Virginia, mother of presidents, is also the mother of American horse racing. From the very beginning, Virginians have risked it all on the track as eagerly as on the battlefield. Follow the bloodlines of three foundation sires of the American Thoroughbred through generations of rollicking races and larger-than-life grandees wagering kingly stakes, sometimes on horses not yet born. How did the horse nicknamed Damn His Eyes get protection money from other horse owners? What did it mean to tap the claret to break a neck-and-neck tie? Why was Confederate cavalry so much better than Unionwas it the riders, or was it the mounts? All these and many more stories of horsemanship on and off the track fill the pages of Virginia Horse Racing: Triumphs of the Turf.
""Secretariat" is an elegantly crafted, exhilarating tale of speed and power, grace and greatness, told with such immediacy that the reader is lost in the rush of horses and the clatter and ring of the grandstand." --Laura Hillenbrand, bestselling author of "Seabiscuit" Updated with a new preface by the author In 1973, Secretariat, the greatest champion in horse-racing history, won the Triple Crown. The only horse to ever grace the covers of "Time," "Newsweek," and "Sports Illustrated" in the same week, he also still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He was also the only non-human chosen as one of ESPN's "50 Greatest Athletes of the Century." The tale of "Big Red" is an enduring and inspiring classic, more than thirty years after its initial publication.
Virginia, mother of presidents, is also the mother of American horse racing. From the very beginning, Virginians have risked it all on the track as eagerly as on the battlefield. Follow the bloodlines of three foundation sires of the American Thoroughbred through generations of rollicking races and larger-than-life grandees wagering kingly stakes, sometimes on horses not yet born. How did the horse nicknamed Damn His Eyes get protection money from other horse owners? What did it mean to "tap the claret" to break a neck-and-neck tie? Why was Confederate cavalry so much better than Union--was it the riders, or was it the mounts? All these and many more stories of horsemanship on and off the track fill the pages of Virginia Horse Racing: Triumphs of the Turf.
When it comes to producing top three-day event horses, Ginny Leng and her back-up team have the finest record in the world. In this book, Britain's leading event rider explains the training methods that gained her the world championship and three European titles. These were won on three different horses, all introduced to novice eventing and taken up through the grades by Ginny.
A Newbery Honor Book Rediscover award-winning author Marguerite Henry’s classic story about a wild horse’s gentle colt with this faux leather–bound anniversary edition. On an island of Chincoteague off the coasts of Virginia and Maryland lives a centuries-old band of wild ponies. Among them is the most mysterious of all, Phantom, a rarely seen mare that eludes all efforts to capture her—until a young boy and girl lay eyes on her and decide they can’t live without her. The frenzied roundup that follows on the next “Pony Penning Day” does indeed bring Phantom into their lives…in a way they never would have suspected. Phantom will forever be a creature of the wild. But her gentle, loyal colt Misty is another story altogether.
Presents the story of how the Chenerey family came to breed and race Secretariat along with the history of the family and the land in which they bred racehorses.
Steeplechasing provides a long, colorful history of the sport and gives behind-the-scenes portraits of the horses, people, and places of the chase. From the 1800s, enjoy the reproductions of illustrations from colorful sporting journals, and enjoy the writing style of that era which was equally colorful. In more recent times, marvelous action pictures capture the excitement, beauty, and sometimes danger of the sport. Art lovers will also enjoy the color reproductions of horse portraits and race scenes by some of America's best sporting artists. Limited Edition ($175) is bound in a cloth clamshell casing.
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.
The rich heritage of Virginia horse racing traces its roots back to the colonial days of the late seventeenth century. Horse racing began as single-day events held at county fairs, family farms, and hunt meets, taking a long and meandering path to become the sport we know and love today. Colonial Downs and More examines the important changes that occurred in Virginias horse racing industry during the last half century, with a particular focus on the debates over pari-mutuel wagering. The legalization of pari-mutuel wagering became a hot-button legislative issue in the 1980s, sparked by horse breeders and owners hoping to improve the industry. In 1988, voters approved the legalization of pari-mutuel wagering, a move that opened the doors for the establishment of a new racetrack that would come to be known as Colonial Downs. Colonial Downs faced major obstacles from its inception. Construction was bogged down by licensing delays and legal issues. Nine long years elapsed before it finally opened its gates in 1997. After a modest opening, attendance and wagering slumped over the next three to five years. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, the track and associated operations remain high quality, offering breeders and owners needed funds and providing racing fans with unparalleled fun and excitement.
