Dream Race: The Search for the Greatest Thoroughbred Race Horse of All-Time [Hardcover]

Robert Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2004

Dream Race: the Search for the Greatest Race Horse of All-Time is a historical novel built from in-depth research of racing history. What separates Dream Race from other pieces of literature is the 12 full color illustrations painted by the author, Robert Clark, and shows a dozen imaginary races and offers facts on nearly a hundred of the top race horses nationally and internationally.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Get ready for a beautiful horse racing lesson. A must read for any racing enthusiast." -- Bill Brill, Carlsbad California

"This piece of literature needs to be a part of every sportsman's collection -- Dr. Ron Bibb, thoroughbred breeder, Louisville Thoroughbred Club

"Wonderful, impossible moments in time. Each champion is recognized by their color, markings, and build . . . Great stuff!" -- Anne Peters, Three Chimneys Farm, Turf Historian & Pedigree Expert

A fun book, written with great humor and strikingly illustrated, reveals an impressive breadth of knowledge of racing’s noble past. -- Thoroughbred Times, Dec 4, 2004

Great tribute to racing's greatest equines for followers of the sport, and an easy to read introduction for newer fans. -- About.com, Dec 2004

This book is worth buying for the pictures alone, but the story tying it together makes it even more special. -- Horse-Races.net, Dec 2004

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Horse and Dragon Publishing (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975948806
• ISBN-13: 978-0975948804
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,151,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Storytelling wins again, October 1, 2005

By 

Anne Peters (Versailles, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dream Race: The Search for the Greatest Thoroughbred Race Horse of All-Time (Hardcover)

This book gets people excited about horse racing all over again. I join with the 99.99% of the people who have read it and loved it for what it is, great storytelling about a great sport. I have to rebut the negative review by Sysonby, however. To point out grammatical errors when dealing with a story that's written largely as a casual dialogue with one character having a Southern dialect, is to miss the intentional writing style used here. Would one criticize William Faulkner for the same sort of technique used in "The Sound and The Fury"? I'm a well known writer and turf historian so I also have to address what Sysonby admits is quibbling over historical errors. It's exactly that - quibbling over minor details. Don't forget that the plot line follows an old man's memories of racing -- so what if his memory is a little short of perfect? If you've seen the tape of Man o'War beating Sir Barton, it certainly looks like Sir Barton is beaten by 20 lengths, not 7. And when it comes down to it, the "official" 31 lengths win posted by Secretariat in the Belmont was just a guess on the part of the chart caller. Old Leonard remembers it as 30, which is closer than the 40 lengths it looked like to me. Whose memory is perfect, after all? Certainly we can forgive an old racetracker for a little artistic license to his favorite memories? OK, so War Admiral wasn't a big horse...they said the same thing about him being huge in the movie "Seabiscuit" and it didn't ruin that for everyone, did it? As a turf historian, I have to say that I've never read that War Admiral was known as "the Mighty Atom", as Sysonby notes, although I did see the same nickname for him in a book published in the 1970s, in a book trying to pin nicknames on all the Triple Crown winners. He was always "The Admiral" to his racing fans. What amuses me about Sysonby's small minded review is that for hating this book so much, he/she sure read every last word and stuck with it right to the end. That's actually a tribute to the story, since even Sysonby couldn't put it down because it was so much fun to read.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest horse racing books of all time!, November 27, 2004

By 

Ryan VanDongen "Ryan" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dream Race: The Search for the Greatest Thoroughbred Race Horse of All-Time (Hardcover)

I never knew very much about horse racing until I read this book! The story is intertwined with all sorts of facts about some of the greatest horses who graced the greatest race tracks in history. Robert Clark's artwork brings life to each chapter as you become wrapped up in this tale of jockey's, trainers, and their horses, told through the eyes of a young reporter given the task of finding out who was the greatest thoroughbred of all time. A great book for horse enthusiasts, and people who don't even know what the triple-crown is!

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Thoroughbred of All Time?, October 21, 2004

By 

Matthew W. Ketron (Florence , KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dream Race: The Search for the Greatest Thoroughbred Race Horse of All-Time (Hardcover)

What initially attracted me to this book was the artwork. I couldn't believe what I was looking at: A race with Secretariat running against Man o' War and Citation. How is that possible? I knew immediately that I HAD to know more about this book.

What I discovered is that the book takes on the task of answering the question, who is the greatest thoroughbred of all time?

The format in which the author takes on the question makes for a very enjoyable read. This book is perfect for anyone. Casual race fans that may have been introduced to the sport by Seabiscuit will LOVE this book. In addition, seasoned track goers will love the historical information and the concept of the Dream Race. Highest recommendation!!