at Kentucky's Calumet Farms take part in shady dealings to line there own pockets. All broken. I found this book intriguing, infuriating and heartbreaking. Fred Kray rises to the level of hero as he goes to seemingly impossible lengths to shrd light on Alydar's shocking death. For a non-fiction, this reads like a suspense thriller, but unfortunately true. I loved getting an inside view of the horseracing industry, for better or worse and applaud Fred Kray for his incredible investigation and this equally incredible read. Five stars.

Throughly researched and absolutely upsetting.
As a horse lover this broke my heart but as an equestrian, it makes you see the horrible side of an industry that is terrible to horses; racing.

The corruption and greed that was and still is happening today and this poor horse was caught in between.
This book has forever made me look at triple crown winner Affirmed’s win with new eyes because I believe Alymar was killed because he was too good.

When Alydar was found in his stall with a broken rear "cannon" bone, he was taken into surgery to repair the break. But Alydar wouldn't settle down after the surgery and broke his front femur and had to be put down. For a horse considered the premier stud in the racing world this was a major shock.

Explanations by the people and veterinarians at Calumet Farms, the breaking of the bone had come from Alydar propensity to kick the gate to his stall. He must have got his foot caught between the door and the door post and broke the cannon bone trying to pull it out. Alydar had been insured for over $35 million dollars which the various insurance companies were quick to pay out.

But from the time of the accident in 1990 to the time of this book, questions kept arising as to the story of how Alydar had broken his leg. There was little or no damage to the leg resulting from the pulling of the leg out from the door as one would expect, and in fact, little damage to the door.

At the time of his death, Calument Farms was over $120 million in debt. Could Alydar had been murdered for the insurance money? Lots of questions have never been answered until thirty years later when Kray began to dig into the what happened that night. One of the most damaging pieces of data he tracked down was that Alydar was being overbred by his owners and that so many of his stud performances had been pre-sold, that he would only yield $7 million for stud over each of the next three years. He was definitely worth more dead that alive.

Read Kray's investigation and make up your own mind.

I was very excited to read this book thanks to Net Galley. I am a Kentucky girl and work in the area of Calumet Farms and others. This was a great read.! I enjoyed the history of the horse, the farm, and the players involved. I enjoyed the thoroughness of the research as I had no idea that there could be so much entailed in a single race horses life and the worth of that life.
My favorite part is the end —- and the verdict. I will passing this book on to my friends in law and horse racing.

I loved reading this book! Having been surrounded & working with horses my entire life, I’m usually the opposite & avoid most horse books & movies (normally because the inaccuracies are unbearable), but this was an awesome read.

I’ve heard Alydar’s name growing up & knew of his trials in the Triple Crown, but the events & controversy surrounding his death was entirely new to me. It was hard to read through the first few chapters because it was so easy to picture the pain & emotions everyone was feeling. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that if my horse went through a similar experience, that would be my villain origin story. So naturally, I was invested & wanted to determine what happened that night almost as much as the author.

Despite Fred Kray’s lack of experience as a writer, I thought the flow of the story was smooth & easy to follow. I honestly avoid reading nonfiction because most books I’ve picked up in the past were dry & uninteresting to me. This was not the case & I applaud Kray for his work. It was interesting to learn about Alydar’s racing career up until his retirement, the trials following the horse’s death, & then Kray’s own investigation. There are so many voices within these pages, as well as the love those closest to Alydar felt for him. This is definitely I book I would recommend to all horse lovers, no matter their riding discipline.

I received an ARC version through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
As a horse owner of 23 years I was excited to be approved for this book. It delves into the dark side of horses and the things that do still go on to this day sadly.
Author did good with research and telling the story.
Worth the read especially if you like horses.

This was a thorough look into the questionable death of the race horse Alydar and the financial game playing that went on around his death. Kray goes the distance to give a voice to this horse and tells the story in a wonderful way that I found moving, honoring this magnificent animal.

Thanks to Live Oaks Press and NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review.
As a horse racing fan you get few books to review, and so I was quite happy to get this book by Fred M. Kray which deals with the mysterious death of the fabled horse Alydar back in 1990. Kray has waited almost 30 years to begin his investigation as to how a seemingly healthy, and wonderful horse who had become the #1 breeding mare in the US could sustain a fatal injury in his stall one evening which resulted in his euthanasia less than 2 days later. Laid out in 4 parts, one of my favorites is Part 2 which is a synopsis of Alydars races and famed races against Triple Crown winner Affirmed, and then watching those races on YouTube.
Kray has done extensive research into the question of whether the injury was an accident or an intentional act for the payout of $35 Million. After reading the book, which includes a lot go testimony from related but unrelated trials we end up with Kray, in Part 4, giving us a jury summation and asks us to decide the question of Accident vs. Intentional.
A very tangled web of intrigue is presented, a very well written book by the author, and one that, for me, leaves as many questions as it gives answers.
Well done, Fred!!! A book every horse racing fan should read.