The term ‘ringer’ originated in the United States after the Civil War, when many thoroughbred horses were ‘parted from their papers’ of ownership, and these papers were later used for other horses with more racing value. These horses were thus said to have been ‘rung in’, and were called ‘ringers’, a term that has since been co-opted in many other sports to denote the use of a valuable player in place of a less valuable player, without others’ knowledge.

What made Barrie, however, so successful was not only his unparalleled skill in painting his ringers with non-water soluble henna, but also becoming a master of disguises and changing identities himself. Barrie’s connections with mobsters also aided in his long career, for he made them millions with his insider tips. His career started in the U.K. and Australia, but then spread to Canada, America, Mexico, and Cuba.

But, while Barrie is the star of the book, Ashforth does not focus alone on him. His parade of deceptions continues with many of the more famed racing scandals into the 21st century.

In the mid-20th century, techniques such as tattooing the inner lips of horses curbed ringing for a few decades until the racing industry’s mice got smarter and new mousetraps were needed. Now, as every racing horse is injected with computer chip markers, horse ringing has almost completely ceased. But, before that occurred, there were famous cases that Ashforth focuses on, such as the 1984 Fine Cotton case in Sydney, Australia, which led to the banishment of a booky named Robbie Waterhouse (who has denied involvement and since been allowed to return to the industry), and a horse called Forty Two, who won a race at the Calder Race Course in place of a horse called Almost Impossible.

Other major cases get their due, as well. There was the 1971 Rule Away swindle, wherein that horse raced under three different names and won all three times - in Atlantic City, Garden State, and Suffolk Downs. He then won twice more with a fourth name at Narragansset. Then, in 1977, a horse called Lebon won a race at 57-1 odds at Belmont. That ‘win’ touched off the biggest ringer scandal in American horse racing history.