(2005) Against the Odds: Riding for My Life. By Jerry Bailey with Tom Pedulla. (ISBN: 0399152733 / 0-399-15273-3)

Book Description: Putnam Pub Group, N.Y., 2005. First Edition Thus, number line on copyright page reads: 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. Blue Hard Cover Boards, Navy Blue Cloth Spine with Gold Text. This is a First Edition remainder book which is new and never used. Book has black felt pen remainder mark on the bottom edge of the pages. 232 pages, Black-and-white photographs, 6.25" x 9.25" tall, .75" thick. New copy - Never read - Not price clipped. Beautiful gift quality copy of book and dust jacket. COLLECTOR'S COPY.

Book Condition: Brand New.

Dust Jacket Condition: Brand New. NON price-clipped DJ [$24.95 US].

Synopsis: A remarkable narrative of failure and redemption, the fiercely candid autobiography of the world's greatest jockey, depicting not only the intense inside story of professional racing but his greatest victory of all-against himself. I had hit bottom. My descent into alcoholism had been slow, but now I was lying at the bottom of the ocean, searching for a ray of light. I needed to breathe again. I needed to live again. . . . It was up to me. He is considered the leading rider of his era, one of the greatest jockeys ever to break from the starting gate. He has won every major race there is, and then won it again; set earnings and stakes records; and entered the Racing Hall of Fame. But none of it was possible until he defeated his demons. Astonishingly frank and vividly detailed, Against the Oddschronicles the making of both a man and a champion: the years of drinking, cruelty, anger, despair; the moment of truth, with the help of his wife, Suzee; the dramatic rise to the top. It takes us into the racing world as only someone who has lived it can-the joys and dangers, the adrenaline highs and controversies, from the stables to the stretch drive. It is a new classic of the literature.

About The Author: Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey. He began his racing career in November 1974. His first mount was on a horse named Pegged Rate, who ran off the board. He notched his first career win the next day on his second career mount, Fetch, at New Mexico's Sunland Park, and has gone on to win 5,892 races. Among his numerous wins, he can boast the New York Handicap Triple in 1984, six victories in American Classic Races races, and a record 15 wins in Breeders' Cup races, including five Breeders' Cup Classics. Three of his Breeders' Cup Classic wins were consecutive (1993–1995). Bailey is perhaps most famous among racing fans as the regular rider of 1990s great Cigar.

In his 2005 book titled Against The Odds, Bailey wrote about his battles with alcoholism that affected a large part of his early career.

When the 2003 Thoroughbred racing Eclipse Awards were handed out on January 26, 2004, Jerry Bailey was proclaimed the outstanding jockey in North America for an unprecedented seventh time (1995–1997 and 2000–2003); in 1997 he had been the first jockey to win three consecutive Eclipse Awards.

In 1992, Bailey was selected for the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, arguably the top lifetime achievement award for North American jockeys. In 1993, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship". He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1995.

Advertising controversy: Jerry Bailey was one of the first of five top jockeys to wear advertising patches in the Kentucky Derby, starting in 2004. They sued on First Amendment grounds, to be allowed to wear ad patches during the race. The ruling was issued on April 21, 2004, by U.S. District Judge John Heyburn in Louisville.

The patches, worth approximately $30,000 apiece, were legal in other Triple Crown states of New York and Maryland, but were argued by The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority that they might lead to corruption and violated racing tradition.

2004 Belmont Stakes Controversy: Bailey is also known for his controversial run in the 2004 Belmont Stakes atop Eddington. Smarty Jones, considered a strong favorite that year for the Triple Crown, ended up losing to Birdstone. Some people would say later that careful study of the video replays gave rise to accusations that Bailey and another jockey had colluded to deny Smarty Jones the victory—that is, they rode not to win, but to defeat someone else. However, others would also state that Smarty Jones's jockey sent his undefeated colt to the front early, thus setting him up for what was considered a monumental upset at the time. Birdstone later that summer won several graded stakes races, including the 2004 Travers Stakes, which was run at Saratoga Race Course that summer. Giving rise to the fact that Smarty Jones was also defeated by a better horse that day. One jockey wrote "[Bailey's] ride in the Belmont Stakes, however, on a live contender, was a disgrace to horse racing. Bailey sacrificed himself only to beat Smarty Jones and jockey Stewart Elliott."

Retirement: Jerry Bailey announced his retirement on January 19, 2006, at age 48, with his last race on January 28. His 5,892 wins which placed him 15th on the all-time list, and his mounts have earned more than $295 million, good for second all time. Pat Day leads with nearly $298 million. Bailey currently is involved in racing in a number of capacities, most notably as a commentator for ESPN at major televised races.