Derby Magic

by Jim Bolus

Overview

" . . . absorbing chapters trace the history of shipping horses by air and equine personalities from the lovable Buckpasser to the vious Nevele Pride . . . A delight for racing fans." -Publishers Weekly

No one was more knowledgeable about the Kentucky Derby than Jim Bolus, Kentucky Derby curator of the Kentucky Derby Museum, which is located on the grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

In this, his fifth Pelican book on the Derby, Bolus examines the mystique, the majesty, and the magic of the most popular horse race in the world through various essays.

"The Bull and the Sunshine Boys" recalls the 1986 Derby, which was won by Ferdinand. On that magical day, Charlie Whittingham, seventy-three, and Bill Shoemaker, fifty-four, became the oldest trainer and jockey, respectively, to win the Kentucky Derby.

Readers will learn the exciting story of the first Derby winner in the essay "Assault: The Little Horse with the Heart of a Giant." The essays, including "Horses Have Their Own Personalities" and "Diary of a Champion: Skip Away," all convey the magic of the Derby, somehow captured by author Jim Bolus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455603497
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	12/21/2022
Series:	Bolus Derby Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

The late Jim Bolus, who attended his thirtieth Kentucky Derby in 1996, hadn't missed the race in more than twenty years. Dubbed a "Doctor of Derbyology" by one newspaper reporter, Bolus also wrote Derby Fever, Remembering the Derby, Kentucky Derby Stories, and Derby Magic, all published by Pelican.

Editorial Reviews

Horses, like humans, have type A and type B personalities, according to Bolus, curator of the Kentucky Derby Museum, in his fifth book on America's best-known Thoroughbred race. Here he presents almost two dozen capsule biographies, some of jockeys, some of owners and trainers, but most of horses. Among the mounts and the years of their victories are Assault (1946), clearly Bolus's favorite; Clyde Van Dusen (1929), a son of Man o' War; Gallant Fox (1930); Omaha (1935), who would rather bite a horse that bumped him than win a race; Black Gold (1924), whom Bolus calls "the king of derby winners"; and Seattle Slew (1977), never defeated until after he won the Triple Crown. The most interesting jockey profiled here is African American Isaac Murphy, "arguably the best jockey of [the 19th] century, black or white." "Honest Ike," so called because he was considered incorruptible at a time when many riders were not, won at Churchill Downs three times before his death in 1896. Other absorbing chapters trace the history of shipping horses by air and equine personalities from the lovable Buckpasser to the vicious Nevele Pride. Disappointingly, among the dozens of photos there are no action shots. A delight for racing fans. (June)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly