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Title: The Race for the Triple Crown: Horses, High Stakes, and Eternal Hope by Joe Drape ISBN: 0-8021-3885-3 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.82 (11 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Good, but not great
Comment: Drape took on the task that all of us outside the world of racing should be grateful, that is, giving us an inside look at the horses and connections that take a 2 year old colt from Derby wannabe to Triple Crown contender. What I found disappointing was the lack of detail in the races themselves. Drape sufficiently builds up the Derby and details the race, but the other prep races, Preakness and Belmont are slighted. I guess I am used to William Nack's detailed descriptions of Secretariat's races. You won't learn anything new about Lukas or Baffert here that you haven't already read. You will at least learn a little about Todd Pletcher, Neil Drysdale and Jenine Sahadi.
Rating: 5
Summary: Robust hope, fragile horses, insider detail
Comment: "The Race for the Triple Crown" is not in the usual run of amiable puff jobs about Thoroughbreds and their owners. For one thing, the author is an award-winning sportswriter for the "New York Times." For another, he is a dedicated horse-player---Damon Runyon; bettin' on da gee-gees; bookies; "The Daily Racing Form"---that sort of scene. Finally and perhaps most importantly, he owned and raced a Quarter Horse named Oh Desperado, who turned out to be a whiz at dressage.
Joe Drape begins his story in June, 1999 when the big, beautiful Charismatic, a former claiming horse fractured his foreleg in the Belmont, just seconds away from becoming the first Thoroughbred in twenty-one years to win the Triple Crown. The book ends with Tiznow's victory in the 2000 Breeder's Cup Classic and the death of his eighty-three-year-old owner, Cecilia Straub-Rubens, three days later.
In between, Thoroughbred owners "spent $510,834,975 on 8,779 yearlings at auctions in the United States in hopes that one of them was the right horse for the 2002 Triple Crown."
The author writes primarily of the owners and trainers, by turns foolish, determined, and hopeful, and some of whom were real S.O.B.s. One of the prominent players is the trainer D. Wayne Lucas, who won the first two races in the Triple Crown in 1999, and then won the third leg in 2000. He is also one of the aforementioned S.O.B.s---one might even call him the Patton of Thoroughbred training. I finished this book with a tremendous admiration (although not liking) for Lucas, especially for winning the 2000 Belmont with a mediocre horse and sheer tactical brilliance. The author is still kicking himself for not betting on Lucas's horse in that race. It would have been his fifth winner on a Pick-Six ticket.
"The Race for the Triple Crown" is rich in the detail of what it takes to purchase a Thoroughbred at auction (lots of money, lots of testosterone, and lots of research). It portrays the agony and ecstasy of owning, training, and riding a potential Triple Crown horse. Here is the true story of the relationship between D. Wayne Lucas and Charismatic's jockey, Chris Antley. Here's what it feels like to try and outbid a Maktoum at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Here are the reasons why you shouldn't plan a celebratory dinner in advance of a Thoroughbred race. Here is Bob Baffert, "intoning, 'Houston, we got a problem' into the microphone at the 1996 Preakness when his horse Cavonnier was on his way to a fourth-place finish."
This is an absolutely riveting story for readers who are already somewhat familiar with Thoroughbred racing. I loved it. However, I disagree with the cover blurb that says it is "a delight for both aficionado and novice." If you're looking for a starter book on Thoroughbred racing, try "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion" by William Nack, or "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand. "The Race for the Triple Crown" has so much insider detail that a newcomer to racing might become totally confused if he or she doesn't already recognize some of the players, e.g. Pat Day, More Than Ready, Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Jenine Sahadi, and The Deputy (for starters).
Rating: 3
Summary: Drape's dirt on famous trainers
Comment: For all Joe Drape is supposed to be a big, important writer, I have no compliments for him. This book was something of a letdown for me. It provides insight into Drape's personal opinion of some high-profile racetrack people, but it is more of a storybook than a documentary, and I found irritating errors (or poor editing decisions?) throughout the book.
Read it once; I have no wish to read it again.
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Title: The Perfect Ride by Gary Stevens, Bill Shoemaker, Mervyn Kaufman ISBN: 0806524502 Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Horse of a Different Color: A Tale of Breeding Geniuses, Dominant Females, and the Fastest Derby Winner Since Secretariat by Jim Squires, Jim Squires ISBN: 1586481177 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Three Strides Before the Wire : The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing by Elizabeth Mitchell ISBN: 0786886226 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 16 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Secretariat: The Making of a Champion by William Nack ISBN: 0306811332 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Stud : Adventures in Breeding by Kevin Conley ISBN: 1582343322 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Pub. Date: 02 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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