A highly readable historical account of the myriad ways in which Louisville's iconic race has reflected the cultural and political climates of Kentucky as well as the world.
Louisville Courier-Journal
Nicholson has done a great job putting together historical facts and telling just enough of a story to make his book very interesting. It is obvious that the influence of his family's history and experiences in racing have helped him achieve this goal.
Nicholson's insightful and often entertaining book...is about much more than a bunch of Thoroughbreds running races for 14 decades....Nicholson presents a history of a Derby that was forced to be nimble to change with the times marked by racial issues, drugs and war, and the emergence of international Thoroughbred owners. What makes the book so attractive to readers is the author's ability to tell engaging stories rather than simply give a chronology of facts.Kentucky Monthly
Nicholson's examination of the Derby emphasizes context and as such offers a valuable contribution both to the equine literature and the historiography of Kentucky.
Likely to become a study that sets the new standard for books concerning thoroughbred racing, especially for ones dealing with the Kentucky Derby.... If you fail to read this book, you have missed a good one.
Northern Kentucky Heritage
You cannot help but come away from this book feeling that [Kentuckians] are savvy business people, brilliant marketers, sports enthusiasts, people passionate about a champion, a comeback, a longshot or an underdog, and yes—even blessed by God.
Nicholson's book offers a look at the evolution of the Derby, the 'most exciting two minutes in sports,' as well as its international, national, and regional importance.
A scholarly but very readable study of how the Derby grew from a regional attraction to a sports and entertainment event that attracts a world-wide audience
The favorite to be a winner for book lovers and Derby buffs alike.
An excellent choice for anyone interested in this annual event that brings the national press to the commonwealth and that should be a very large reading audience.
Nicholson paints an interesting, richly illustrated, and well-documented account of the Derby that will appeal to a large cross-section of readers.
What is it about the Kentucky Derby that causes people who will not see another horse race all year to pay attention? The answer, James C. Nicholson explains, lies in the Derby's image being intertwined with that of Kentucky. The popular perception of the state as both genteel and untamed is played out in the event itself. In the early days of the Derby, an imagined link to the mythological Old South added to the appeal. Now, in the twenty-first century, the Derby has become an all-American sports experience. The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event goes beyond the colorful history of the race and examines the reasons behind its popularity. It is not only an enjoyable read but also very enlightening.
A broader audience will find lively narration and deft writing that captures the often amusing discrepancies between fabrication and fact as Nicholson describes the Derby's journey from dusty horse race to international icon of the mythic American South.
Nicholson has done a masterful job of researching the historical events that made the Derby the enthralling and significant event it is. You may never get to experience the thrill of entering the winners' circle and smelling the wonderful aroma that emanates from the garland of roses that signifies the greatest achievement in the sport of Thoroughbred racing, but this wonderful book will take you on a journey that gets you as close as any piece of writing possibly could.
Explores how the paradoxical reputation of Kentucky for lawlessness and gentility is reflected in and helped sustain 'the most exciting two minutes in sports' despite significant cultural, political, and economic changes over its 138 year history.
University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences
The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event is both informative and entertaining. Providing the reader with a unique insight into how the Kentucky Derby has evolved over the past 135 years, Nicholson illuminates the history of Kentucky's signature sporting event, highlighting the culture, history, and rich tradition surrounding it.
I have witnessed every modern Derby beginning in 1964 and have been privileged to write about the Derby many times. Through all of that involvement, however, I could never say that I really had my arms around just how the race came to be so embedded into the American soul. Now, Nicholson has provided that insight. In his lively telling, he explains the many strands of what is not so much a picture as a tapestry. Moreover, he brings us up to date as to the Derby's ability to withstand the winds of social change wrought by warfare, racial relations, and, of late, the international aspects of the grand old race.
More than a list of horses, riders, trainers, and owners, this this book parallels the Derby, the state of Kentucky and the people who inhabit this country who find themselves ready to watch a horse race on the first Saturday in May for reasons they really cannot put a finger on. An excellent read.
James C. Nicholson's The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier Sporting Event skillfully explores how popular media and collective memories reinvent the past, invent regional culture, and transform in response to larger social and political changes. This book is a quick read but not a shallow one; it is filled with historical information and analysis of the event that is central to the identity of Kentucky and important to the public image of America.
Indiana Magazine of History
Nicholson's book will appeal to aficionados of horse racing in general and the Kentucky Derby in particular, even if one does not live in the United States.
Essential reading for anyone interested in throughbred racing, American history and/or developing a successful campaign in one's industry
Does an excellent job describing the aura that surrounds America's most popular thoroughbred race.
This is a book for anyone interested in Thoroughbred racing—its history, the industry—or sports and Americana more generally.
Many books have been published about the Kentucky Derby that deal with elements of the race such as the horses, jockeys, owners, and trainers. This book is much more than that — it places the Derby within the history of the Commonwealth and in the broader context of American culture.
Nicholson's connections to the Thoroughbred industry all combine in this flowing, colorful but painstakingly-accurate history of the Kentucky Derby. His story is the design, the warp and weave of the fabric, and he knew where to source the embellishments which give this work its unique personality. Read this book and you will understand why, each year, this great nation holds its breath for two minutes late in the afternoon on the first Saturday in May.
The romance and mythology surrounding this Derby are uncovered, from the winner's blanket of red roses to the souvenir mint julep glasses to the hats the size of parade floats.
Through scrupulous research, Nicholson clearly describes how the Derby has transformed from "a pipsqueak Dixie picnic," in the words of Time magazine, to a major U.S. sporting event of the same caliber as the Masters tournament and the Indianapolis 500…Nicholson's book will appeal to anyone interested in learning about Kentucky and its Derby.
An efficient examination of the "Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports." As Nicholson, the scion of a genuine Kentucky horse-breeding family, points out, the Kentucky Derby is as much about colorful colonels, pretty ladies and mint juleps as it is about starting gates, furlongs and Thoroughbreds--maybe even more so. Since its inception in 1875, the great race run annually at Churchill Downs has been understood as an experience, a yearly celebration of a very particular time and place in the nation's storied history. Whether or not that time or place ever truly existed, writes the author, is immaterial. In fact, it is the malleable nature of the Derby--perhaps best exemplified by the juxtaposition of its notoriously raucous infield and its extravagantly affluent grandstand--that is its greatest strength. Although rooted in a suspect antebellum tradition, the Derby still somehow manages to epitomize whatever the prevailing view of America happens to be at the time. "These values are not static; they evolve, disappear, and resurface at the whim of the pervading cultural, political, and social climate," Nicholson writes. Keen observations like this prove to be consistently powerful throughout the book, as the author touches on everything from the scandalous demise of celebrated black jockeys to the heavy influence of powerful Middle-Eastern sheiks. The winning horses, of course, are never far from the spotlight. All the great Kentucky Derby champions are here, from Aristides to Secretariat to Smarty Jones. Despite their many heroic exploits on the track, Nicholson's focus falls beyond the thundering hoof beats that speed past Churchill Downs' iconic twin spires each spring. A perceptive history of "Kentucky's mythic past and modern society" and how the Derby has helped fans "experience Kentucky and…make meaning of themselves as Americans."
