American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes! The last Triple Crown win was in 1978.

I always thought Northern Dancer was a wonderful name for the little horse (barely 15 hands) from Canada. Because of his size, many did not pay much attention to him until he started winning .... winning race after race. Gare Joyce tells all about him in Northern Dancer: King of the Racetrack.

It's not often a mare has a public following. Ruffian was the exception. All race horses have a style and Ruffian's was to take the lead immediately and then hold on to it. She tied or broke track records and win the Triple Crown for fillies. It was all good until a tragic match race against Foolish Pleasure ... She was an amazing horse and I treasure the book on my shelf: Ruffian: Queen of the Fillies, by Edward Claflin.

Trotting races were once extremely popular. Pretty much everyone had a horse for transportation at the time, and if you could get back and forth from town quickly, that was a good thing. Crazy Good: the True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America, by Charles Leerhsen, is the story of one of the most popular and well-known horses of the time. Unlike his sire, and other males in the line, who had terrible dispositions, Dan Patch was always well-behaved and even mannered. Kids could pet him, and grooms were safe stepping into his stall. He was a natural pacer, even, so the story goes, escaping from a barn fire at a pace. However, this was also a time when animals were not well treated, and those that could make money for someone were often exploited and used beyond what they could endure. The writing was excellent, though, even if the subject matter was tough at times.

Horses are kidnapped. Boats and people vanish, never to be seen again. Conspiracies. What really happened? Decide for yourself in Great Horse Racing Mysteries: True Tales from the Track, by John McEvoy.

Reading Hermit With Dog