"Unnatural Ability" is a journalist's analysis of the history of doping in American Thoroughbred racing. Beginning and ending with Bob Baffert's scandals, "Ability" shows doping as a constant dance between track denizens and the regulatory establishment designed to catch them.

What's good: The book is a close analysis of the science of doping and the ways in which it has appeared over time in racing. For those with scientific inclinations, this book should prove interesting.

What's iffier:
1.) For a book about horse racing, I felt like the horses actually were a bit lost in this. The book is so intensely focused on government legislation, the acts of regulatory bodies, and the press that the living, breathing characters of the horses don't pop from this text.
2.) The book seems to have a very narrow view of doping, focusing on whether it is legitimate to use vs. the ethics of doing this to an animal. By bringing in arguments about gene editing and "natural" genetic inclinations of some athletes, the author essentially waves away issues of abuse. In addition, the author frequently horses breaking down as evidence connected to doping, although that can't always be proven.

With gratitude to the publisher, Netgalley, and the late author for allowing me to read this work in exchange for an honest review,

A Dramatic History of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Thoroughbred Racing

This book is refreshingly full of facts after the last few reviews in this set. The “Introduction” summarizes the history of prosecution, research, investigations and the like into the use of substances in horse racing. For example, it notes that the “license of prominent trainer ‘Silent’ Tom Smith, of Seabiscuit fame, was revoked for using the stimulant ephedrine in the 1940s.” There are many specific facts offered here to introduce readers to the breadth of this problem across over a century. There is also a brief summary of how betting was legalized in the US. This legalization increased attendance at racing events, and with it corruption of this sport via use of substances to enhance performance. The statistics and history is supplemented with quotes from those involved such as a retired professional bicycle racer, Jorg Jaksche who comments: “they slaughter a scapegoat, not a black sheep, and no one ever looks at the shepherd’s responsibility. I’m talking about those in the higher levels, those who govern the sports and, most importantly those who provide the money that fuels everything” (6).
“Part I: The Man Who Made Them Run” begins with chapter “1: The Death of Dr. Riddle” that opens with a description of this horse laying “dead in his stall, the apparent victim of a massive dose of cocaine, heroin, arsenic, strychnine, or some combination of drugs and patent medicines intended to make a horse run faster.” This graphic description is followed by the note that this overdose happened back in 1903. This is a great combination of dramatic narrative with factual, well-researched details that combine to make a story that both grabs the casual reader’s attention, and also offers sufficient useful information for highbrow researchers who are gathering information for books on related topics, or journalists who want to understand this field before writing articles of their own in it.
This is just a great, well-written book that addresses an important current issue, which needs a thorough book like this one to inform the public on the intricacies of what headline news tend to simplify into the workings of a few villains. It is recommended for private shelves of those with some extra time to read dramatic non-fiction, as well as for public libraries that are looking for books that will actually be read by their patrons.