In the early 1900s, some match race jockeys rode bareback. Blackstrap molasses was smeared on the horse's back to help the jockey stick onto a fast breaking horse. No rules, no electric timer, no programs, no stewards.. I never saw anybody handicapping. When the jockeys did weigh in, they used an old bathroom scale.There were races matched "turn loose" (no jockeys) just empty beer cans with rocks inside, tied to the saddles. I've even seen a rooster tied to the saddle by his legs, with wings flopping all over and feathers flying everywhere...I remember watching a race with a monkey riding.For a long time, my desire was to write a book about the history of the old bush tracks in Louisiana. My quest began with talking to the old-timers, their relatives and finding some who have long since moved away. The stories are true to life as they were told to me and there are humorous antics as well.

Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown, longtime turf writer Ed McNamara tells the story of a remarkably resilient people with a passion for racing and an unmatched touch with quarter horses and Thoroughbreds. In Cajun country, there's a lot of character and a lot of characters, as superstar jockey Kent Desormeaux likes to say. You'll meet trainer Pierre LeBlanc, a wheeler-dealer who ran an illegal casino and won one of his best horses, Palomino Joe, in a card game. You'll meet his son Pete LeBlanc, who bought jockey Robby Albarado his first horse and saddle and taught him how to ride. You'll meet other great families of Cajun racing: the Romeros, the Desormeaux, the Borels, the Bernises, the Delahoussayes and the Delhommes.

The American Quarter Horse is the world's most versatile breed, excelling in the show arena and at the racetrack. With racing dating back to colonial Virginia, the sport is rich in history and lore. From "Code Blue" to "A Case for Columbo," this unique collection of short essays describes the history of the breed, the excitement of the races, and the people and athletes involved in Quarter Horse racing.

This insightful book is by far the broadest examination of traditional Cajun culture ever assembled. It goes beyond the stereotypes and surface treatment given to Cajuns by the popular media and examines the great variety of cultural elements alive in Cajun culture today--cooking, music, storytelling, architecture, arts and crafts, and festivals, as well as traditional occupations such as fishing, hunting, and trapping. It not only gives fascinating descriptions of elements in Cajun life that have been woven into the fabric of American history and folklore; it also explains how they came to be. Cajun Country reveals the historical background of the Cajun people, who migrated to Louisiana as exiles from their Canadian homeland, and it shows their folklife as a living and ongoing legacy that enriches America.