Casual Lies-A Triple Crown Adventure

A memoir that is far more than the recounting of one horse's racing career. Trainer Shelley Riley guides us down her own life path from horse-obsessed girl to history-making woman, who in 1992 up-ended a male-dominated sport by becoming the first of her gender to saddle a starter in all three American Triple Crown races. The head-strong, charismatic horse who took her there was Casual Lies, a ＄7,500 auction bargain, whose outsized heart was magnificently revealed under Riley's patient and loving care.

Married to a jockey, I learned my trade as a trainer in the competitive, male-dominated sport of horse racing while I attended California State University, Sacramento. All the while, I worked hard, hoped and dreamed, as I guided the young horses in my care. Twenty years passed in this way, and one morning, in a snow storm, at a January Thoroughbred sale in Kentucky, lightening struck. The inconceivable happened, when my eyes met those of a small, fuzzy and inquisitive seven month old colt. When I signed the sales tag, after placing the winning bid, I had no way of knowing that I’d just gotten lucky...really lucky. I had struck the mother lode of horse racing, even though I wasn’t to know that for many months to come. In writing Casual Lies - A Triple Crown Adventure, I quickly found I was writing to an audience, not of horsemen and women, but to the television audience that loves horses and who delights in the beauty and pageantry of the sport of horse racing. I wanted to give a glimpse into what goes on behind the Network camera lenses, and to those who tune in on the first Saturday in May to watch, arguably, the most famous horserace in the world-The Kentucky Derby. With its pretty horses, colorful crowds and a level of excitement that virtually heaves off the screen, every year’s event is an extravaganza to the senses. The book is a true-life story about the head strong, talented and charismatic colt that took me to that event, not as a spectator, but as a participant. Casual Lies never met anyone he didn’t like, and his ardor for life was both palpable and a powerful motivator whenever I would begin to doubt the wisdom of our course and found my hope had begun to fade. Together, we challenged the horses and horsemen at the very pinnacle of the Thoroughbred world. What I learned from the adventure of a lifetime, was that believing you can, is every bit as important as hope in achieving a dream. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my rescued greyhound Nigel.