Customer Reviews

The Most Glorious Crown: The Story of America's Triple Crown Thoroughbreds from Sir Barton to Affirmed

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I read "The Most Glorious Crown" after Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby, then didn't have the heart to write a review until after he was back on his feet, cleaning up his hay rack, nickering at nearby mares, and scratching at his ear with his leg cast. I'm just a fan. I have no right to my affection for him, being neither owner, nor trainer, nor even hotwalker. However, it's terribly saddening to see one of these beautiful, spirited creatures break down, especially one who had a chance to win the most glorious crown.

The eleven horses that did win the Crown exemplified the highest qualities of speed, stamina, and heart, but each of them had his own character and peculiarities. The author shares rare photographs and anecdotes with a lavish hand, bringing each of these special Thoroughbreds to life along with the people surrounding him. I was especially taken by the story of Whirlaway, Calumet's first Triple Crown winner (who also figures prominently in the accompanying DVD).

'Mr. Longtail' was quite a character: "Dumb, half-witted, willful, knuckleheaded, stubborn, unmanageable--these and similar adjectives were sprinkled in the reams of copy written about him." If it weren't for the combined efforts of Ben Jones, his trainer, and Eddie Arcaro, his jockey, Whirlaway might never have won a race, much less the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont.

Martin Drager also includes a chapter of near misses, ending with Birdstone's defeat of Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont. In his epilogue, "They Were Only Human" he includes the usual statistics on the triple crown winners and also (just to prove that there is no such thing as the 'perfect' horse) mentions that four of the glorious eleven were challenged to match races...and lost (Sir Barton to Man O'War, War Admiral to Sea Biscuit, Whirlaway to Alsab, and Assault to Armed.)

The History Channel DVD "Win Place or Show" that accompanies this book is a miscellany of American Thoroughbred racing, including some rare footage of Man O'War's races, plus clips of many of our Triple Crown winners. Calumet Farm is featured, as well as Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens, best remembered for his 5 consecutive Belmont wins in the 1980s. The commentary by various owners and trainers, including Jimmy Jones is priceless. The DVD alone is worth the price of this book.

Be certain to buy the updated, 2005 reissue of this book in order to get the History Channel DVD.

If you adore the yearly triple crown thoroughbred races, you gotta get this book. I was born in a triple crown year,1948, and of course learned much more about the wonderful colt, Citation, in 1973, when the media kept saying about Secretariat, "the first triple crown winner since Citation 25 years ago".Since I was so wowwed by that gorgeous creature Secretariat, I wanted to learn more about the great Citation. What a gem he was! Eddie Arcaro said "he was a doll to ride," meaning he did exactly what the jockey wanted and more. Then I wanted to learn about ALL the T.C. winners, since there are only 11 of them! This isn't a book you read like a novel, though you can; it's more like a reference book that a fanatic has to have; plus it may be the only such book in print, if I recall. There's even a DVD by the History Channel on the inside front cover. Need any more encouragement? If ya love or own horses, or just yearn to watch them on TV, like me, you will adore this book. The photos are wonderful - all B & W, but that doesn't bother me one bit. I find that most color photos of horses markedly distort their color: dark browns look black, blacks may have a reddish cast, etc. Ya gotta go to the track to see the REAL color of the horse, I guess. I digress. The statistics presented are so interesting, like triple crown "near misses". I'm so glad this book was published for the likes of me. It's a beaut!

When this book was first released in 1975, I read it cover-to-cover so many times it finally fell apart. It's a great way for casual fans to learn about America's Triple Crown winners;even the most hard-core of fans will enjoy all the pictures of these spectacular thoroughbred stars. The 2005 edition is updated to include Seattle Slew and Affirmed. If you already have the book without these additions, don't bother spending the money unless you want the DVD. You can get better information on Affirmed and Slew in the Thoroughbred Legends series. But if you don't have this book and you love horse-racing, I highly recommend it. The DVD is nice, too. I enjoyed seeing Man o'War, Whirlaway and of course, Slew.

I bought the initial edition of this book in 1975 and at the time was totally perplexed. How could an author write an entire chapter about Count Fleet and misspell the last name of his jockey every time ("Longdon" instead of "Longden")? And how could an editor not catch this error when the chapter contains three copyrighted charts from Daily Racing Form that have the jockey's name spelled correctly. Flash forward three decades to a new edition of this same book and ... Longden's name is still misspelled every time. Didn't anyone in 30 years tell the author or publisher that the name was misspelled??? This belongs in another book -- "Believe it or Not."

This is a fabulous book for anyone crazy about horses and/or horse racing. You will devour the information about all the legendary Triple Crown winners. Also included are statistics from their other races and their times. Lots of photos (all black and white--my only complaint!) It's also current since no one has won the Triple Crown since Affirmed.

Purchased for a birthday gift.

Book was filled with very interesting information.

Yes, I would recommend the book.

The service was superb for the above book. It was sent surface mail and I was informed it would be delivered around 15th. October, 2008. It arrived 5th. September - Terrific!! Well packaged and even though I have not completely read it yet, I am very satisfied with its content.

The DVD was great, the book goes into more detail, but overall a great package.

I saw the three races, I'm glad I found the book, us horse people has to stick together.

fast service. wonderful to work with. wish we had one more to add to the crown.