For Immediate Release

New Book Sheds Light on the Origins of Popular Expressions from the world of Horse Racing

Brooklyn, NY – May 26, 2009 – Off to a Flying Start: Horsing Around the Language, an illustrated collection of popular phrases ,shows how the language of everyday life (and especially politics) has been influenced by life at the track.

Anyone who has ever been in a lather, had the inside track for a promotion, or seen their taxes rise across the board will be fascinated to learn they are using the lingo of the “Sport of Kings.”

Husband and wife authors Bill Tivenan and Cassandra Cook have gathered over 60 illustrated entries from their own experience and love of thoroughbred racing. The authors wanted to produce a book that reflected the positive side of horse racing and its important impact on the culture.

Currently the public’s interest in horse racing is piqued by heavy media coverage of the brilliant filly Rachel Alexandra’s win over the Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Preakness Stakes. 16.3 million viewers watched the 2009 Kentucky Derby, ranking it the second (to the Super Bowl) most watched professional sporting championship of the last year. The excitement continues to build for the upcoming Belmont Stakes on June 6th with the anticipated rematch of the Derby and Preakness top finishers in the third leg of the Triple Crown.

From the lighthearted and amusing, to the evocative and descriptive, horse enthusiasts and lovers of language alike will be delighted by the colorful phrases that are explained and illustrated in Off to a Flying Start: Horsing Around the Language.

About the Authors
Bill Tivenan, a former quality assurance analyst with the Daily Racing Form, has been following thoroughbred racing and working in the industry for the past twenty years. A writer and producer working in film, radio and new media, Bill graduated from Berea College in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE).

Cassandra Cook, a freelance print and web publishing project manager, first experienced the thrill of horse racing as a child listening to the radio call of Secretariat winning the Triple Crown. A graduate of Vassar College with a BA in English, she has an extensive publishing background.

Off to a Flying Start: Horsing Around the Language
by Bill Tivenan and Cassandra Cook with illustrations by Ana Mirela Tache
ISBN: 978-1-4276-4026-0, Sports/Language Arts, 96 pages, Price: $12.95
Publisher: Aardvark Global Publishing
On sale now at: www.offtoaflyingstartpress.com and Amazon.

To order a review copy, arrange author bookings, or get any other information about this title, contact:
Bill Tivenan
bill@offtoaflyingstartpress.com
www.offtoaflyingstartpress.com