The true story of a forgotten champion: “Bringing Sir Barton out from the shadows, Jennifer Kelly restores him to a richly-deserved spotlight.” ―Dorothy Ours, author of Man o’ War He was always destined to be a champion. Royally bred, with English and American classic winners in his pedigree, Sir Barton shone from birth, dubbed the “king of them all.” But after a winless two-year-old season and a near-fatal illness, uncertainty clouded the start of Sir Barton’s three-year-old season. Then his surprise victory in America’s signature race, the Kentucky Derby, started him on the road to history, where he would go on to dominate the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, completing America’s first Triple Crown. His wins inspired the ultimate chase for greatness in American horse racing and established an elite group that would grow to include legends like Citation, Secretariat, and American Pharoah. After a series of dynamic wins in 1920, popular opinion tapped Sir Barton as the best challenger for the wonder horse Man o’ War, and demanded a match race to settle once and for all which horse was the greatest. That duel would cement the reputation of one horse for all time and diminish the reputation of the other for the next century—until now. Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown is the first book to focus on Sir Barton, his career, and his historic impact on horse racing. Jennifer S. Kelly uses extensive research and historical sources to examine this champion’s life and achievements. Kelly charts how Sir Barton broke track records, scored victories over other champions, and sparked the yearly pursuit of Triple Crown glory.

With Volume 2 of Legacies of the Turf II Edward Bowen focuses on the men whose horses have dominated racing in the last half of the 20th century and into the 21st. He has woven together a rich tapestry of horse racing lore.

Damascus ranked as one of the superstars of the memorable era of horse racing in the late 1960s. He thrilled fans with his trademark sweeping move on the far turn and relentless stretch run that left his opponents floundering. Trained by the legendary Frank Whiteley and ridden regularly by Hall of Famer Bill Shoemaker, Damascus earned his place in history by defeating champions Dr. Fager and Buckpasser in the 1967 Woodward Stakes, known as the Race of the Century.

Back in the 1940s, when Florida was the Wild West of the East, a few hearty souls dared to think they might compete with the finest, blue-blooded racehorses and their breeders with their own stock raised among palm trees, sand and alligators. Florida was the cracker cowboy state, and cowponies were expected. But the scoffers failed to realize what the wealth of limestone, the power of warm sunshine year round and the cold, crystalline freshwater springs that are the gems of central Florida would mean to the raising of healthy, competitive animals. When the first Thoroughbreds produced in Florida, admittedly small and scrappy, began to "outrun their pedigrees," the nation of Thoroughbred breeders had to take notice. Join author Charlene R. Johnson as she details the fascinating equine history of central Florida.

Using the most basic statistics, completely explained, the author selects the sixteen most likely candidates for the title: "greatest horse of the twentieth century." Fifty colts and fillies, listed mainly ina 1999 publication by The Blood-Horse, Inc., were compared using a three-part process. This process narrowed the top contenders to sixteen. The past performance data for these Thoroughbreds were obtained from the Daily Racing Form's 2000 publication Champions. Using results identical to those explained in the book, the author calculates that the best likely average time for Big Brown to run the upcoming Belmont is 147.54 seconds, or 2:27.54. One hundred simulations at 12 furlongs, based on Big Brown's current 2008 performance data and the past 36 years of Belmont winning times, indicate he has a 72-percent chance of winning the triple crown. The identical formulas used in the book on the past performance data for Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, came within fractional seconds of predicting their Belmont/Triple Crown wins. Of course, as most Wall Street pundits will warn, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance! And now, in retrospect, Big Brown sadly did not win. Had he run as he was capable, the predicted time stated above would have beaten the winner, Da'Tara, by 2.09 seconds! Charles Justice June 5 and 9, 2008

"Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries" explores the legendary match-ups between racing stars past and present, from Affirmed to Curlin. Lavishly illustrated with color and b&w photographs throughout.

World-renowned equine artist Richard Stone Reeves celebrates the 100th anniversary of Belmont Park iwth portraits and essays of seventy champion racehorses.

The juvenile, or two-year-old, racing careers of Colin, Man o War, Ruffian and Landaluce provide the foundation and focus for discussing the question of thoroughbred greatness and its measure. These four thoroughbreds were arguably the best juvenile runners of the twentieth century. Close on their hooves, pun intended, however, were the colts Sysonby and Secretariat and the fillies First Flight, La Prevoyante and Personal Ensign. The latter five runners are honorably mentioned and also compared in the book. As in The Greatest Horse of All: A Controversy Examined, basic statistics are used informally to provide readers a basis for their own studies in thoroughbred data comparison and evaluation. The author realizes that many people avoid mathematical ideas like the plague. Therefore, he has minimized statistical usage to its most common elements, and he explains these thoroughly for the uninitiated as the book progresses. Only two of the ten chapters use statistics to any degree. The text also includes seven figures and two tables to aid in understanding the statistical concepts. If one feels remotely comfortable with eight-grade mathematics concepts, one will have no problem with this material. Relative to the statistical comparisons, two novel concepts are discussed. These pertain to addressing the so-called era effect. Many racing fans continue to argue that horses from different eras cannot justly be compared. A strong case against this argument is presented from at least two standpoints. First, a device is described and suggested to scientifically test and compare the true relative speeds of two racing surfaces. Second, an inverse use of the well-known t test for comparing the differences between two or more data sets is presented. The text demonstrates how using this inverse test can equitably adjust earlier era data so that it may be fairly compared with later era data.

One of the most versatile and talented racehorses of modern times. 1968's Horse of the Year, champion handicap horse, champion sprinter, and co-champion grass horse. First and only horse ever to win four titles in a single year. He remains one of the most popular racehorses of the modern era.