R. David Shew
A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Leslie Dorman. She asked me if I would help her find a place to have a book signing for Paul Halloran Jr. Paul was coming to Kentucky for a book signing tour regarding a book that Paul had written and published about the remarkable story of Cody Dorman and his thoroughbred friend, Cody’s Wish.
My call was to Randy Westbrook, the Executive Director of the Richmond Area Arts Council, and asked him if we could rent the RAAC for a book signing. Randy graciously said that he would be delighted to have a book signing at the RAAC since it promoted the arts and was the mission of the Richmond Area Arts Council. Mission accomplished, and the date was set for Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 1 p.m.
Today, I had to stop and dry my eyes after reading the Forward by Tom Hammonds, the former NBC Sports broadcaster and Lexington native. This writer remembers Tom on WLEX-TV as a sportscaster and at Keeneland working the September yearling auction. Also, I attended a book signing at Keeneland when Tom came to the Keeneland library and signed his book entitled Races, Games, And Olympic Dreams.
This past Sunday, it was truly a pleasure to meet Paul Halloran, a 40-year journalist, and to have my book signed by the author Paul, father Kelly Dorman, mother Leslie Dorman, and sister Kylie.
Meeting and getting to know the Dorman family has been one of the highlights of my career as a former newspaper editor and learning about Cody’s story will be something that I will never forget. For the record, I did win several bets on Cody’s Wish, especially both Breeder’s Cup Mile races at Keeneland and Santa Anita as well as the Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs. Thank you Cody’s Wish and Cody for coming into my life.
My recommendation is to buy the book for a horse lover or almost anyone who wants to add a great book to their personal library.
