cover image Racing Through the Century: The Story of Thoroughbred Racing in America

Racing Through the Century: The Story of Thoroughbred Racing in America

Mary Simon. BowTie Press, $49.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-1-889540-92-4

In Simon's thoughtful, engaging chronicle of this ""sport of kings,"" adapted from her reporting in the Thoroughbred Times, the author charts the ever-changing fortunes of horse racing and its devotees. With a quick nod to racing up through the19th century (she identifies, for instance, a British horse named Diomed destined to ""reshape the American Thoroughbred in his own remarkable image""), Simon dives into the 20th, when the advent of the automotive age relegated the horse to the realm of sport. She tackles her subject in 10-year increments, from ""A Decade of Turmoil"" (1901-10), to the ""Fabulous Fifties,"" to the 1990's ""A Revolutionary Ending,"" and in doing so makes the stars of each-the champion jockeys, the record-shattering horses-shine in exhilarating detail. Her profiles of horses-the story of John Henry, the ill-tempered brute who became a beloved champion at an age most horses were consigned to the paddock, for example, or the tragedy of the brilliant filly Ruffian, who sealed her fate by finishing a race on a broken leg-are particularly affecting, but throughout this volume, readers are treated to an expert's thorough treatment of a fascinating history. Illus.