He was always destined to be a champion. Royally bred, with English and
American classic winners in his pedigree, Sir Barton shone from birth,
dubbed the "king of them all." But after a winless two-year-old season
and a near-fatal illness, uncertainty clouded the start of Sir Barton's
three-year-old season. Then his surprise victory in America's signature
race, the Kentucky Derby, started him on the road to history, where he
would go on to dominate the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, completing
America's first Triple Crown.
His wins inspired the ultimate chase for greatness in American horse
racing and established an elite group that would grow to include legends
like Citation, Secretariat, and American Pharoah. After a series of
dynamic wins in 1920, popular opinion tapped Sir Barton as the best
challenger for the wonder horse Man o' War, and demanded a match race to
settle once and for all which horse was the greatest. That duel would
cement the reputation of one horse for all time and diminish the
reputation of the other for the next century -- until now.
Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown is the first book to
focus on Sir Barton, his career, and his historic impact on horse
racing. Author Jennifer S. Kelly uses extensive research and historical
sources to examine this champion's life and achievements. Kelly charts
how Sir Barton broke track records, scored victories over other
champions, and sparked the yearly pursuit of Triple Crown glory. This
book reveals the legacy of Sir Barton and his seminal contributions to
Thoroughbred racing one hundred years after his pioneering achievement.
