Grening David (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 3rd Edition. New condition heavy oversized navy blue cloth boards with gold spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Acknowledgments; Foreword; Appendices consisting of: Index of Champions; Explanation of Past Performances; Track Abbreviations and About the Authors. Illustrated with color photographs, black-and-white photographs and a color portrait frontispiece. "Champions: The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of America's Greatest Thoroughbreds is the dream trifecta come true. Here, under one cover, we can roam the 20th century Thoroughbred world, reliving all the great moments. Students of the game and just plain horse lovers will dine long and happy over this stunning meal." - Jack Whitaker, from the rear outer jacket. "In the world of Thoroughbred racing, "Champion" is a word in great circulation, but it is often misused. It might describe the best horse in a division of state-breds, or the winner of any Breeders' Cup race, but calling such horses champions is overblown and inaccurate. Each year, racing elects fewer than a dozen champions. Over the years the quality of these horses has ranged from ordinary to immortal, but for that one season, at least, each of them earned the right to be called the best of his or her division. In [the book], those who deserved racing's greatest honor are measured by the ultimate yardstick. For the first time anywhere, the lifetime past performances of racing's elite-more than 500 horses, including every elected champion since 1936 - have been collected in one volume. On display are the unblemished records of Colin and Personal Ensign, the 19-race winning streak of Zenyatta, as well as the modest beginnings of Seabiscuit, Stymie, and Funny Cide. Though a single past-performance line may be worth a thousand words, the entire tale is not contained within the data. Interwoven through nearly 20,000 past-performance lines is the story of Thoroughbred racing in the United States, from the 1800's through the early 21st century, told by today's best racing writers. This third, revised edition of Champions includes updates of all divisional winners through 2010 and includes Beyer Speed Figures dating back to 1992. Exquisitely packaged, with more than 100 rare photographs and illustrations, Champions brings to life the rich history of the Sport of Kings." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps.