Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Northern Dancer by Kevin Chong - Available

Northern Dancer

How an Undersized Horse Gave a Nation Heart and Changed the Sport

by Kevin Chong
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
In every sport there are a select few competitors that come to define the excellence that all others must forever aspire to. In “the sport of kings,” there is one that stands alone. Northern Dancer is not only a Canadian legend, but the cornerstone of his breed. It has been estimated that 70 percent of the thoroughbreds alive today are his descendants, which includes the majority of the horses running in the biggest races around the world. His offspring received recordbreaking prices on the auction floor.

While much has been written about Northern Dancer’s prepotence as a sire, this book is the only one devoted to his 1964 campaign, which saw him win two of the Triple Crown races in the U.S. and Canada’s Queen’s Plate. In that time, he captured the attention of the world and the hearts of all Canadians. In Northern Dancer, the world-famous horse comes alive through the people whose lives he touched: E.P. Taylor, the visionary industrialist whose web of business placed him at the end of every consumer transaction for every Canadian and made him the subject of scorn; Horatio Luro, the dapper Argentinean trainer (and tango dancer, pilot, and race car driver) who was notorious for his affairs with Hollywood starlets and his tender treatment of horses; and Bill Hartack, a wildly successful jockey whose squabbles with the press and his inability to conceal his unvarnished truth from influential owners and trainers was, by 1964, beginning to affect his career. Using news clippings from 1964 and interviews, this book offers novelistic detail not only on the remarkable 1964 Triple Crown and Queen’s Plate races, but also revisits, fifty years later, the era in which Canada was struggling to establish an identity, needing, more than anything, a national hero.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 1, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780143191933

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780143191933
      • File size: 1084 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 7, 2014
      Following a lively memoir of equine semi-ownership (My Year of the Racehorse), the track and stable enthusiast Chong crafts a straightforward, detail-filled, and nation-proud reciting of one of Canada's "most thrilling stories." The bulk of this history follows the fraught ownership (by "beer baron" and "reviled plutocrat," E.P. Taylor), training, and management of Northern Dancer, an undersized, underestimated, injury-prone, and "notoriously surly" colt whose one-year racing career resulted in upset victories at the 1964 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (and a hefty boost to Canada's sense of accomplishment). Northern Dancer's enduring post-racing career produced another remarkable feat: 635 foals (467 of which were winners) and a bloodline presence in three-quarters of the thoroughbreds alive today. Acknowledging that Taylor and his exceptional horse were the subjects of books in 1976, 1999, and 2006, the author neglects to clarify exactly what's distinctive or valuable about yet another chronicle of "Canada's most beloved colt"âthe long shot nobody wanted that eventually "became the hero of a young country." Horse race history buffs may appreciate the glimpses of behind-the-scenes politicking, while a general readership may be gratified by the brisk pacing of the storytelling. Agent: Martha Webb, Anne McDermid & Associates.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now