A fictional novel has recently been released by a writer with a Standardbred background, based on harness racing and set in Canada.
Tina Sugarman, a longtime industry participant in various capacities, has written Horse Flesh. It's her first foray into writing after being involved with Standardbred horse racing in Ontario for nearly two decades and spending summers on a horse farm a few kilometres from Mohawk Racetrack.
Now residing in Poole, England with her husband and their cat, Juliette, Sugarman is a lifelong horse lover and continues to ride their hackney mare, Mango in her spare time.
"When I discovered harness horses, it was love at first sight," Sugarman told Trot Insider. "Their willing nature, friendly disposition and courageous performance on the racetrack was a potent combination."
When asked why her novel is positive for the harness racing industry, Sugarman consciously avoided sugar-coating her story and felt that was the best approach to bring this book -- and the industry -- closer to the masses.
"I hope that a book about harness racing that presents the good, the bad and the ugly in an honest and transparent way will bring harness racing to the attention of many people who have never heard of the sport before," stated Sugarman. "Its absence from the sports pages in the national newspapers and the very limited coverage on national television is a glaring omission. I believe that any publicity is better than no publicity at all!"
The synopsis of Horse Flesh from the back of the novel is as follows:
Enter the highly competitive world of Standardbred horse racing, in this exhilarating debut from an insider.
A brilliant harness horse driver whose drug habit risks costing him everything, his cousin, a trainer who refuses to compromise her integrity, a mysterious individual known only as the Scorpion, lurking in the shadows, pulling the strings, the Director of Racing trying desperately to clean up the industry, his mentor and best friend who has his own agenda, a low life groom who knows too much for his own good, the Canadian Mountie who inadvertently gets involved, with unforeseen consequences, a veterinarian caught between two worlds, young horses unaware of what's in store for them and trainers whose livelihoods hang by a thread, who face a Hobbesian choice if they are to survive. These are just some of the players in a story where passions run high and where the distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, is always blurred.
Fascinating, fast paced and with shocking twists and turns until the very last, HORSE FLESH is a breakthrough debut novel set to entertain not only horse and racing enthusiasts, but fiction fans looking for a fresh read.
Standardbred racing originated in the U.S. but the sport is also popular in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe.
Published by Clink Street Publishing, Horse Flesh is available to order from online retailers including Amazon and all good bookstores.