Unnatural Ability is a seminal work in our understanding of the past, present, and future of performance-enhancing drugs in horse racing. Milt Toby takes a complex subject and masterfully breaks it down for his audience, exploring topics ranging from 'dope' in the early 20th century to the evolution of testing to Lasix and more in the 21st century. This is a must-read for anyone who loves the sport and wants to learn more about this important issue.
~Jennifer Kelly, award-winning author of Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown and The Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, & the Quest for the Triple Crown
Impeccably researched, Milt Toby's Unnatural Ability:The History of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Thoroughbred Racing is a valuable addition to the equine industry's library. By creating a cogent narrative of PED use in horse racing, Toby organizes and catalogs the persistent omnipresence of doping, and he does not hesitate to express how that persistence has precipitated the loss of interest in and/or disapproval of the Sport of Kings. Vital. Impactful.
~Becky Ryder, director of the Keeneland Library
All sports face the threat of chicanery, and Thoroughbred racing has the added complication that the carriers of illicit medications are innocent victims themselves. Milt Toby's prodigious research has produced an insightful review of villainy and the persistent efforts of those who have maintained a viable sport/industry embraced by the public over many eras. Continuing security of the sport will require ever-evolving efficiency of enforcement, such as that proposed by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.
~Edward L. Bowen, Eclipse Award winner and author of 22 books about Thoroughbred racing
Unnatural Ability is a fascinating, beautifully researched, and much-needed look at the long history of drugs in horse racing, written by an award-winning master of his craft. Toby takes us on an absorbing historical trip from the 1890s into the 21st century—a journey tracing the uneasy, too often illegal association between drugs and racing, and that includes some of the game's biggest names. Disheartening yet hopeful, Unnatural Ability draws on lessons from the past to help the sport deal with an uncertain future. It is an absolute must-read for anyone who cares about our Sport of Kings.
~Mary Simon, multiple Eclipse Award winner
Thoroughbred racing faces an existential crisis as the 21st century unfolds: an ongoing history of drugging issues that lead fans increasingly to question its credibility. If the Sport of Kings is to continue as a viable sport, it must learn from its history and deal with those issues. It is difficult to imagine a better starting point for this process than Milton Toby's exhaustively researched masterwork Unnatural Ability: The History of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Thoroughbred Racing.
~Mark Shrager, Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award-winning author of The First Kentucky Derby: 13 Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn't Supposed to Win
It was philosopher George Santayana who declared that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." If the Sport of Kings is to learn from its long history (and, it is to be hoped, avoid repeating its failures to deal with drugging issues in an ever higher-tech environment), it is difficult to imagine a better starting point than Milton Toby's exhaustively researched masterwork Unnatural Ability: A History of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Thoroughbred Racing.
~Mark Shrager, Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award-winning author of The First Kentucky Derby: 13 Black Jockeys, One Shady Owner, and the Little Red Horse That Wasn't Supposed to Win
In documenting the long history of doping in horse racing, Milt Toby outlines a sport in which the cheaters, time and again, have been several steps ahead of investigators. Toby's work serves as a reminder that for racing to survive in the 21st century, the cheaters who have corrupted the sport and endangered the lives of horses and jockeys have to be stopped.
~Frank Angst, features editor at BloodHorse
Milt Toby's book comes at a crucial time for racing, and so many passages could have just as easily been written about the modern discourse around doping and drug detection. As with all his projects, he has waded through the records and given us the facts. If you believe the old axiom that history is the best teacher, this volume should be required reading for anyone interested in the integrity of the sport.
~Natalie Voss, multiple Eclipse Award winner and editor-in-chief of Paulick Report
