In the months leading up to the 1971 Kentucky Derby, Canonero II was
an unknown horse with a Venezuelan trainer who spoke only Spanish.
The Derby experts laughed when an exercise boy rode the horse out on the
track with no saddle or stirrups. But the laughter promptly ended when
Canonero II charged to the front from twenty lengths back to win the
Derby, followed by a victory at the Preakness Stakes in track record
time. In recounting Canonero II's quest to become the first Triple Crown
winner since Citation, award-winning turf historian Milt Toby tells the
compelling story of how one man's wildly improbable dream became the
dream of a nation and how a bargain-basement yearling born with a
crooked front leg became the people's horse.