In Not by a Long Shot, veteran racing reporter and press box personality T. D. Thornton takes us inside the remote corners of a once-glamorous Thoroughbred race track thats fallen on hard times. Suffolk Downs-or SufferinDowns-is where grizzled Thoroughbreds come to end their careers, hopeful young jockeys aspire against daunting odds to begin them, and diehard fans cheer, curse, and gamble on the entire fascinating spectacle. Thornton brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters, and provides a deeply textured portrait of the engaging, profane, and unfathomably mysterious world of horse racing-where even the best in the business lose 75 percent of the time.