Today is the day for the race at Belmont, the third race in the Triple Crown. While not really a fan of the racing industry, there have been some amazing horses over the years which captured my attention. :-)

If timing is everything, then feel sorry for a horse named Sham. He was a racehorse who broke time records in many of the races he ran. Unlike some, he was well behaved and nice to work around. We didn't hear much about him though, because he had the unfortunate luck of being born the same year as the horse named Secretariat. You can read about Sham in Phil Dandrea's book Sham: Great Was Second Best: a Brave Bay's Rivalry With the Legendary Secretariat. Some thought Secretariat was as good as he was because of this rivalry, that Sham was the only horse good enough to give Red a needed push.

Secretariat was a horse like no other, he did what he'd been bred for generations to do ... run. There is a lot more in Secretariat, by William Nack such as history of the breeder, owner, jockey, groom, etc. (all interesting) and maybe, for me, just a bit too much on the syndication stuff, but it's the chapters on the big red horse that I most enjoyed. What was missing from this book, however, was a bibliography. And an index. (Yes, I do know I'm rather fussy about this)!

As a kid I read (and reread many times) the book Come On Seabiscuit, by Ralph Moody and illustrated by Robert Riger. It is the story of a small horse with knobby knees that captured America's heart during the Depression. Seems I wasn't the only one! As an adult, Laura Hillenbrand, who said she wore out her copy she read it so many times, did her research (an excellent job, even though she suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and wrote Seabiscuit: an American Legend. Early on it was a hard knock life until he ended up with trainer Tom Smith, and Red Pollard as his jockey and under their care started winning on a regular basis.

Another book from the Way Back Machine is Old Bones the Wonder Horse, by Mildred Maslin Pace and illustrated by none other than Wesley Dennis. The name of the horse was actually "Exterminator", but he was oddly put together, hence the nickname. He had no fancy bloodline so was initially used to help train Sun Briar, who was thought to be the better horse. Time after time 'Bones' would win unless held back. He was entered in the Kentucky Derby, and much to everyone's surprise came from behind to win. He would race until he was nine years old, quite the age for a race horse.

This turned out to be a fun book trail so I am going to divide it into two posts ...

Reading Hermit With Dog