The sport of kings

"Hellsmouth, a willful thoroughbred filly with the blood of Triple Crown winners flowing through her veins, has the legacy of the Forges riding on her. One of the oldest and proudest families in Kentucky, the Forge family is as mythicas the history of the South itself. Descended from one of the first settlers to brave the Gap, Henry Forge, through anact of naked ambition, is attempting to blaze a new path, breeding horses on the family's crop farm. His daughter, Henrietta, becomes his partner in the endeavor, although shehas desires of her own. Their conflict escalates when AllmonShaughnessy, a black man fresh from prison, comes to work inthe stables, and the ugliness of the farm's past and the exigencies of appetite become evident. Together, the three stubbornly try to create a new future through sheer will--one that isn't written in their very fabric--while they mold Hellsmouth into a champion."--Provided by publisher.