And, They're Off! Books About Thoroughbreds and Their People

Great race horses are not supposed to be gray. The lighter the coat color, the lighter the color of the hooves. Lighter hooves were traditionally believed to be weaker and less able to withstand the stresses of hard racing. In the 1950s, however, there was a gray champion who liked to come in fast from far behind. Big and powerful, Native Dancer was named Horse of the Year in 1954 and graced the cover of Time magazine.

A description of what it takes to make it at the highest levels of English-style riding -- training, competition, and not least the emotional bonds that must be forged between riders and horses.

A loser horse and a down-on-his-luck jockey join forces to take on the best equine athletes of Depression-era America. Hillenbrand's book has been made into a Hollywood film, starring Toby Maguire. The book is also available on audio.

"On March 30, 1970, Secretariat drew his first breath in a little white foaling shed on a historic farm called The Meadow in Caroline County, Virginia. Three years later he would leave the nation breathless as he captured the Triple Crown, shattering records and rivals alike. At The Meadow, America's Super Horse learned to gallop across its rolling fields and its loamy track. There, Secretariat first felt the calming hand of a groom, the taste of a bit in his mouth and the weight of a rider on his back. At The Meadow, the foundation was laid for a legend. Though much has been written about his spectacular racing career, the complete story of Secretariat s birthplace and the Chenery family who raised and raced him has never been told...until now. And a Chenery granddaughter is telling it. Secretariat's Meadow: The Land, the Family, the Legend reveals an intimate picture of this storied place from the viewpoint of Kate Chenery Tweedy, daughter of Penny Chenery (Tweedy) and granddaughter of Meadow Stable s founder Christopher T. Chenery."

"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 largerthan- 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 the 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."