Title: Beating the Odds: 82 Years at the Kentucky Derby
Authors: John S. Sutton, Jr. and Amber. D. Sims
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 1543498647
Pages: 222
Genre: Memoir
Reviewed by: David Allen

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John S. Sutton Jr., in a memoir co-written with Amber D. Sims, has definitely beaten the odds. In his nineties, Sutton recounts a tumultuous life filled with joy and challenges, family and foibles – and eighty-two consecutive years of high-spirited attendance at the Kentucky Derby.

Sutton’s is an exemplary – although at times riotous – life, a life well lived. He recounts humble origins, growing up in an area “primarily made up of distilleries and Catholics.” His grandfather “shoed rogue draft horses weighing up to 1800 pounds.” Sutton’s father, a champion of the bottle, set the pace with hard work, love of horse racing, and love of drink.

Sutton’s life is a symphony, and his book reads like music. The reader sits in on the author’s childhood experiences; his time at the University of Louisville; his stint in the U.S. Army; and his years as a friend, father, and hard worker (and drinker) at a major distillery/bottling corporation in Kentucky. The music of the narrative captivates with its leitmotifs of racing forms, charming horse names (‘Jet Pilot’, ‘Count Turf’, ‘Native Dancer’, ‘Iron Liege’) and the adorable vernacular of living, breathing racing culture. (‘Preakness’, as in ‘The Preakness’, was the horse who won the Dinner Party Stakes in 1873.) The author’s no-nonsense tongue-in-cheek approach to life (at one point he describes how a ‘tell me all your troubles’ type management position at the company was clearly not for him) is wise, wry, avuncular and awesome. Gambling and tippling are constant themes of this life, and Sutton pulls no punches as he describes the pleasures and excesses of the life style.

Beating the Odds is filled with humor and happiness. Friends and family help navigate the exigencies of the rocky road of life, including a tragic 300-foot fall that left Sutton’s younger son permanently handicapped. Sutton’s advice to younger generations – ‘Believe in yourself ‘ and ‘Leave a lasting record’ – are triumphantly borne out on nearly every page of this one-man tour-de-force. Autobiographical episodes are sandwiched between incredibly accurate memories of many of the Derbies, up to and including jockeys’ names, win, place and show pay-outs, and memories of liquor-fueled ‘celebrations’ of races won and races lost. In the event, lucky readers acquire an informal knowledge of racing forms and semi-arcane qualifiers like ‘blood lines’ and ‘pedigree.’ Follow the author and his wife Doris as they pursue their passion at Churchill Downs, at Keenland, and other colorful horse race venues across the country. The accompanying photos help orchestrate and animate this wonderful memoir.

This book gallops along, driven by the heartbeat of life, enthusiasm, and honest to goodness vivacity. Beating the Odds is a terrific read and an inspiration for all of us at any point in our approach to the finish line.