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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Fine Job of Reporting, 30 Nov 2002
It's hard to determine the true hero of this book. Is it the taciturn trainer, Tom Smith, who took a colt the world's leading trainer (the still-revered Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons) couldn't truly fathom and turn the reject into a champion racehorse? Is it Charles Howard, the car salesman turned millionaire who devoted so much of his time, money and energy to his beloved horse, never second-guessing his trainer and remaining ever steadfast in every adversity, including the death of his son? Is it Seabiscuit himself, the reluctant claimer who went on to a superstardom that matched or superseded anything later achieved by Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods? Perhaps it is Johnny (Red) Pollard, the jockey who emerged from depths about as low as any human being can go to the winner's circle in America's most prestigious races? All of these would be strong candidates, but my Eclipse Award goes to Laura Hillenbrand, for rising up out of her sickbed often enough and long enough to accomplish something just as miraculous as the feats that Seabiscuit and team pulled off. Take it from someone who spent six years of his life as an observer and worker at backstretches all around the US. I have held jobs from hot walker to trainer, at venues such as Belmont Park, Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Bowie, The Fairgrounds, Monmouth Park, etc. I also had a chance to observe some excellent horsemen for whom I worked, including Frank Whitely, Elliot Burch, Woody Stephens, and others. I had the pleasure to meet and talk with Alfred Vanderbilt, one of the characters in this story, as he was an owner of one of the trainers for whom I groomed horses. I've seen most of what the backstretch has to offer, from the lowliest stable-hand at a rickety bullring track in New Mexico, to the richest owner in the world purchasing horses at the Keeneland Yearling Sale. So perhaps I feel myself qualified, though it is hardly necessary, to say that Laura Hillenbrand has written the book I wish I had had the talent and fortitude to write. Her book, more than any other I have ever read, captures life on the backstretch as it is, was, and ever shall be. She has gotten to the essence of horse-racing, capturing perfectly the allure, the dreams, the utter exhilaration and despair that unfolds day in and day out behind the scenes at racetracks the world over. She has done this despite severe physical infirmities that would have stopped us lesser humans in our tracks. Reading this book left me feeling as though I had just won the pick-four at Hollywood Park. Hats off and thrown high into the air to Laura Hillenbrand for an accomplishment that will be next to impossible to ever match.
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